Over the next two months at The Athletic, we will break down where each NBA team stands heading into the offseason and, particularly, the NBA Draft. We’ll set the table by analyzing each team’s roster, then use that analysis to inform where the team goes from there on draft night and beyond.



Next up on the agenda is Phoenix. The Suns finished a disastrous 19-63, 14 games behind any team in the Western Conference. If there is any number that showcases how big of a hill the Suns need to climb this summer in order to even hit respectability, let alone the playoffs, it’s that. They finished 29th in defensive rating, which is somehow actually an improvement upon last season’s last-place ranking. I guess there really was no place to go but up?



But here’s the thing: I actually don’t think this core is that far off of being complete. The Suns are a really bad basketball team, but there are an awful lot of interesting pieces on the...