The Suns' big three lead roster of new faces as Phoenix chases a championship
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Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker watch from the bench on Oct. 10. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The Phoenix Suns' roster looks a lot different than it did a year ago, but what hasn't changed are the big expectations they start the season with.
Driving the news: The 2023-24 NBA season begins Tuesday, and the Suns kick off with a road game against the Golden State Warriors.
- Tip-off is at 7pm on TNT.
- They travel to Los Angeles next for a game against the Lakers on Thursday, then face the Utah Jazz on Saturday in their home opener at Footprint Center.
Context: A lot has changed for the Suns over the past year, especially since new owner Mat Ishbia took over in February, starting with his blockbuster trade of Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson for superstar Kevin Durant.
- He made another big-time trade in the offseason, sending Chris Paul to Washington for Bradley Beal. The Wizards then dealt Paul to Golden State.
- As part of the deal that sent Damian Lillard from Portland to Milwaukee, the Suns traded former No. 1 draft pick Deandre Ayton to the Trailblazers, getting Grayson Allen, Keon Johnson, Nassir Little and Nusuf Jurkić in return.
- The Suns also acquired veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon and several other players, and lost familiar faces like Bismack Biyombo, Torrey Craig, Landry Shamet and Ish Wainright.
What to watch: Beal, Durant and longtime star Devin Booker give the Suns a big three that few teams, if any, can match.
- With "point god" CP3 gone, Booker will run the point, according to the Arizona Republic, while Beal, a prolific scorer who's averaged 23.2 points per game over his career, starts at shooting guard.
- Jurkić will be the starting center, and small forward Josh Okogie is likely to join him in the starting lineup, according to the Republic.
- That lineup will play with a new coach. The team fired Monty Williams and brought in Frank Vogel, who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020.
The intrigue: Phoenix no longer has a true point guard, but Booker has emerged as not only an elite scorer, but a facilitator and playmaker, so it'll be interesting to see how he adjusts.
- Beal, Booker and Durant are all go-to scorers. Will there be enough shots to go around?
Of note: With Ayton, Paul and Payne's offseason departures, Booker is the only remaining Suns player who was on the NBA Finals team of 2020-21.
Zoom in: Depending on which betting odds you're looking at, the Suns are either the third or fourth most favored team to win the NBA championship this season.
- Most have the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks as the top two, and some have the defending champion Denver Nuggets ahead of Phoenix as the third best bet.
Flashback: Since losing to Milwaukee in the 2021 NBA Finals, the Suns' quest for another shot at the franchise's first championship has hit some snags.
- Each of their past two seasons ended with blowout losses that knocked them out in the second round of the playoffs.