22. Phoenix Suns
If you’re looking for a surprise breakout candidate for the 2018-2019 NBA season, the Phoenix Suns are a pretty safe bet.
Now don’t get me wrong, they’re virtually eliminated from the playoffs already, as there’s no way they jump from the worst team in the NBA to a 50-win squad, but the Suns have added a number of quality pieces to the roster both young and old, that should certainly help to move the ticker towards contention.
From selecting DeAndre Ayton first overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, to adding a pair of former Houston Rockets forwards in Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson, the Suns are a point guard away from being a solid team and could close to double their win total from last year with ease.
Who knows, maybe T.J. McConnell could be that guard.
While it’s almost impossible to imagine the team flipping McConnell for a player like Mikal Bridges, the player many 76ers fans coveted during the draft and seriously questioned trading, it’s entirely possible that the Suns may be willing to part with a bench sharpshooter like Troy Daniels for McConnell’s service, a move that could help both parties.
I guess we’ll have to wait and find out who’s going to run show the show in the desert before we can truly determine how good they will be in 2018, but unless that player is a Goran Dragic-level talent, the playoffs appear to be nothing more than a pipe dream.