Once again, the Phoenix Suns are the team of the moment in the NBA, putting together their second major move in the past three months or so.
The Suns first pulled off a major trade to get Kevin Durant, giving up Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in the process.
Now, they’ve doubled down on that project by trading away Chris Paul to get their hands on Bradley Beal.
And while that sounds great on paper, Stephen A. Smith isn’t too sold on them just yet.
.@stephenasmith is "not sold" on the new Phoenix Suns team.
“Is there any defense whatsoever? And the depth, that definitely is a question mark as well.” pic.twitter.com/42e1AXz3R6
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 19, 2023
The controversial pundit stated that he knows this team could score on anybody and that they have some of the best scorers in the game, adding that Beal is one of the best players never to make it to the Conference Finals and that he can put up 25 points in his sleep.
Nonetheless, he doesn’t think they have enough defense on that roster to stop anybody, and even though Frank Vogel is obviously a defensive specialist, they still just have four guys under contract.
That’s the other issue with this team, as they’ll have to round up that roster with whoever is left in free agency because they already committed $160 million to four guys.
Smith adds that he doesn’t think the Suns got worse with the trade by any means, but he’s not convinced they have what it takes to go the distance, especially after watching how their lack of depth sent them home just a couple of weeks ago in that series vs. the eventual champions, the Denver Nuggets.
NEXT: NBA Insider Says 2 Suns Players Were Actively Recruiting Bradley Beal
