3 major offseason fixes Suns must make to win 2025 NBA Finals

The Phoenix Suns had a winning regular season record against their first-round opponent, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Several pundits had the Suns upsetting the Timberwolves, mainly because of the scoring prowess of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. However, Minnesota proved the doubters wrong as they swept Phoenix, which in turn will head to a plethora of major decisions and painful changes for their organization.

With new owner Matt Ishbia, he has not been afraid to have one of the highest payrolls in the association. Acquiring Durant and Bradley Beal has been a clear indicator of that, but these enormous decisions have been a huge mistake for their squad. It limits their flexibility for the next couple of years, which will likely force them to stick it out with this core.

Durant, Booker, and Jusuf Nurkic are the only tradable pieces in their roster as Beal has a no-trade clause and Grayson Allen cannot be traded until October. The rest of their unit are minimum guys or pending free agents. With that situation, these are the three major offseason fixes the front office must prioritize.

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Find a way to get a true point guard

Even during the regular season, it was obvious that Booker was not comfortable playing as the point guard of the Suns. His natural role is being at 2, but the acquisition of Beal forced him to adjust. As the trade deadline was nearing, the expectation was for Phoenix to add a cheap point guard to supplement their nucleus, but there was no deal that occurred.

Moving Beal or Allen to the bench and having someone like Tre Jones or Vasilije Micic start at the 1 will cause a massive difference to the flow and scheme of things. These guys are not expensive like Chris Paul who was their former floor general. Thus, this approach must be a top priority because it will unlock the talent of their three stars who are likely to stay in Phoenix for the foreseeable future.

Put Nurkic in the market

In connection to finding a reliable orchestrator, the Suns may need to move Nurkic in the offseason. It was magnified in some crucial matchups in the regular season and even in the postseason that Nurkic gets played off the floor because of his lack of versatility and athleticism. He is still talented and will remain in the NBA for many more years but staying in Phoenix is not an ideal scenario for his career.

Investing on a cheaper big man like Nick Richards or Mo Wagner is the ideal vision and spending the money on someone else who complements the trio of Durant, Booker, and Beal. A point guard can be the first option to pursue in the market but since Nurkic is not a coveted asset, they can target individuals who have incredible defensive versatility, such as Tari Eason or Aaron Wiggins.

Re-sign Royce O’Neale

Since the Suns do not have any flexibility, they must re-sign Royce O’Neale who is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. He will cost a ton more than his base salary because of the tax charged for being a second apron organization but Ishbia will likely be willing to pay that amount.

Moreover, O’Neale can be a trade chip they can move before the trade deadline if they decide he is not the best fit for the Suns. This is not an epic move for the Phoenix fanbase, but they must have realistic expectations on the off-season moves of their team.