Why Chris Paul Is The Biggest Winner Of The Phoenix Suns’ Horrifying Season

Four years after reaching the 2021 NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns have become one of the biggest disasters in the league. On April 9, despite having the most expensive roster in the NBA due to the high salaries of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and Kevin Durant, the Suns were eliminated from playoff contention following a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. This season marks the first time since 2019-20 that the Suns will not participate in the playoffs. At the end of the season, they fired head coach Mike Budenholzer just one year after signing him to a five-year, $50 million contract. To make matters worse, due to previous blockbuster trades, the Suns are the only NBA team that will not be in the playoffs, the play-in tournament, or the draft lottery this year.

It's easy to identify the main reason the Suns are struggling: owner Mat Ishbia. When Ishbia purchased the team in February 2023, he made two blockbuster moves to kick off his tenure. First, he executed a mid-season trade for Durant, giving up Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four unprotected first-round picks, and a 2028 first-round pick swap to the Brooklyn Nets.

The following offseason, he made one of the worst trades in recent NBA history: the Beal trade. Ishbia traded Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, four first-round pick swaps, and six second-round picks to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Beal, who had just signed a five-year, $251 million extension with the Wizards that included a no-trade clause. During his two years with the Suns, Beal has underperformed significantly, to the point where he was moved to the bench this season. His contract is also nearly impossible to move because of his high salary and the no-trade clause.

However, despite Beal’s struggles with the Suns, there's an argument that he isn't the biggest mistake of Ishbia’s management; that honor may instead belong to trading Paul. Let's explore why.

The State of the Suns Before Paul

After reaching the Western Conference Finals in the 2009-10 season, the Suns missed the playoffs for over a decade. In the late 2010s, the franchise hit rock bottom. Between the 2015-16 and 2018-19 seasons, the team failed to win more than 24 games and went through four head coaches in four years. During this period, it seemed that nothing was going right for the franchise. They not only mishandled head coaching hires, but they struggled in the draft as well.

In the 2016 and 2017 drafts, they selected fourth overall both years, but those picks turned out to be major busts Dragan Bender and Josh Jackson. In 2018, they won the draft lottery and selected DeAndre Ayton first overall. Although Ayton performed well, he didn't live up to the expectations of a first overall pick, especially considering the talent available in that draft, which included Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson Jr., Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jalen Brunson. However, the 2018 draft did yield Bridges thanks to a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers on draft day.

The fortunes of the Suns began to change in the 2019-20 season. Although they finished with a 26-39 record before the season was suspended due to COVID-19, the Suns were invited to the NBA bubble. There, they went 8-0 but ultimately missed the playoffs due to tiebreakers, showcasing their potential. After that season, they traded for Paul.

Paul Takes The Suns From Doormats To Contenders

Paul's first season with the Suns was impressive, as the team finished with a record of 51-21 in the pandemic-shortened season, securing the second seed in the Western Conference. During this time, he and Booker became the first All-Star duo for the Suns since Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire. After defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference Finals, the Suns returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1992-93 season. Although they initially took a 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Bucks, they ultimately lost the series in six games after dropping four straight. Following the season, Paul signed a four-year contract extension worth $120 million. With a core lineup featuring Paul, Booker, Ayton, Bridges, and Cam Johnson, the team appeared to be championship contenders for years to come, and many believed they could return to the Finals the following year.

In the 2021-22 season, the Suns built on their previous success by winning a franchise-record 64 games, including an impressive 18-game winning streak early in the season. Both Paul and Booker once again earned All-Star selections, and the team's promising young players continued to develop. However, despite their incredible regular season, they were upset in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks. Nonetheless, there was little doubt that the Suns were poised to rebound. They retained their core players, and head coach Monty Williams won Coach of the Year, ensuring that the team's future remained bright despite the disappointing end to the season.

As the 2022-23 season approached, events began to unfold that would lead to the turmoil the Suns faced later. A month before the season started, it was announced that Robert Sarver, the team's controversial owner, would be suspended for one year. Eventually, Ishbia purchased the team for $4 billion.

The 2022-23 season proved to be a mixed bag for the Suns despite winning 45 games and finishing fourth in the Western Conference. This season was particularly notable for the mid-season trade that brought Durant to the team. After defeating the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, the Suns were eliminated by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets in six games. At the end of the season, Williams was fired as Ishbia sought to bring in his own head coach. On June 24, 2023, the trade that sent Beal to the Suns was executed, and Paul officially left the team. A little less than two weeks later, the Wizards traded Paul to the Golden State Warriors.

No Paul, No Contending For Suns

Going into the 2023-24 season, the Suns seemed poised to contend for a championship thanks to the trio of Beal, Booker, and Durant. On top of that, their new head coach, Frank Vogel, was one of championship pedigree. However, the roster fit was always questionable from the start. Due to the Paul trade, they had no true point guard for their star players, who are primarily known for being catch and shoot guys. Also, they were extremely top heavy, largely due to the hefty salaries of their new big three. Even worse for the Suns was that the NBA was beginning to implement their strict “second apron” salary cap rule, which prevented the team from adding quality role players to surround their stars. Finally, they lacked size, having only six players who were 6’8 or taller. Their primary center from the previous seasons, Ayton, was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team trade headlined by Damian Lillard going to the Bucks. This trade also brought them his replacement, Jusuf Nurkić, who is good but not as good as Ayton.

The first post-Paul season for the Suns was underwhelming. Although the team went 49-33, injuries limited the Beal-Booker-Durant trio to just 41 games, which disrupted their ability to build chemistry. On top of that, their poor fourth quarter stats made them one of the worst clutch teams in the NBA. For these reasons, the team was never a serious Finals contender despite their record. Although they improved on their win total from 2022-23, a tougher Western Conference forced them to settle for a sixth seed, and they got that seed because of tiebreakers. Their first-round opponent would be the Minnesota Timberwolves, whom they swept in the regular season. However, the Wolves would be doing the sweeping in the playoffs, as they beat the Suns in four games. Following the year, Vogel was fired, which was attributed to his inability to connect with the locker room and failure to build roster cohesion. However, it can be argued that the Vogel hire was weird from the start, given that he is a coach who thrives when he has a true point guard, something the Suns lacked.

Going into 2024-25, the Suns had a new head coach in Budenholzer. Heading into the year, expectations remained high for their trio, which hoped to stay healthy and actually build chemistry. However, the season ended up being a rinse and repeat of 2023-24, albeit worse. The team once again lacked a point guard and size. The big three was limited to only 37 games due to injuries. The head coach lost the locker room. Budenholzer got into frequent arguments with Booker and asked Beal, whose specialty is scoring, to change his play style to that of Jrue Holiday, the defensive-minded point guard on the title-winning Bucks team. Speaking of Beal, his play declined significantly this year, as he only averaged 17 points, three rebounds, and four assists when he was on the court. He was so bad this season that he was relegated to the bench. Ultimately, the Suns failed to improve on their 2023-24 win total and finished 36-46, missing the playoffs. Following the end of the season, Budenholzer was understandably fired.

The Suns’ disastrous season will likely result in major changes coming to the team this offseason. It's a foregone conclusion that Durant will be traded. There's a possibility that the Suns will take a historic buyout to release Beal. Some media personalities have suggested the team trade Booker, as he has the highest trade value of the big three and would net them at least three first-round picks and multiple role players. However, the Suns have shot this possibility down and stated that they plan to build around Booker.

Let's circle back to Paul. Prior to his arrival, the Suns were a rudderless franchise going nowhere. The end of 2019-20 was promising, but there's no guarantee that they build on it if Paul doesn't come. As soon as he arrived, they ended up in the Finals. Prior to the Durant trade, the Suns won because they were a typical Paul-centric team, one that prioritized playing team basketball over being flashy. As soon as Paul left, the Suns were back to being the late 2010s clown show known for losing, butchering draft picks, and being a head coach graveyard. Since Earl Watson’s hiring in 2016, coaching the Suns has been a death sentence for NBA head coaches. Williams has been the only coach between Watson and Budenholzer to last more than one year, largely due to Paul’s presence.

Chris Paul impacts every team he's been on. When Paul is on your favorite team, you're guaranteed three things- great leadership, winning games, and being relevant. He turned New Orleans into title contenders while he was a Hornet. Since he left, they've been irrelevant despite having Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson. Lob City doesn't exist if Paul isn't a Clipper. While in Houston, he helped James Harden win an MVP and led the team to a franchise record in wins. It's entirely possible that they end up in the 2018 Finals if Paul doesn't get hurt in the Conference Finals. He delayed Oklahoma City’s tank job by a year and helped shape Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into the player he is today. He took a doormat in Phoenix to the NBA Finals and helped Booker become more than a player who scores a bunch of points and loses a bunch of games. In San Antonio, Stephon Castle is the Rookie of the Year favorite. Why? He has Paul as a mentor like SGA did. Like many franchises before them, Phoenix took Paul’s impact for granted, and now they're paying a well-deserved price for it.

Serafino Diaz is a writer at Chaotically Intolerant, Phoenix's finest Vikings, Bucks, and Cubs fan, traveling everywhere I can.