Heading into the offseason after an incredibly disappointing end to the 2023-24 NBA season, change seemed like an inevitability for the Phoenix Suns.
Sure, the team wasn’t going to destroy their Big 3, at least not yet, as they had simply invested too many assets in Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to cancel their pairing with Devin Booker after less than a year, but they were going to try to improve their roster where they could, even with a limited asset pool to do so.
First came the additions of Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, a pair of defensive-minded forwards/forwards who looked solid in Summer League and could end up logging snaps for the team this upcoming season in limited action. Then the Suns, who are way over the salary cap, decided to largely take care of their own in free agency, adding just two veteran players to their rotation in Mason Plumlee and Monte Morris on value contracts while re-signing Royce O’Neale and Josh Okogie on highly tradable contracts.
And yet, if there’s one element of the team the Suns have lost but still haven’t been able to replace, it’s Eric Gordon, the 3-and-D guard who can play the 1-3 and has the ability to play on and off the ball depending on what the team wants and who he shares the court with, who opted out of his contract to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It’s true that Gordon had one of the worst seasons of his career last year, averaging just 11 points per game on 9.1 shots per game, but even in a lesser role, Gordon was a serviceable player for the Suns, shooting 37.8 percent from beyond the arc and padding his stat line with 1.8 rebounds and two assists per game while averaging 27.8 minutes per game. Even as the rotation was thinned out in the playoffs, Gordon still played a big role for the Suns, averaging 29.5 minutes per game, though his points per game dropped to 8.0.
Without Gordon, the Suns have some options to maintain their optimal spacing around Durant, Booker and Beal if they want to load up on outside options, with Grayson Allen coming off his most efficient season as an outside shooter while Royce O’Neale was similarly capable of putting up quality looks on a half-dozen attempts per game, but without Gordon, the Paces find themselves in need of help in the shooting department.
Who knows, maybe the Suns will focus on putting defenders around their Big 3 and hope their All-Stars can get enough baskets on their own to achieve a more balanced mix of offense and defense, but for now, it’s worth wondering if Mat Ishbia’s front office shouldn’t be on the phone looking for someone to improve the 3-point shot as a rotation player, especially as the truly big openings left on the market like Gary Trent start to dry up.
Eric Gordon reveals why he left the Suns for the Sixers
Would it have been nice to see Gordon return to Phoenix for the 2024-25 NBA season? Sure, his shooting, defense, shot creation and unselfishness as a veteran would have been incredibly helpful to a team with serious playoff aspirations right now, but when you consider everything Philadelphia presented to the veteran point guard, it’s easy to see why he signed where he did, as he told reporters shortly after signing.
“Obviously, when you get the opportunity to play for a good, world-renowned organization with a good coaching staff and a potentially good team, I mean, it was almost a no-brainer,” Gordon explained to reporters via Sixerswire. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Daryl Morey from Houston. I know he’s religious about winning. So I thought when you look at the roster, we’ve got a pretty good roster, so it’s pretty interesting to be here.”
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Although working alongside Morey once again makes a lot of sense for Gordon, as The Sixers president of basketball operations has always had a special place in his heart for former Rockets players, but he alone wasn’t the only draw for Gordon, as playing for Nick Nurse was also among his priorities.
“Nick won, he won a championship,” Gordon said. “He’s going to mix defenses. He’s a guy that does whatever it takes to win and of course you want a coach that brings players back and also with his garbage defenses, that means you’re doing everything you can. At least you’re trying and showing and he’s good at a lot of things. So, I think with the type of team we have, we just have to be able to mesh and gel.”
At 35, Gordon has little time left in the NBA before time inevitably catches up with him and he has to call it a career. If he believes playing for Philadelphia gives him the best chance of reaching that level, so be it, even if the Suns would have been wise to add another veteran point guard/forward to help bolster their rotation.
(tags to translate)Eric Gordon
