The five-game slate for the Phoenix Suns’ summer league squad in Las Vegas is now complete following an 87-77 loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Suns finished their five-game stint with a mark of 2-3, which doesn’t look too awesome – especially with added context, but that wasn’t the ultimate goal of this stretch.
The Suns’ first taste of action couldn’t have gone much worse in a drubbing against the Golden State Warriors.
They followed it up with a much stronger performance in a loss to 2023 lottery pick Jarace Walker and the Indiana Pacers before stealing a pair of wins against squads that went into the consolation games at 0-4.
The loss to the Kings could be looked at in a bad light, but the progression of players of interest and a clear offensive play style were the most encouraging signs of the last week.
The three top rookies on the Suns showed varying degrees of promise. While Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro, and Jalen Bridges may not necessarily factor into the regular rotation this instant, they all exhibited NBA skillsets.
Bridges looked like one of the better shooters in Vegas and has even been labeled as one of the biggest two-way steals from this class.
Dunn was at advertised as an all-around defender and he showed promise as a slasher on the offensive side of the ball. While his shot didn’t fall consistently, the willingness to shoot is an encouraging sign – he typically displays ample confidence.
Ighodaro didn’t have many flashy statistical outputs, but showed the ability to be a seamless fit in an offensive system built around ball movement, as evidenced by his 9 assists in the closing game yesterday. He also flashed the ability as a defensive anchor and true roll man – the Marquette big man could truly be an eventual successor to Jusuf Nurkic in the starting lineup.
David Roddy also quelled many concerns and criticisms – while he isn’t a mortal lock to make the 15-man roster, it feels like he is a better bet than Nassir Little at this point.
Roddy exhibited enough growth as a shooter, slasher, and versatile defender to still be considered a worthy project at the end of it all.
Boo Buie, Isaiah Wong, and Michael Devoe all deserve recognition for brilliant play at various points during the last week as well – all three deserve spots on the incoming Valley Suns G-League affiliate that is set to begin play in Tempe this fall.
Lastly, coach Vince Legarza left no doubt what the 2024-25 Phoenix Suns will look like – a complete reverse of the offense that lacked much identity at all in the preceding season.
The both former and current assistant to head coach Mike Budenholzer had a clear blueprint for success for the Suns – follow the modern-day trend of either pressuring the rim with volume or shooting a healthy diet of three-pointers.
This philosophy worked quite frequently to the surprise of no one – and it should be even better in-season with three of the best scorers in the entire NBA on the same squad.
