One of major reasons why the Suns shocked the entire league last season by getting to the Western Conference Finals against the Lakers was the strength of their bench. Phoenix’s second unit played well for the most part last season, but looking to improving will be a must for the organization this summer.
With Vince Carter not coming back, that more than likely means that Jared Dudley will stay in the starting rotation, unless Robert Sarver goes out and spends money on a starting two guard. With Sarver’s history and the lack of quality talent on the free agent market this summer, that seems very unlikely.
That leaves Mickael Pietrus as the only guy off the bench who can play the two spot.Aaron Brooks, who should be brought back, is too small to play the position and Josh Childress is more suited to play the two forward spots because of his length.
Pietrus was up and down in his 38 games with the Suns. He did put up betteer point totals while in Phoenix than he did in his 19 games with Orlando despite getting less playing time, but he also sat out the final 12 games because of a quad injury. It seems likely that he will pick up his $5.3 player option this summer.
Despite Dudley expected to start and Pietrus expected to be back, the Suns should still be in the market for a shooting guard. Dudley played well in the starter’s role late this season, but it remains to be seen if he can do it over a 82-game schedule. Pietrus has been banged up for most of his career, so he can’t be counted on for the entire season.
The Suns aren’t expected to have a lot of money this offseason, so they are going to either get creative with a either trade, drafting a player or finding a cheap option through free agency. One option could be Michael Redd, who has played in only 61 games the past three seasons with a numerous amount of knee injuries. Because of his injuries, he could be had for the veteran’s minimum.
Redd would be a low-risk, high-reward signing for Phoenix. The veteran’s minimum for only one season wouldn’t break the bank for a guy that is only a few years removed from averaging 20+ points per game. It remains to be seen if both sides are interested in one another and whether Redd is still a quality player.
Another offseason priority for Phoenix will be looking for a backup point guard. The most likely option remains Brooks, who really struggled in his time with the Suns. However, it was well known that the former Oregon point guard was battling injuries for most of the year, so the Suns will keep that in mind when deciding if they want to bring him back.
If the Suns decided to go in a different direction and not bring Brooks back, there aren’t a ton of attractive alternatives on the free agent market. Earl Watson, Ronnie Price, Mike Bibby and Anthony Carter are cheap veteran options that they could look at, but none of them are better offensively than Brooks at this stage of their careers.
Sebastian Telfair and Earl Boykins are better options, but they too aren’t better offensive options than Brooks. The best name on the free agent list at the position is clearly J.J. Barea, who has had a brilliant postseason for Dallas, but it is highly unlikely that Mark Cuban would let him go. He would probably be out of the Suns price range anyways.
In short, it would be shocking to see Phoenix not bring back Brooks. He is the best and the most economically sensible deal for the Suns as of right now.
The last thing that the Suns need to do to improve their second unit is making a decision on whether or not to trade Robin Lopez. If they do trade Lopez elsewhere, the Suns would be in need of a backup big man behind starter Marcin Gortat.
Unlike the point guard and shooting guard spot, this year’s free agent class offers some good options at center. Look no further to the Celtics, who have Glen Davis, Nenad Krstic and Troy Murphy all as unrestricted free agents. There is no way that Boston can afford or even would be interested in bringing all three back, especially Murphy, who saw almost no time in the playoffs.
Like Redd, Murphy is another guy that the Suns could grab for relatively cheap. Murphy played in only 35 games this past season splitting the season with Indiana and Boston. When he did play, Murphy didn’t play well, posting career lows in points and rebounds. Many teams may stay away from Murphy all together.
There are plenty of other options out there for Phoenix besides Murphy. Kwame Brownplayed very well at times for the Bobcats last season, but most Suns fans probably want nothing to do with the former Laker. Dan Gadzuric and Francisco Elson are two guys that the Suns have shown interest in the past and both would come at little to no money.
Whatever the Suns do over the summer, improving the bench should be at the top of the organization’s list. A good bench is essential to a winning team, especially to a team like the Suns with their two best players are on the wrong side of 35.
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