Which Suns Narratives Are True or False?

The Phoenix Suns have seen their 2023-24 campaign come and go - months of narratives/speculation/rumors are sure to follow.

They certainly already have.

PHNX's top Suns beat writer Gerald Bourguet has already gone to great lengths to dispel narratives that have plagued the Suns to some extent for the last 12 months.

Bourguet went on to dispel five talking points in which he deemed "myths" surrounding the Suns, with a little context surrounding the explanations provided.

Our Take: The Suns may not be in control of many picks from now until 2030, but the situation isn't as dire as many would lead you to believe - the pick swaps won't be a huge detriment to the Suns' future unless things truly bottom out inside of the next two years.

The ultimate argument is that the attractive market that surrounds a team governor that's willing to open up his pocketbook and a superstar that many players might desire to play with in Devin Booker will keep the Suns from truly regretting the pick-swap moves.

Our take: The Suns very well could end up flaming out in the next handful of years, but the thought process behind breaking up the "big three" after one year is extremely flawed.

Bourguet points to the very team that defeated the Suns in the playoffs this year - the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves were in the same place the Suns are currently around a year ago - reactionary media members and fans that believed the core should be broken apart after one underwhelming season.

Minnesota decided to stay the course - and look at them now.

They are locked in a seres that could be a dogfight against the Denver Nuggets - the series winner could very well be the favorite to make the finals.

Putting it simply, the Suns invested too much into this project to give up this soon.

Our take: This is the one that could draw a more divided response compared to the others.

Bourguet did happen to watch every single turnover the Suns committed this season before concluding it was simply due to sloppy play from the squad's top playmakers, and feels as if a point guard would not necessarily remedy these issues.

He also goes into detail as to how the traditional point guard role has diminished over time - now teams predicate much more on putting the ball in the best player's hands.

Our take: More or less, the process behind these moves are very justifiable in the eyes of Bourguet.

Durant is a player that a team needs to go out and get if he has interest in joining your franchise, regardless of who has to depart the franchise in a deal.

Beal's contract could turn out dicey in the coming years, but in the moment last summer he was the moat obvious lateral move the Suns could have made given the circumstances and assets involved.

Our take: This point is short and simple, but extremely effective.

Ishbia will eventually be judged by whether a title is brought to Phoenix or not, but the culture he has brought is a complete 180 from his predecessor.

Sarver famously was cheap when it came to opening up big money to reel in star players, was a meddler in all the wrong ways, and fostered a toxic culture in all the wrong ways as well.

Even if Ishbia never brings a title to Phoenix, it wouldn't be without lack of trying - he has already made that much clear.

The culture is better, free agents are much more willing to sign, and employees are much happier (at least from what we know).

All of these points are valid. The arguments are sound.

The doom-and-gloom nature of those saying the Suns have no future is absurd, draft picks or not.

The notion that the Suns should break up this core after one try is absolutely in vain and in turn, disingenuous.

Those who currently critique the trades for Durant and Beal are more-so taking an "I told you so" angle than actually being against both this whole time (at least from my vantage point).

Lastly, the Ishbia criticism is possibly the most ludicrous thing that's been tossed around - he was hailed as the savior of Phoenix just sheer months ago - it feels as if many are turning on the new steward of the franchise due to one underwhelming run - and have forgotten how awful everything was under Sarver's watch.

The point guard debate is an interesting one - ultimately, I personally feel as if bringing Chris Paul back is an intriguing endeavor.

Paul could be a low-usage, high-impact player off the bench in a new offensive system. He could be the proverbial "table setter" in high leverage moments.

Life would inherently be easier for the trio of stars and shooters flanking the wings if there were a player such as Paul in the mix.