I know, Suns fans: You've been waiting a while. It's been seven years since you've had a team in the playoffs. But as you're well aware, I'm sure, this team has no shortage of young talent with serious potential. And as luck would have it, I don’t think there’s a better time for an NBA rebuild than right now.
Look, the West is already won. I don't want to crown the Warriors as champs just yet, but we probably could. Golden State has all its key players coming back for yet another year (possibly years) of domination. And if not the Warriors, how about Gregg Popovich and the always-contending San Antonio Spurs?
The Rockets just added Chris Paul. The Thunder, Timberwolves, and Nuggets also just improved with some big-name acquisitions. So, let’s be honest with ourselves: There’s no shot at contending for a championship for at least the next few years.
This is why I was completely against going after Blake Griffin, a perennial All-Star and free agent who was scheduled to visit the Suns before deciding to re-sign with the Clippers. Regardless of his injury-prone past or the idea of him taking away playing time from some of the youngsters, why shell out that kind of cash? So you can maybe claw your way into the playoffs only to be bumped in the first round? Suns fans, we don’t want to end the skid that badly, do we?
This is why I say if there was any time to get your young guys valuable experience and work on team chemistry, it’s right now. It's a perfect time to focus on the future, when the immediate future can pretty much already write itself.
