The Suns decided Goran Dragic wasn’t part of their future, and later decided that LaMarcus Aldridge was…unfortunately that didn’t work out exactly as planned. Let’s see how the 2015/16 Kings stack up against them…

Guards

The Suns are one of those teams that have so many similar players at the point and shooting guard positions, it’s easier to just look at them as a group, rather than try to label them. So let’s look at it like this:

Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe, and Archie Goodwin

vs.

Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore, and Darren Collison

I think you have to give an edge to Phoenix in that particular comparison. Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe can both score in this league, Knight is a bit of a better shooter, but Bledsoe contributes more in terms of rebounds and assists. Archie Goodwin has his issues (i.e. he’s not a good passer, three point shooter, or free thrower), but he has showed some flashes of scoring potential.

We generally know what Rondo is capable of, the question is whether or not we’ll see it this year, and since we’re really not sure what he’ll do, you’d have to prefer Brandon Knight. Collison was hurt a lot of last year, but I think he will be on a mission and will contribute considerably more than Goodwin. (For example, one big discrepancy from last year: Collison’s AST/TO ratio was 2.25, Goodwin’s was 0.92.)

McLemore isn’t nearly as good as Bledsoe which is my main reasoning for giving Phoenix the advantage, but if Collison stays healthy and Rondo ends up playing anywhere near his potential, this will be closer to a draw.

The one player I didn’t factor in yet is Marco Belinelli. He’s obviously very effective at what he does, and is coming from a championship background. Should have nothing but a positive effect on the Kings this year.

Last note, Devin Booker balled out in Summer League, as did Seth Curry. I think between the two, Booker gets more minutes and will have some good opportunities to contribute.

Small Forwards

Now, I’m not the biggest P.J. Tucker fan, but I can recognize his value in shooting the three and grabbing rebounds. That said, he really doesn’t hold a candle to Rudy Gay. The Suns have a lot of bright spots on their roster, but SF is just not one of them.

Supposedly, Sonny Weems has improved a lot while playing abroad, but I can’t imagine him playing markedly better than Omri Casspi in his transition from the Euroleague back to the NBA. I know Suns fans have high hopes for him, but he’s going to have to prove it. Guys who go to the D-League or play abroad, tend to have a fairly low ceiling when they venture back to the Bigs.

T.J. Warren’s stats from last year are slightly intriguing (52.8% on field goals and 6 points in only 15 minutes a game). I wouldn’t be surprised if he squeezes out a few minutes from Tucker if he can figure out how to rebound.

Power Forwards

Again, not the hardest one to call, but Cousins and Acy beat Markieff Morris, Teletovic, and Leuer. I do really like Morris, he’s an above-average scorer, but he’s just not nearly as good as Cousins. Though they shoot a similar percentage from the field, Cousins rebounds more often, and on defense, the player Cousins is defending shoots 3.4% worse than usual while Markieff’s opposition shoots only 0.1% worse than they normally would. I do think that Teletovic and Leuer offer more than Acy, but not enough to make up for the advantage Cousins creates.

Centers

The Suns supposedly brought Tyson Chandler in to help entice LaMarcus Aldridge to join their ranks, and though that didn’t come to fruition, Chandler isn’t the worst consolation prize. Chandler is like the Spurs; every year I think to myself, ‘Ok, this is the year he finally gets too old, the body starts to break down, and he loses a step’, but it hasn’t happened yet! He’s a freak, an anomaly, and just a really good NBA center. Without knowing exactly what Willie Cauley-Stein will be, you’ve got to give the edge at center to the Suns, especially considering that when 7'1" Chandler heads to the bench, 7'1" Alex Len checks in.

Len really took some leaps and bounds from his rookie year to sophomore year, thanks in part to his boost in minutes (from 8.6 to 22 per game). Expect him to continue that growth and still play plenty of minutes behind an aging, though effective Tyson Chandler.