Dark Sun: An expected collapse?

After Durant left, the Suns basically withdrew from the championship ranks in the new season, but there is still a lot of controversy about this team.

From the perspective of optimistic faction, the core Booker is still in the team, and the team will not fall to the end; but from the perspective of pessimistic faction, the team's lineup construction problem is too serious, and a disaster will inevitably occur in the new season.

Looking back at the past ten seasons, the Suns' worst record occurred in the 2018-19 season. In that season, the Suns only won 19 wins, ranking at the bottom of the league. And in the new season, they are likely to be on the same trajectory again. Below

, let’s take a look at seven reasons. Why is the Sun in the 2025-26 season likely to fall into darkness again?

1. Salary structure imbalance: 135 million yuan was locked in the same position

In the past few years, in order to force the superstar lineup to strive for the championship, the Suns have burned huge salaries; and what's special is that they have spent most of their money on the shooting guard position. The existing lineup Booker, Jaylen Green, Grayson Allen, and Bill who were cut, the total salary of the team's four defenders is as high as 135 million.

But the problem is that the luxury configuration of a position cannot bring the overall competitiveness of the team. In the future, either force players to appear in non-mainstream positions, and the results will naturally be greatly reduced; or simply abandon them on the bench, just like Bill last season, that is, the combat power value is basically close to zero.

Opportunity costs are in front of the Suns, and there is almost no qualified reinforcement in the point guard and inside position, and the lineup imbalance is an unchangeable situation.

2. The second inefficiency leader, the black hole on the defensive end

If Devin Booker is the team's first appearance, then Jaylen Green, traded by Adu, is the biggest hidden danger in this lineup. From the Rockets' era, Green's characteristic is that he fights alone, but lacks organizational tandem ability. What's worse is that after entering the league for four seasons, his defense still has difficulty getting highlights, and most of the time it is the weakness of the ATM targeted by his opponents.

Even compared with the 19-win 2018-19 season, the Suns were at least on Booker's side with an efficient scoring point. The two players complement each other's positions on the court, and there was basically no serious problem of resource stacking. But for Green today, not only is the offensive efficiency in the face of silence, Booker also needs to bear more offensive and defensive pressure on him.

3. In terms of talent reserve, it is even worse than the 2018-19 season. Looking back at the 2018-19 season, although the Suns lineup is immature, it is still a little interesting in terms of potential.

Around Booker, the ace core, the team includes Oubre, Melton, Warren, Ayton, and Bridges; looking back, the team is either young people with serious defects like Green Marvel, or complete rookies like Malu Archie, or gradually marginalized veterans such as Allen and O'Neal. Not only is there no stability and combat power, it is hard to describe in terms of future potential resources.

4. Players need to accept unsuitable positions

players are misaligned, which is an old problem for the Suns.

After Paul left, Booker was forcibly placed in point guard. Although he had a brief success, his organizational efficiency was still not qualified. There is another overlooked point, and Ryan Dunn is likely to need to misplace the power forward in the new season.

As a wing defender, Dunn's mobility and outside suppression are his value. Once you reach the fourth position, you will not only easily suffer losses when fighting against the inside monsters, but also weaken his original defensive value.

And when such misalignment becomes the norm for the team, it is naturally no surprise that the lineup's chemistry collapses.

5. The worst inside rotation in the league

Judging from the current Suns lineup, the team's main inside rotations were Marvel and Richards. The two happened to be the Charlotte Hornets' inside starters and substitutes at the time, and they were the worst inside combination in the East. Now that the two of them are working together in the sun, the subsequent results can naturally be imagined.

In addition to Marvel and Richards, rookie Maluach is quite immature, rookie Sci basically doesn't expect much combat power to contribute, and second-round pick Igudaro's body shape is more like a power forward. This set of inside rotation can almost be regarded as the lowest configuration of the league, and it is difficult to ensure the lower limit on both offense and defense.

6. Booker's isolation is more serious than 2018-19

Referring to Booker's highlights, from Rubio to Paul, his highlights are basically closely related to the point guard level.

And for the new season, the Suns have once again returned to the chaotic era of point guard. But unlike the 2018-19 season, the Suns were at least trying to match Booker with a real point guard partner, and Booker in the new season not only needs to be responsible for scoring, but also has to undertake organizational tasks. Isolation such as

will naturally consume Booker more than before, and offensive and defensive efficiency will inevitably face the risk of decline.

7. Ryan Dunn: With high hopes, embarrassing the great responsibility

As one of the few highlights last season, Dunn did play a lot of value, and during the period, many voices expressed their hope that Dunn can grow into a stable 3D wing; but based on personal data, this is almost impossible.

The free throw percentage of 47% in college has basically been sentenced to the point where it is difficult for him to develop a stable three-point shooting, and 3D without three-point ability can basically be a substitute with limited functions. Dunn, who is likely to be forced to play power forward in the new season, will only become more and more difficult in the subsequent growth path.. Under these restrictions, what's worse is that the Suns will not have their own first round picks in the next five years, and there is almost no room for adjustments in the future. This also makes Booker's contract likely to repeat the Bill-like baggage tragedy in the later stage. To avoid a complete collapse, the Suns must at least set a certain winning basis to have a buffer, but this requires a series of miracles. The fact now is that there are really many problems that the sun can predict.

Durant's departure should have been an opportunity for reconstruction, but the management's choice ultimately left the team in a quagmire.

And the key is, can Devin Booker survive until a miracle happen?