Empire of the Suns ranks the Suns’ young core among NBA’s 15 best

The Phoenix Suns have one of the best young cores in all of basketball.

This is a fact, but where does it rank on an actual list?

Our two rules were only taking players under 25 years old into consideration and not counting future draft picks, so the Celtics don’t get bonus points for having the Kings’ protected first-round pick next year. The rest, as we explain in our back-and-forth below, was our own opinion on how we chose to value certain qualities of the teams.

First, here are our lists in order.

Kellan Olson

1. Sixers
2. Bucks
3. Celtics
4. Nuggets
5. Suns
6.Jazz
7. Mavericks
8. Timberwolves
9. Knicks
10. Lakers
Outside top-10: Bulls, Magic, Hawks, Kings, Spurs

Kevin Zimmerman:

1. Sixers
2. Nuggets
3. Celtics
4. Timberwolves
5. Bucks
6. Suns
7. Knicks
8. Lakers
9. Mavericks
10. Magic
Outside top-10: Bulls, Jazz, Spurs, Hawks, Kings

And here are the rankings between the two of us, with more context on the teams and players.

Now, let’s discuss the why.

KO: Kevin! We have ranked the best young cores around the NBA. Through this exercise, what have you learned about where the Suns’ collective of young talent matches up across the league?

KZ: I’ve kind of realized that even pessimistic me found it promising. There were two ways I ranked the cores: 1) star power and 2) depth. A few teams like the Bucks and Knicks get points because of star power. Other teams like the Celtics and Lakers have more depth with potential stars. Phoenix actually is one of few teams that just might have both in a few years, and it already has the star.

As of now, I think only the Sixers and, I guess, the Nuggets have both a player or two that I can confidently say is a star plus at least two very good pieces next to them. That said, the Suns came in sixth for me because I ranked the teams based on what I expect out of their cores this year.

KO: Ah, see, this is fascinating because we agreed up to a certain point. I also valued star power and depth, but my key differentiation is I valued them based on what I believe they are “right now” and I also put a fair amount of stock into what they have proven in the NBA.

For example, I have the Bucks second because Giannis Antetokounmpo has proven he’s a top 10 player in the NBA and will be for a long time, even though the Bucks’ young core has no depth at all. To me, that holds more weight over the Nuggets having Gary Harris and Jamal Murray next to Nikola Jokic. On the inverse, I have the Suns above the Timberwolves because both Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns have proven they are young stars, but the Suns’ prospect pool has much more depth.

Let’s take it back to the Suns for a minute. You placed them sixth. I had them fifth. What type of season would you need to see in order to put them in the top-3?

KZ: Honestly, they just need to meet expectations. Does Deandre Ayton change the gravity, open up shooters and average 10 points a game doing the basic center stuff? Does Josh Jackson accept a role as the Swiss Army Knife that can grab 10 boards one night, lock down a star the next and dive on the floor late in a close game the next? Basically, just two or three of their many young players need to find their niche and identity to give me enough confidence to say they’ll be long-term NBA players. Next to Booker, that will definitely move them up these rankings.

What criteria do you need to see to push the Suns’ core close to say, the Bucks’ core that’s all about the talent of one player? And how does Booker’s development also figure in to this equation now and in the future?

KO: I think Ayton, in particular, needs to show in his rookie year that he’s a future All-Star center. Yes, high standards, but guys of that talent level show it right away. We have long been pitching that Ayton is more raw than people want to believe, but we still need to see flashes of dominance from him. If we end next year confident the Suns have a future All-Star center, I feel comfortable in having them threaten for the top three.

Speaking of the top three teams, goodness gracious is it good — that’s why I can’t say for sure I’ll have the Suns there. Combining ours together — Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Antetokounmpo, Jokic and Jayson Tatum all look like they could be MVP candidates if they continue to progress at this rate. That’s not to mention Donovan Mitchell, who I rank a standalone sixth to represent the Jazz because of what he accomplished as a rookie in the playoffs. That, and the amount of teams that have at least two to three solid young pieces stood out to me. What were your major overall takeaways?

KZ: That we judge a lot of young talent circumstantially, and that’s why this exercise is so tough to be confident in putting together. After talents like Embiid, Simmons and Antetokounmpo, which players are firmly stars? Porzingis is coming off a major knee injury. Jokic is a defensive liability. Booker is right there with them but, fair or not, takes flak for playing on bad teams. Meanwhile, we really like the Celtics’ deep core even though (*ducks*) I’m not sure Tatum’s ceiling is all that high; we only learned he’s got a really high floor. Ditto with Donovan Mitchell, who looked really good as a rookie, but we value him so highly because he played well within a system and surrounded by vets.

The real challenge in all this: Picking who has quickly developed and won’t get better, and which young players have yet to figure it out.