Rich Paul details Suns' 'catastrophe' following their elimination

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) and forward Kevin Durant (35). Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Rich Paul details Suns' 'catastrophe' following their playoff elimination

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 4/29/24

The Phoenix Suns have been eliminated from the 2024 NBA playoffs. They were swept at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

According to Rich Paul, who is the CEO of Klutch Sports Group, the Suns' issues stem from their decision to create a Big Three.

"I'm not surprised by that," Paul said. "... When you look at the subs, they just don't have the depth or talent. I'm a firm believer that a Big Three is a catastrophe. You need a Big Two and depth. I've never been a firm believer in a Big Three ... We, as an industry, have pushed that narrative, but it's not really that. When you look at the Warriors when they got KD. They had a Big Two with Steph and KD and then they had a tremendous amount of depth with Draymond and Klay, and so forth."

"When you look at the Suns, they just don't have the depth or the balance."

Hear @RichPaul4 give his thoughts on the Phoenix Suns being swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves@TheFrankIsola | @Scalabrine pic.twitter.com/wAVDEwVH1m
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) April 29, 2024

Paul's comments make sense when contextualizing them to fit the Suns' plight this season. Owner Mat Ishbia and the Suns front office gave up their depth to acquire Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant. Frank Vogel was left with an imbalanced roster and no true point guard to help initiate the offense.

Suddenly, the Suns are hamstrung. They have no tradable assets outside of their star players, and they don't own any of their draft picks for the immediate future. Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract. And the roster is going to be another year older next season. Durant will be 36.

The Suns will need to get creative in the summer. They are over the second tax apron. As such, they're limited in the options available to them when looking to strengthen their roster.

Nevertheless, the front office has invested too much in the current roster's construction to accept anything less than contending for a championship.

Right now, Phoenix's situation looks like a catastrophe. Maybe Paul is right. Maybe embracing two stars and elite-level depth is the way to go. When you look around the NBA outside of the Boston Celtics, that would certainly seem to be the case.

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