2015-16 Finish: 43-39

 

Season Highlight:

Over .500 continues. The Suns were able to increase the winning for a 5th straight season, finishing with more wins than losses in 2015-16. Penny has done a good job in Phoenix, assembling a winning basketball club season after season. This season, he was able to assemble a team with some dynamic, scoring wings and some large bodies too rebound any missed outside shots.

 

Season Lowlight:

The Suns narrowly missed the playoffs, for the first time in five seasons. With Joe Johnson brought in late in the season, the Suns came storming home, but would fall two wins shy of a fifth straight playoff campaign. The likely reason was probably the lack of a quality big man to defend and rebound inside. Asik, Davis and the now departed Josh Smith were not an imposing group for opposition bigs.

 

Best Trade:

The Detroit Pistons send Joe Johnson, Jeff Withey and Cliff Alexander to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send Paul Pierce, Joakim Noah, Darrell Arthur and Tyler Zeller to the Detroit Pistons. 


The Detroit Pistons receive 1 GM points. The Oklahoma City Thunder trade -9 GM points. The Phoenix Suns receive 8 GM points.

In terms of wins, this trade was probably the best. Joe Johnson really played well when brought across. The long term grade may not be as kind however, depending on the free agency situation of Joe, and the outgoing Noah.

 

Worst Trade:

The Phoenix Suns send a 1st-Rounder (Pho) to the Charlotte Hornets. 

Hard to find a worst trade, most of the deals seemed pretty even. This one, to complete the Omer Asik deal probably is the worst, as Asik for a lottery pick doesn't seem worth it after his poor 2016.

Other Notable Trades:

The Detroit Pistons send Pau Gasol and Devin Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers send Joakim Noah and T.J. McConnellto the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send Josh McRoberts to the Detroit Pistons. The Phoenix Suns send Patrick Beverley to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send Tiago Splitter to the Detroit Pistons. 
The Philadelphia 76ers send a 1st-Rounder (Orl) to the Detroit Pistons. The San Antonio Spurs send a 1st-Rounder (Phi) to the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Nice late addition to a multi team deal, Penny turns McRoberts and Beverley into Noah and McConnell. As we already know, Noah was then turned into Joe Johnson.

The Atlanta Hawks send Patrick Beverley to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send Steve Blake to the Atlanta Hawks. 
The Phoenix Suns send a 2nd-Rounder (Mia) to the Atlanta Hawks. 

The Atlanta Hawks receive 3 GM points. The Phoenix Suns trade -3 GM points.

Nice deal here, taking advantage of the Hawks salary cap situation.

The Chicago Bulls send JaVale McGee to the Phoenix Suns. 
The Phoenix Suns send a 2nd-Rounder (Pho) and 2nd-Rounder (Pho) to the Chicago Bulls. 

JaVale has all the athletic tools to be the bigman the Suns need, can he finally put it together? Will he even stay?

Best FA Signing:

Ed Davis – Great get here by the Suns, a big athletic, youngish guy that can start at power forward. Davis had a solid year, more was probably expected from him, but he has room to improve.

 

Worst FA Signing:

Salah Mejri – Who? Big guy, lasted a month or two.

 

Star:

Kemba Walker- A wonderful season from Kemba, his first full season as a Sun. Walker played and started in all 82 games, running the point guard and finding enough shots for himself, and the likes of Monta Ellis and Joe Johnson. Not an easy task playing aside such ball hungry wings. Kemba averaged 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals per game.

 

Surprise:

Joe Johnson- Brought in next to quality guards in Ellis and Walker, the fear was Johnsons offensive output would seriously decline after being the guy in Detroit. It didn't, in fact Joe was terrific, slotting in perfectly and becoming one of the guys in Phoenix, averaging 23 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Joe was a huge reason behind that late run at the playoffs.

 

Goat:

Josh Smith- As athletic as they come, the Suns gave up DeMar DeRozan and 45 gm points for Smith to bring him across from Philly. And while DeRozan looks like a superstar wing in the making, Smith now finds himself out of the league.

 

Draft Report Card:

The Suns had no draft picks, an unfortunate position for a team that missed the playoffs. They went all in and it didn't pay off.

Upcoming Free Agents:

Joe Johnson- A veteran shooter who was huge in Phoenix, he may look for greener pastures and even more shot opportunities.

JaVale McGee- Athletic as they come, although does not make the best decisions on court. What will he decide away from it?

Looking at the future

The future looks unclear currently in Phoenix. They have a pair of dynamic, fast guards in Ellis and Walker, some other nice pieces in Ed Davis, Asik and CJ Miles. And the possibility of a full year from Joe Johnson, should he return. They lack defense, and would be wise to focus on that with the some 30 million in cap room (More 40+ should JJ depart). A huge, interior defensive presence would go a long way to helping this team continue to win, and hopefully break back into a western conference that is slowly starting to improve its talent and depth. Penny has some work to do to fill out and improve this team, a lot of the immediate future depends on the up-coming free agency period.