Around the Suns - Weekly Roundup - Week 25

Join us as we review the highs and lows of the last week, as well as previewing the week ahead.

Week 25: 7-13 April

Week Record: 1-3

Overall Record: 36-46. 11th in the Western Conference.

Games Played and Results:

L - 95 - 133 Vs Golden State Warriors

L - 112 - 125 Vs OKC Thunder

W - 109 - 124 Vs San Antonio Spurs

L - 98 - 109 Vs Sacramento Kings

Centre of The Sun

That's it, it's over, you're finally free from the torture that was the Phoenix Suns 2024-25 season.

The season ended with a whimper, as we lost to the Kings with Book, KD & Beal all in street clothes, being eliminated from play-in and Playoff contention earlier in the week.

The fireworks though started one day after that game, as the Suns fired Head Coach Mike Budenholzer.

"A miserable human being to be around. No one that I know of in that building liked working with the man. NO one."

If this firing was a shock to you, then you haven't been watching the Suns this year. Bud was not the only problem, but he was a key one. His rotations were awful, he stopped playing in-form players, gave inconsistent minutes to our young, energy guys like Dunn, Bol & Ighodaro, even when they were making a positive impact and the season was clearly over. He didn't even play Bol Bol, up 20 in our final home game, while the crowd chanted his name. A big F U from him on his way out in my opinion, considering it was 'Fan Appreciation Night'.

This was the correct and easiest move we'll see this off season. It was clear that Bud never had this locker room, with Book making comments about things not ever feeling right, even during our 8-1 start, Eddie Johnson mentioning issues in pre-season and Gambo, replying to a comment on X saying, "(Bud was) A miserable human being to be around. No one that I know of in that building liked working with the man. NO one."

I haven't even mentioned the public arguments with Durant during timeouts, the report of him asking Devin Booker to be "less vocal" and today we're seeing reports that he asked Beal to play more like Jrue Holiday (how my heart yearns for Jrue Holiday). Beal felt very disrespected by this, according to Gambo who corroborated the report by Chris Haynes.

So, what next for the Suns? Well, James Jones' contact ends this Summer, so we're likely getting a new GM. I think the team will try to convince Beal waive his no-trade clause, to beg some other team to take him on, but the word is they'll waive and stretch him. Then, of course, the big one, a KD trade.

In his report of Bud's firing, Shams Charania reported that the Suns will work with KD and his business partner Rich Kleiman on a trade. Lots of teams will likely be interested in Durant, but Suns have the disadvantage here, as all teams know how handcuffed they are in terms of cap space and assets.

Other Suns Stuff

Mercury

Not specifically Suns, but the Phoenix Mercury season tips-off soon. I'll be around to cover it as close as I can, so make sure you're following on all my social platforms 😁

Superstar Watch (Season stats):

Devin Booker - 25.6 Points, 4.1 Rebounds, 7.1 Assists, 0.9 Steals, 46.1 FG%, 33.2 3PT FG% & 2.9 Turnovers

Kevin Durant - 26.6 Points, 6.0 Rebounds, 4.2 Assists, 0.8 Steals, 1.2 Blocks, 52.7 FG%, 43.0 3PT FG% & 3.1 Turnovers

Bradley Beal - 17.0 Points, 3.3 Rebounds, 3.7 Assists, 1.1 Steals, 0.5 Blocks, 49.7 FG%, 38.6 3PT FG% & 1.9 Turnovers

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Scorching Suns:

Grayson Allen

His stats for the week:

12.8 Points, 3.3 Rebounds, 3.3 Assists, 1.0 Steal, 51.4 FG% & 47.6 3PT FG%

Struggling Suns:

Royce O'Neale

His stats for the week:

5.3 Points, 2.3 Rebounds, 1.5 Assists, 26.7 FG% & 20.0 3PT FG%

Stat Line(s) of the Week:

Ryan Dunn Vs San Antonio Spurs

Ryan saved his best offensive performance of his Rookie campaign for the Suns last home game and 'Fan Appreciation Night'. A fitting end for a fan favourite who gave it all on the court this year. I'm looking forward to seeing even more growth from him next year.

Game stat line:

26 Points, 11 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal, 10/21 FGs (47.6%) & 4/11 3PT FGs (36.4%)

Rookie Watch (Season stats):

Ryan Dunn - 74 games, 44 starts

6.9 Points, 3.6 Rebounds, 0.8 Assists, 0.6 Steals, 0.5 Blocks, 43.0 FG%, 31.1 3PT FG% & 0.5 Turnovers

Oso Igodharo - 61 games, 6 starts

If you look at a minimum of 100 field goals made, Oso has the highest ever field goal percentage for a Suns Rookie.

4.2 Points, 3.6 Rebounds, 1.2 Assists, 0.5 Steals, 0.5 Blocks, 60.4 FG%, 0.0 3PT FG% (1 attempt) & 0.6 Turnovers

Jalen Bridges - 8 games

Jalen played in 3 games in a row this week, his most in a row this season.

1.1 Points, 0.5 Rebounds, 0.0 Assists, 0.0 Steals, 0.0 Blocks, 28.6 FG%, 28.6 3PT FG% & 0.5 Turnovers

Upcoming Games:

No more games. See ya in the 2025-26 season 👋

Predictions League:

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