From the All-Star break onward, there were few teams facing a more depressing situation than the Phoenix Suns. A team that had surprised the league with 48 wins, a Third Team All-NBA point guard and the Coach of the Year runner-up just a year prior was suddenly floundering, both for the short-term and the long-term.

Goran Dragic was unhappy with the front office and was traded away, Eric Bledsoe couldn’t fill the void with Brandon Knight injured and a team that some predicted to be playoff-bound finished with 39 wins on the season. Amid all the depression was Gerald Green‘s steady decline in minutes until he was no longer in the rotation.

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During that magical 2013-14 season, Dragic was undoubtedly the best player on the roster. But Gerald Green may have been the physical embodiment of what that team was all about as a former misfit who had suddenly become so much more than a role player. He created his own brand of 3-and-D player, where the “D” stood for “DUNK.”

But with so many new additions to the roster and Green having finished his only two seasons with the Suns, it’s time to look to the future. Phoenix’s backcourt is plenty crowded once again, but one question remains: is anyone — like Sonny Weems, for example — capable of replacing the “3-and-D” role that Gerald Green once served to capture the hearts of Suns fans?