Bill Simmons managed to drag an old Suns wound back into the daylight in late July, and it was the kind of offseason conversation that makes Phoenix fans wince all over again.
On a recent redraft of the 2020 class, Simmons and some of his Ringer pals revisited the decision that still hangs over the Suns: taking Jalen Smith 10th overall instead of Tyrese Haliburton. The point, as Simmons framed it, is that Phoenix may have passed on the player who could have changed everything.
His case was simple. The Suns still made the NBA Finals, but Simmons was convinced Haliburton could have swung one of those six games off the bench and altered the series. That’s the part Suns fans can’t really shake.
There’s always the defense that Haliburton was still with the Sacramento Kings that season and hadn’t yet become the offensive force he is now. But the counterargument is Chris Paul.
The “Point God” spent his whole career making teammates look better, and Phoenix saw it firsthand. He turned Bismack Biyombo into something close to prime Dwight Howard on some nights, and just about everyone around him played up a level.
That’s why the idea of Haliburton coming in for 15 minutes a night alongside Paul and Devin Booker feels even more painful in hindsight.
Simmons also took the what-if a step further. A title in 2021 would have essentially locked Booker into Phoenix for life after delivering the franchise to the promised land, and Mat Ishbia might never have bought the team if the valuation had jumped because of that championship.
And even if the Suns still wound up pursuing Kevin Durant, the whole thing might have unfolded with a lot less urgency. Booker would already have a ring, Durant would still have been chasing his first title away from the Golden State Warriors, and the pressure to make it all work would have been nowhere near as intense.
It’s a wild alternate timeline built around one draft mistake, and it’s the kind of thing that keeps resurfacing because there’s no way to undo it.
There is, at least, a reason for some optimism now. The Suns did get the right guys in Khaman Maluach and Koa Peat.
A championship with them playing major roles still feels far off, but that’s the path forward. The past isn’t changing, and Simmons bringing it back up doesn’t make it hurt any less.
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Miles Bridges Just Validated What Suns Fans Knew About This Team
After trading Kevin Durant in the 2025 offseason, the Suns still found a way to make the playoffs, with Devin Booker carrying the offense and Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green giving Phoenix real support around him. The run ended quickly with a first-round sweep by the defending champions, but the season still offered a clearer picture of a team that did not fall apart the way plenty of outsiders expected.
Miles Bridges has now added an outside voice to that internal belief, and his view of Phoenix is part of what makes the next chapter interesting. He has been impressed enough by what he has seen to sound genuinely optimistic about joining the group for 2026-27, a sign that the Suns' identity may be stronger than the post-Durant skepticism suggested. [Read more 🡒]
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Some of those decisions already look encouraging, including the draft call on Rasheer Fleming and the move to bring in Khaman Maluach as part of the Durant deal. The Suns also have more questions still hanging over the roster mix, especially with the Miles Bridges trade still waiting for a clear verdict, but Gregory has already changed the tone around Phoenix by making the front office feel more proactive than reactive. [Read more 🡒]
Brian Gregory Just Put Massive Pressure On The Suns With Bridges
Miles Bridges met the media as a new Suns player, and the arrival came with the kind of language that immediately raises the stakes. General manager Brian Gregory framed Bridges as a fit for what Phoenix wants to be, a move that signals the front office is not treating this as a simple talent grab but as a piece meant to slide into a much bigger plan.
The problem with declaring a perfect fit in July is that the roster still has to prove it on the floor. Bridges brings a different look to a group that already has players competing for the same minutes, and the way he meshes with the current frontcourt and the rest of the rotation will shape whether this feels like a clean upgrade or the start of a more complicated adjustment for Phoenix. [Read more 🡒]