NBA 2009 Season Prediction: The Phoenix Suns

This is my fourth installment in the Pacific Division chapter, of my NBA 2009 Season Prediction Series. Now under the microscope, the Phoenix Suns.

The Phoenix Suns used to be the kings, not the Sacramento Kings, of the Pacific Division. Up until the 2007-2008 season, the Phoenix Suns had won the Pacific Division three consecutive seasons, from 2005-2007. They were dethroned in 2008 by the eventual Western Conference Champion, Los Angeles Lakers.

Earlier in the season, the Suns traded unhappy star SF Shaun Marion and PG Marcus Banks to the Miami heat, for then struggling veteran C Shaquille O'Neal. The Suns were hoping that O'Neal's three championships, and knowledge of Phil Jackson's coaching style and the Lakers could give them the edge down the stretch to beat out the Lakers in the division. While many would say that it was stupid for the Suns to trade of one of their best players for an aging superstar, I thought the front office worked a miracle. Before the trade, Amare Stoudemire, a true PF, was playing the C position. While he had found success at the position, the starting PF Kurt Thomas, was struggling. With the Suns trading for O'Neal, it allowed Stoudemire to return to his natural position of PF, and solidify the lineup.

The trade proved to be "too little, to late" for the Suns, as the Suns finished the regular season only two games behind the Lakers. The Suns sowed the seeds of success last season with the trade, and even though they did not win the division, the Suns will continue to reap the harvest from those seeds that were sown last season.

Although losing the division was disheartening, it was not the worst thing that happened to the Suns this offseason. The Suns lost their head coach, Mike D'Antoni, who had been with the team since 2003. To replace him, the Suns hired former Trail Blazer player, and Detroit Pistons assistant coach, Terry Porter.

Now, let's look at what attempts the Suns have made to bolster their roster, in hopes of taking back the Pacific Divison title.

During the offseason, the Suns had many difficulties signing free agents because of being well over the luxury tax. They made attempts to sign a back up point guard in Tyronn Lue, however, he decided to sign with the Bucks for more money. The two draft picks Robin Lopez and Goran Dragic may be helpful covering the backup center and point guard slots, however, Dragic was never signed.

The Suns have also been involved in trade rumors consisting of Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa. The two players seem to be great trade bait, and may be the keys to fulfilling the Suns' needs in the future.

Let's look at the current roster for the Phoenix Suns. This roster is small compared to many others in the NBA. With only twelve signed players, the Suns have three more spots on their roster, that they can fill if need be, but as stated above, it has been difficult for them to sign free agents because they are well over the luxury tax.

The Suns are anchored by their starting PG Steve Nash, who has won two MVP awards in his NBA career.

The Suns also have veteran SF Grant Hill, who was signed on July 11th 2007 as an unrestricted free agent. Hill has adapted well to the Suns' up-tempo style, averaging double figures in points as a key role player for Phoenix in the early months of the 2007-08 season. He played in the team's first 34 games before an emergency appendectomy on January 9, 2008, sidelined him for two weeks. Despite being bothered by multiple injuries throughout the season, Hill had his first 70-game season since leaving Detroit, averaging 13.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.9 apg in the process. Although he is one of the three team captains, and is a seasoned veteran, the fact that he is injury prone should be enough for the Suns to seriously consider him in their long term plans for filling the hole vacated by Shawn Marion.

The Suns also have dominant PF Amare Stoudemire, and low post presence Shaquille O'Neal. Robin Lopez is also on the roster, and will provide his abilities as a backup center, and will likely take over the starting position once Shaq retires, which I predict happening in the next three to four years.

Here is my projected starting lineup for the 2008-2009 Phoenix Suns:

PG: Steve Nash

SG: Raja Bell

Note: Bell can shoot the lights out from downtown. I feel that he will be their man at SG for a long time.

SF: Grant Hill

PF: Amare Stoudemire

C: Shaquille O'Neal

Second Team:

PG: Sean Singletary

Note: Sean Singletary was not the most hyped PG coming out of the 2008 NBA Draft, but with the chance to learn under one of the, if not the best, point guards in the league, Singletary can become a solid bench player, providing stability to any team he plays for. Could he be a starter in years to come? Certainly. Will he be an All Star? Possibly. Superstar? I don't think so.

SG: Leandro Barbosa

Note: The Brazilian sensation can shoot lights out from downtown. He is significant trade bait.

SF: N/A

Note: I am not exactly sure who to pick in this spot. The Suns have veteran Matt Barnes, and newcomers Alando Tucker and Louis Almundson. Tucker is listed as the only other true SF behind Grant Hill, so I would give the edge to him. But Barnes and Almundson can play both SF and PF, so we cannot count either of them out.

PF: Boris Diaw

Note: Very very physical defender. He grabbed Kobe Bryant around the neck and threw him to the floor as he was driving to the basket in a playoff game in 2006. Like Barbosa he is significant trade bait.

C: Robin Lopez

Note: The lesser of the Lopez twins, Robin was not as hyped as Brook in the draft. That being said, it still does not mean that he can't become a great C in the league. He's got the height, the talent, and a good coaching background at Stanford. We'll see how far Porter can take him.

Prediction:

Once again, the Suns and the Lakers will be battling for the top spot in the Pacific Conference, and a higher seed. It was astonishing that the Lakers were able to pull out ahead of the Suns without their center Andrew Bynum, but that was in a big part, the doing of Pau Gasol. If Bynum can stay healthy all season for the Lakers, I predict that the Lakers and Suns will finish 1,2 in the Division respectively. Otherwise, this division is ripe for the taking, for the Phoenix Suns. Even if the Suns do not win their division, they will still make the playoffs behind this talented roster.