Written by Sam Pouncey at No Coast Bias
Rebuilding. It’s one of the oddest and most diverse words in sports fandom. A wise man once said, “Nobody knows what it means, but it’s provocative. It gets the people going.” No Chazz Michael Michaels wasn’t talking about rebuilding when he said that, but it is applicable. On the one hand, it is rough because it’s basically admitting defeat in the present, but on the other hand the idea is that your team is building for the future and setting itself up for success going forward. Here’s the rub though: all too often owners and general managers hide behind the term “rebuilding” and it’s a complete sham. Look at the Sixers. Today we’re going to take a look at three Western Conference teams in various stages of the dreaded “rebuild” and see just how close they may be to contention.
Phoenix Suns-Fading Away
It feels like the Suns have been rebuilding since Steve Nash left in 2012. This is season four of the post-Nash era Suns and it doesn’t feel like much progress is being made. After a surprise playoff push came up just short in 2013-14, the Suns went for it last season and failed miserably. They acquired Isaiah Thomas from the Kings and Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers assembling an odd three point guard rotation with Goran Dragic. Confession time: I was sucked in and firmly believed that this could work. It didn’t. Midway through last season Dragic was dealt to the Heat and Thomas to the Celtics. The Suns also acquired another point guard, Brandon Knight, at the time. Knight and Bledsoe have seemed to play ok together so far even with it being one of the smaller backcourts in the NBA.
However, things seem to be falling apart in Phoenix. Eric Bledsoe is going to miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Alex Len, the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, looks more like a decent rim protector than a two-way contributor, and the Suns owner Robert Sarver blames a whole generation for the shortcomings of the Suns third most talented player, Markieff Morris. Morris has been in the Suns’ doghouse due to his sulking after his brother being traded to Detroit, throwing a towel at coach Jeff Hornacek (which drew a two-game suspension), and just overall conduct detrimental to the team. Sarver was quoted by the media saying that milennials “have a tough time dealing with setbacks”.
This is a perfect example of just all-around dysfunction. Sarver is quietly one of the worst owners in the NBA and needs to shut his trap, but at the same token it isn’t entirely his fault that the franchise is such a mess. Poor draft picks, bad luck and a brutal conference are the biggest barriers that the Suns face. Alex Len and Devin Booker have both been fine and are more than adequate NBA role players, but neither are stars and both were lottery picks. Booker is a rookie, so maybe he will blossom and he is showing promise, but he isn’t there yet. There is also hope that Bledsoe can be a franchise player as a hybrid scoring guard, and he has shown flashes of that ability. Unfortunately, injuries have prevented us from getting a full season of seeing what he can do as a team’s number one option. Phoenix for us represents the team who is always stuck in the rebuilding quagmire. The whole “just wait ’til next year” mantra feels a little played out and the organization really just feels like it’s spinning its wheels in late lottery pick purgatory.
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