This entry compiles information regarding the Phoenix Suns in the 2023-2024 NBA season.
2023-2024 is the franchise’s 56th season in the NBA, as well as its 31st at Footprint Center. It is also the first full season under the ownership group led by Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia after the brothers purchased the team the previous season on February 8, 2023. It also became the first season since the 1971-72 season without Al McCoy broadcast the matches. at all, with him announcing his retirement after the end of the 2023 NBA playoffs.[1] Not only that, but it was also the first season that the Suns moved their broadcast services from Bally Sports Arizona (formerly called FSN Arizona and Fox Sports Arizona) in 2003 to multiple Arizona-based television networks simultaneously broadcasting games across Gray Television-owned local networks KTVK, Arizona’s Family Sports via multiple local networks, and KOLD-TV (Tucson region only) along with an over-the-top subscription service called “Suns Live” created by Kiswe.[2] This also became the first season since the 2018–2019 season without coach Monty Williams coaching the team after a second consecutive disappointing second round exit for them, as he was fired on May 13, 2023, despite having the first winning record of the team as a head coach in a season since Jeff Hornacek, the first all-time winning record and the first coach to reach the playoffs since Alvin Gentry, the first NBA Coach of the Year Award winner since Mike D’ Antoni, and the first head coach since Paul Westphal (and third overall along with John MacLeod) to coach in the NBA Finals, despite still having one more season left on his original contract.[3]
On June 6, the Suns decided to hire Frank Vogel (a previous championship-winning coach in the 2020 NBA Bubble Finals[4]) against finalists Doc Rivers (who had already won the NBA Finals in 2008) and associate coach Kevin Young (who kept his job with a new pay raise in mind),[5] with the officialization of its new technical staff on June 21st.[6] On June 24, the Suns traded with the Washington Wizards to acquire 3-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (along with Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd) in exchange for 12-time All-Star shooting guard Chris Paul, shooting guard Landry Shamet, six second-rounders, four trades of first-round picks and cash considerations,[7][8] although the deal was later considered part of a three-way deal that also included the Indiana Pacers. This became the team’s second trade for a star-quality player in four months after previously trading for 13-time NBA All-Star and 2-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant during the previous season in February. During the month of July, the Suns made three more trades in an effort to raise more capital. On September 27, before the start of training camp, the Suns traded center Deandre Ayton and rookie Toumani Camara to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way deal that sent 7-time All-Star Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard to Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Portland center Jusuf Nurkić, guards Nassir Little and Keon Johnson and Milwaukee shooting guard Grayson Allen.[10]
Early in the season, the Suns faced a rocky start, as the team encountered a rough start marked by a 4–6 record, largely attributed to their poor performance in the fourth quarter of most games. Nonetheless, the team bounced back admirably, embarking on a seven-game winning streak following a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on November 12. Interestingly, this streak occurred during a time when their formidable trio, known as The Big 3 were absent and did not simultaneously participate in any matches together. Despite starting their joint participation in games on December 13, nearly a third of the way into the season, the triumvirate of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal finally showcased their collaborative skills when all three Star players finally graced a match together, though their partnership was short-lived, having met an abrupt end during their second outing when a cohesive unit ended prematurely. After again experiencing a damaging losing streak on Christmas Day, followed by an average performance on December 27, the triumvirate of Booker, Durant and Beal ultimately made a triumphant comeback, securing their first collective win in 31 games in the regular season. . As a result, as the year came to a close, the culmination had the team finishing 2023 with a respectable record of 17-15.
Once they entered 2024, the Suns would see some significant improvements with themselves, mainly with their Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal seeing more playing time together. Heading into the 2024 trade deadline, the Suns improved to a 30-21 record tied for fifth in the Western Conference, with notable moments during that span including another 7-game winning streak in January , a stretch of six consecutive games (and seven of 10 games) in which Devin Booker or Kevin Durant (or Bradley Beal upon his return to Washington in February) would score at least 40 points in a game (including Booker’s second 60-game mark + in his career), and multiple stretches in which the Suns came back from more than a 20-point deficit to win despite still dealing with fourth-quarter issues at the time. At the February 8, 2024 trade deadline, the Suns executed a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies where Phoenix acquired Nets forward Royce O’Neale and Grizzlies forward David Roddy along with a trade of 2026 first-round picks from Memphis in exchange for mostly free agent acquisitions from the start of the season such as Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin, Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe and three of the Suns’ four remaining second-round picks they had at that time.
The Suns entered this draft with just a second-round pick after trading away their first-round pick to acquire Kevin Durant during the previous season.[11] With the 52nd pick, the Suns selected Belgian forward Toumani Camara, who originally played for the University of Georgia before transferring to the University of Dayton following his sophomore season. During his time at Dayton, Camara made the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team his junior year before making both the All-Atlantic 10 First Team and the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team his senior year. Camara signed a four-year, partially guaranteed contract at the rookie level on July 3, with years beyond his first season guaranteed thereafter via his production with the team. On September 27, Camara was traded along with Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-way deal that also saw Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.
2024-02-23 16:04:30
#Phoenix #Suns #Wikipedia #free #encyclopedia
