Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns fell short in their quest to win their first NBA championship as they lost to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.
It was a disappointing end to a remarkable season for the Suns, who had one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NBA history. Paul’s arrival sparked the Suns to a surprising season as he helped their young core reach another level.
The Suns believe this is just the beginning for them as title contenders. But with some significant concerns on the horizon, just how bright is the future for these Suns? Can they make it back to the Finals – and win – any time soon?
SBOTOP takes a deeper look to see just how sunny the Suns’ outlook is moving forward.
Chris Paul’s uncertain future in Phoenix
Paul has a major decision to make in the next few days that will be big NBA 2021 news. He has until Aug. 1 to decide whether he will pick up his $44 million player option for next season and stay with the Suns. If he declines, which is what he is reportedly going to do, he will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign a long-term deal in Phoenix or elsewhere.
It would be fair to assume that if Paul opts out, the Suns will still look to re-sign him given his incredible impact on the team this season even at age 36. But Paul will not come cheap. He will likely have a lot of suitors on the open market, which will drive his price up.
With the Suns’ other young stars coming up for contract extensions soon, giving Paul a massive new deal will make this team very expensive. Suns owner Robert Sarver is infamous for being unwilling to spend a lot of money, even for a championship-calibre team, so Paul returning to Phoenix is by no means guaranteed.
Losing Paul would obviously be a devastating blow for the Suns, who will be hard-pressed to find a comparable replacement for the veteran point guard.
The Suns’ young core – how good can it be?
But suppose the Suns decide to pay up to keep Paul on the team. After they fell short in the Finals this season, can they come back and win it all next year? That will largely depend on the Suns’ young core of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges making major improvements.
To their credit, all three have improved considerably year by year. Booker is already one of the elite shot-makers in the league and has proven he can perform on the biggest stage. Ayton has made massive leaps on both ends of the floor, but particularly on defence. And Bridges is well on his way toward becoming one of the better two-way wings in the entire league.
With Paul possibly on the decline and a significant injury risk, those three will have to take on a bigger burden next season for the Suns to remain top contenders in the Western Conference, which will once again be as competitive as ever.
The NBA 2021 odds will likely still have the Lakers, with their superstar duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as favourites if they are both healthy. The Clippers will not be far behind if Kawhi Leonard decides to stay and returns from his partially torn ACL.
The Nuggets, led by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, can come back stronger, and the Warriors have the potential to make a blockbuster move for one last title run.
And of course, there are also the beasts over in the East, which include the Giannis’ Bucks, Kevin Durant’s Brooklyn Nets, and potentially the Philadelphia 76ers, especially if they can snag a superstar like Damian Lillard this summer.
At this point in time, the Suns’ core likely sits in the lower half of that list of contenders even after reaching the Finals. But their young stars still have room to grow, which can see them climb even higher.
Future still fairly bright in Phoenix
Realistically speaking, though, Paul and the Suns may have missed their best shot to win a championship. They had several breaks along the way to reach the Finals, as they faced several teams missing big stars (Anthony Davis, Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard). They cannot expect to be quite as lucky next year.
Granted, the Suns had their own injury issues with Paul. But the fact that he was still able to play at a competent level in the Finals was a huge stroke of good fortune given his age and history of breaking down in the postseason. The likelihood of him playing as well or staying as healthy moving forward grows less and less as he ages.
And of course, all of this will be a moot point if Paul decides to opt out and Phoenix decide not to pay him. But if this remarkable season full of unexpected twists and turns has taught us a lesson, it’s that anything can happen. No one saw the Suns making the NBA Finals, and yet they were two wins away from winning it all.
With Booker locked in long-term and Ayton likely to join him, the future is still fairly bright in Phoenix, with or without Paul. But the prospect of the Suns being perennial title contenders moving forward is a bit cloudier, with or without Paul.
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