The positives within another lost Suns season

The Phoenix Suns’ 2019-20 season is almost mercifully over with three games left on its schedule. The team has secured a bottom three record overall which gives it a 14% chance to obtain the Zion pick and a 100% chance at a top seven pick.

After its opening win, the Suns have looked awful so much this season. The teams’ lowest moments have been the two 10+ game losing streaks it endured. It’s tough to find positivity in a season like this but there were some brilliant moments that came out of this season.

The brightest moment for the Suns was when star Devin Booker went nuclear down the stretch. Booker scored 59, 50 and 48 points in three straight games, all of which resulted in losses. This run was the first time a Suns player ever went back to back on 50 point games and the tenth player in the league to do so while being the youngest. This wasn’t just Booker chucking up shots either, he shot 61% overall in those three games, doing everything he could to win and carry the team.

If it wasn’t obvious already, Devin Booker looks to be on the verge of superstardom and these games proved it. His season is over thanks to an ankle sprain against the Jazz but that has been something the team has been dealing with all season: injuries. Many key players have missed games due to them. His play may not have provided plenty of wins this year but with this a healthy offseason with the #valleyboyz, the Suns could see its star take that next step to greatness.

The Suns made some moves this year to help fix this broken team and while the moves didn’t give them a lot of wins, they did bring in some great character players for this locker room. Tyler Johnson comes from Miami, a place that’s known throughout the league for its tough coaching and getting the most from its players and has the hardware to backup its philosophy. Kelly Oubre comes from Washington who had plenty of success that Suns fans would dream for.

Both players have brought a sense of accountability and leadership that this team desperately needed, along with a veteran presence on the court. Their addition helped the Suns go on a nice run in the beginning of March that got them wins over Milwaukee and Golden State. That run was the best basketball the Suns played all season long. It gave us a glimpse of how this team can compete against the best and most desperate teams in the league as the Suns practically ended the Lakers playoff dreams.

The light at the end of this tunnel is the core the team has and the chance it has to add perhaps the best prospect since maybe LeBron James. 14% isn’t a great chance when we remember the 25% the Suns had last year but it’s the best odds that anyone could have in this draft.

Zion Williamson is a once-in-a-generation player that dominates on both sides of the ball. Add him with this Suns core and the team could take some big steps going forward. Even if the lottery puts the Suns at number two, the team could use that pick to land Ja Morant, the top point guard in the nation. Learning under Johnson and teaming up with Booker will be great for the young player and he will fill an immediate need for the team. He may not have the big name like Zion but he would create a great tandem with Booker. The worst pick the Suns right now could get would be the sixth overall pick which could get the Suns a talented prospect or a trade asset to get a veteran point guard.

The Suns haven’t made the playoffs or had a winning record since 2014 and it feels like every year is the one the team gets it together only to find misery at the end. This season has been tough but with the small positive moments it produced, we can see that there’s a lot of potential with this team and that can be molded into wins.