Phoenix Suns GM McDonough: ‘Our roster balance is a little off’

It’s difficult to look at the Phoenix Suns’ roster and not see a glut of guards.

Or, rather, a glut of guards who like to and are capable of putting the ball in the basket.

From a purely statistical standpoint, it appears the addition of Isaiah Thomas has created a bit of an issue for the team.

While Thomas is having a solid season, averaging 15.2 points in 25.7 minutes per game off the bench, the trio of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Gerald Green have all seen their scoring averages drop from last season.

The Suns also have four fewer wins now than they did at the same point in last season’s schedule.

“I think our roster balance is a little off, and that’s my fault,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Wednesday. “We are a little too backcourt heavy, especially in terms of guys who, you know, I think you’d define primarily as scorers in the backcourt.

“So I think at some point we’ll need to balance that out, try to get a little more size, a little more frontcourt scoring and rebounding.”

It’s not as if the Suns are a terrible team because of their crowded backcourt; conversely, having such strong guard play has helped them to a 29-25 record along with the eighth-best record in the difficult Western Conference.

But they have lost five of their last six games and seven of their last 10, and at a time when you’d like to see the team improving, they appear to be going in the opposite direction.

With the NBA’s Feb. 19 trade deadline approaching, it’s possible a move will be made, but McDonough said it’s not that simple.

“At the same time it’s a challenge because we do have talented players, they’ve all had success individually and team success in the NBA,” he said, “so those are some of the decisions we’ll kind of mull over the next week or so and we’ll see where we are on the 19th next week.”

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