2009-10 NBA Season Preview: Phoenix Suns

Depth Chart:

C: Robin Lopez/Channing Frye

PF: Amare Stoudemire/Louis Amudson/Taylor Griffin

SF: Grant Hill/Earl Clark/Alando Tucker/Jared Dudley

SG: Jason Richardson/Leandro Barbosa

PG: Steve Nash/Goran Dragic

Head Coach: Mike Dunleavy (7^th year)

2009-2010 Team Salary: $74.3 million

Projected 2010-2011 Team Salary: approximately $47.8 million

Off-Season Grade: Passed

Simply stated, the Shaq experiment was a horrible experience in Phoenix. The Suns were able to clean up their situation by trading him to the Cavs for Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a future second-round pick. Wallace and Pavlovic were released to save some money on the luxury tax Phoenix would have to pay.

The other major move the Suns made was re-signing Steve Nash to a 2-year contract extension. This was huge as Nash would have become an unrestricted free agent next summer and likely would have been targeted by several teams looking for a veteran point guard. I am surprised Nash did not play out this final year and explore his options next offseason, but the Suns definitely got a great value by reaching an extension with Nash.

Other than those two moves, Phoenix was fairly quiet this offseason. They re-signed Grant Hill, signed Channing Frye, and drafted Earl Clark with their first-round pick. I think Clark could thrive in the Suns’ up-tempo offense due to his versatility and athleticism.

2009-2010 Outlook:

Trading Shaq and releasing Ben Wallace left the Suns very thin up front. Add to that a foot injury that will sideline new starting center Robin Lopez until possibly December, and Phoenix will be relying on Amare Stoudemire, Channing Frye, and Louis Amudson to handle the low-post duties until Lopez gets healthy.

Another big question will center around Stoudemire’s health. Amare has a serious eye surgery this offseason that made Phoenix hesitant to try to re-sign him to a long-term contract. When Stoudemire is healthy, he’s one of the tougher matchups in the NBA. If his eye is recovered and he can stay healthy all season long, the Suns can be a playoff contender. If he isn’t 100 percent, the Suns likely fall short of the postseason for the second straight year.

Looking Ahead to the Summer of 2010:

Two words: Amare Stoudemire. The Suns power forward has a player option on the final year of his contract that would net him around $17.7 million next season. If he turns down the option, which is very possible since he would be one of the most sought-after free agents next summer, the Suns will about $5-6 million dollars under the cap. I would expect Phoenix to do everything in its power to re-sign Amare, as long as he shows he’s healthy. If Stoudemire leaves, it might be time to re-build in the Desert.

2009-10 NBA Power Ranking: 15th