2013-2014 Finish: 42-40

Season Highlight

Making the playoffs. With a talented roster, constructed to be extremely tough defensively, the Phoenix Suns, despite many mid season changes and multiple injuries to key players, were able to win 42 games and place 8^th in the Western Conference. A Matchup against the 1^st placed San Antonio Spurs awaited.

Season Lowlight

Losing to the Spurs in 5. Injuries really hampered the Suns for the majority of the regular season, so it was only fitting that they were also plagued during the playoffs. Without Rondo and Smith early on in the series, the Suns battled to be 1-1, however a pair of tough losses at home, and a blow out in San Antonio ended the Suns season.

Best Trade

The Phoenix Suns send Kosta Koufos and Darren Collison to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Larry Sanders and Glen Rice Jr. to the Phoenix Suns. 
The Sacramento Kings send a 2nd-Rounder (Orl) and 2nd-Rounder (Sac) to the Phoenix Suns. 

Tough to pick a best trade for the Suns, I wasn’t a big fan of many of the deals made this past season. This one however did fit the defence first game plan. Sanders is the best player in this deal and is a defensive beast, received for just a couple of backups in Koufos and Collison. Despite his injuries and off court trouble this season, Sanders should be in for a big 2015.

Worst Trade

The Memphis Grizzlies send Ben Gordon to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send David West and Glen Rice Jr. to the Memphis Grizzlies. 

Probably this one, Gordon still plays pretty well in the NLL, but in the NBA he is more of a burden than anything else. West is a quality NLL and NBA big man, and Glen Rice should provide more in both leagues than Ben Gordon, possibly as soon as next season.

Other Notable Trades

The Orlando Magic send David West, Thabo Sefolosha and Chandler Parsons to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send Marc Gasol, Wesley Johnson and Festus Ezeli to the Orlando Magic. 
The Phoenix Suns send a 1st-Rounder (Bkn) to the Orlando Magic. 

This one looked great for the Suns at the time, but now with the uncertainty of Parsons staying in Phoenix beyond 2015, this one becomes less of a win and more of a wait and see.

The Indiana Pacers send Marc Gasol and Shabazz Muhammad to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send Marcin Gortat and Arron Afflalo to the Indiana Pacers. 

The Indiana Pacers receive 20 GM points. The Phoenix Suns trade -20 GM points.

A pretty even deal, Gasol is quality, although a little slow for the NLL and Muhammad played well above his NBA counterpart. Gortat and Afflalo were major players in the Pacers season.

The Philadelphia 76ers send Josh Smith to the Phoenix Suns. The Phoenix Suns send DeMar DeRozan to the Philadelphia 76ers. 
The Phoenix Suns send a 2nd-Rounder (Pho) to the Philadelphia 76ers. 

The Philadelphia 76ers receive 45 GM points. The Phoenix Suns trade -45 GM points.

A fairly big trade to kick of the season. Josh Smith was a sign and trade for Philly, and the Suns came calling with plenty of gm points and the young high flyer, DeMar DeRozan. Smith has a reputation for being a real burden on a team’s offense and a salary cap, he was actually pretty good, but so was DeRozan.

The Phoenix Suns send Deron Williams, Brian Roberts and Colton Iverson to the San Antonio Spurs. The San Antonio Spurs send Rajon Rondo, Kosta Koufos and Luc Mbah a Moute to the Phoenix Suns. 

Both of these guys were injured to begin the season, however Williams managed 20 more games and went on to lead his Spurs to 1^st in the West, and a playoff victory over Rondo’s Suns.

Best FA Signing

Wesley Johnson- Won by the narrowest of margins, .05 points, Johnson bought into the Suns defensive game plan, before being shipped to Orlando as part of the Gasol, Parsons and Sefolosha deal.

Worst FA Signing

Wayne Ellington- The Suns offered Ellington a 2.5 million offer sheet, but it was quickly matched by the T-Wolves.

Star

Rajon Rondo- Rondo only managed 41 games, but when he was out there, he definitely was the star of the show. Rondo dominated on both ends of the floor, and the Suns were a much better team with him out there. Rondo averaged 16 points, 12 assists and 6 rebounds.

Surprise

Shabazz Muhammad- A much maligned prospect coming out of the draft, Muhammad had quite a good season. The shooting problems that plagued his NBA counterpart were not evident here, with Shabazz shooting 50% from the field and 46% from the three point line.

Goat

Suns medical staff- The Suns medical staff are supposed to be the benchmark of professional basketball. But this past season they were anything but, with big names such as Rondo, Terry and Sanders not even able to play half a season.

Draft Report Card

Rodney Hood- An impressive athlete, the left handed sophomore wing Hood has a nice jump shot from both midrange and deep, and should provide some offensive punch from the bench.

Markel Brown- Brown is an undersized shooting guard, but his elite athleticism may help him make it in this league, if injuries cruel the Suns again, he should get some chances.

Looking to the Future

The Suns have a very strong roster and all the important pieces should return, with some money to spare. They also have some intriguing rookies coming in, most notably James Ennis who spent the past season in Australia. If they can get healthy as a group, this team has enough offensive fire power as well as defensive prowess to possibly push for a top 4 finish in the Western Conference.

Upcoming Free Agents

Larry Sanders- A restricted free agent, Sanders matches the GM’s defensive style perfectly and should anchor that defense in this coming season.

Ben Gordon- Penny really likes Gordon’s ability to hit the three ball, and will likely convince him to stay.

Udonis Haslem- Haslem is a big body, and decent rebounder and defender, both things the Suns would like to keep around on a reasonable contract.

Andray Blatche- Like Haslem, Blatche is cheap, and provides some great defense and rebounding.

Chris Singleton- Singleton has been underwhelming in his NLL career so far, and may make way for some fresh meat.

Chris Babb- Babb, like Singleton will likely make way for some new faces.

Damion James- James won’t be back in Phoenix.

Thabo Sefolosha- Rumored to be a sign and trade, Penny wont enjoy trading away this defensive wing.