The tenacious Suns should not be laughed at

At the beginning of the new season, many teams have been making great progress and are now in a long winning streak.

The Pistons maintain their longest winning streak of nine. In fact, the Pistons' dark horse style took shape as early as last season; star Cunningham has grown rapidly and evolved into a new guard with both scoring and organizational skills that is rare in this era; the Pistons' play style is also very tough, good at defense and fierce in confrontation, so their rise is inevitable.

The Nuggets are currently on a 7-game winning streak, feeling a bit like winning the championship in 2023. They are no longer asking for help. They averaged a triple-double of 28.7 points, 13 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game, and shot 67.5% from the field, which is a bit scary. Second leader Murray is also in good form this season. In addition, several new players introduced by the Nuggets this summer such as Varan, Hardaway, and Johnson can quickly integrate into the team.

After the Thunder's 8-game winning streak was ended by the Trail Blazers, they quickly adjusted their status and now have another 5-game winning streak, ranking first in the league with a record of 13 wins and 1 loss. As the defending champion, the Thunder's dominance is self-evident, and the key is that they can indeed continue this dominance; counting this season, the Thunder have ranked first in the Western Conference in the regular season for three consecutive years. Of course, there are many strong teams this season, and they will still face many challenges.

The Pistons have won 9 games in a row, the Nuggets have won 7 games in a row, and the Thunder have won 5 games in a row. At the same time, there is another team that has quietly won 5 games in a row, and that is the Phoenix Suns. Although the Suns' schedule during this period was relatively sweet, and they basically played against teams ranked at the bottom of the league; the Suns were able to win every game, including a double victory over the Clippers, a 23-point victory over the Pelicans, and a 35-point bloodbath against the Pacers.

After a five-game winning streak, the Suns' record has reached 8 wins and 5 losses, ranking sixth in the Western Conference. Why mention the Suns? Because there is still a bit of a contrast between the Suns this season. Everyone thought they were going to fail, but unexpectedly they rose to prominence.

During the offseason this summer, the Suns did not make many operations, but each one was very critical; the first was Booker's contract extension. The Suns and Booker signed a two-year, $145 million early contract extension, extending Booker's contract to five years, with a total amount of $316 million. Followed by the Durant trade, the Suns sent Durant to get Jaylen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 2025 No. 10 pick and 5 second-round picks. Then there was the Marvel trade, and the Suns used two first-round picks to acquire Hornets center Mark Williams.

In the end, it was Bill's buyout.

In fact, these four operations of the Sun were basically ridiculed by the entire Internet. Booker's annual salary of 70 million is considered a garbage contract. The Suns received little return from the Durant trade. They only received a first-round pick in exchange for young star Jaylen Green, who is generally not optimistic. Because during the Rockets period, Green was inefficient and his playing style was to play alone. After Mark Williams was returned by the Lakers last season, the Hornets were labeled as fraudsters. It was generally believed that Mark Williams had a very serious injury that would directly ruin his career; facing such a player, the Suns actually used two first-rounders.

Bill's buyout is actually the Suns management paying for their stupidity in the previous two years. Because of this decision, the Suns will have to pay approximately US$19.4 million in "dead money" salary space each year for the next five years until the 2029-30 season.

However, from the perspective of the sun, these operations have their own unique significance.

The purpose of renewing Booker's contract is to retain the core of the team, determine the team's only leader, and provide a guarantee for the team's lower limit. Ma Wei's trade is a gamble to a certain extent, and the Suns are also betting on his physical condition. A healthy Ma Wei is definitely one of the top blue-collar centers currently in service. He has sufficient size, good mobility, and can make certain contributions on both offense and defense.

Thinking back to the Suns' inside line in the early days of last season, the duo of Plumlee + Nurkic, what else could they do? Although buying out Bill is a helpless move, it is absolutely necessary; Bill's presence in the team will definitely affect the team atmosphere. With a contract with an annual salary of more than 50 million, if he performs with an annual salary of 10 million, his teammates will find it unfair, and Bill himself will be embarrassed.

As for the trade between Durant and Jaylen Green, it is actually a win-win situation so far. KD is playing well in the Rockets; Green is better because of his youth. Although he has not yet reached the All-Star level, he has a bright future and scored 29 points in his first show with the Suns, proving his ability.

Not only Green, Dillon Brooks, whom the Suns acquired from the Durant trade, has also been reborn; so far this season, Dillon has averaged 29.1 minutes per game, scoring 20.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.9 steals, with a true shooting percentage of 57.6%. Both scoring and steals are career highs. After moving from the Rockets to the Suns, Dillon's role has undergone some minor changes. From a 3D player to a ball-carrying forward, the key is that he can adapt. This Suns team this season, not to mention the top team in the first tier, is definitely in the playoffs. Is it time for those who mocked the Suns' offseason operations to shut up?