Jay-Z should feel bad for the Suns; they’ve got 99 problems and Jae Crowder is one. It’s been a long, brutal, drama-filled summer for Phoenix. After winning a league-best 64 games and cementing themselves as title favorites, the last few months have included: The Suns coughing up a 2-0 series lead, getting steamrolled by 35 at home in Game 7 for the most embarrassing playoff loss in franchise history against an inferior Dallas Mavericks teamPhoenix falling short of championship aspirations with an infamous second-round exitReports of a COVID-19 outbreak during that seriesSoap-opera drama surrounding Deandre Ayton after his sideline blowup with Monty Williams in Game 7 and signing a max offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers that was immediately matched…

For about the millionth time this offseason: The Phoenix Suns’ most prudent course of action this summer is still coming to terms on a new extension with Deandre Ayton. A five-year max is probably out of the question after they failed to pony up last offseason, but if they so choose, the Suns are still in the driver’s seat to keep their restricted free agent. Even after a Game 7 meltdown that featured a sideline blowup between Ayton and coach Monty Williams, that matters. The growing sentiment that DA is gone pales in the light of three undeniable facts: Even on a four-deal, the Suns can still offer more money than anyone elseThe Suns can match any offer sheet from…

A championship would’ve made the upcoming offseason so much simpler for the Phoenix Suns. Coming off a 64-win campaign that had them looking like title favorites, bringing the franchise its first Larry O’Brien trophy would’ve made the check list easy for general manager James Jones: Re-sign Deandre Ayton, give Devin Booker his supermax, extend Cam Johnson and tweak the rest...

No, Eric Gordon will not be playing for the Phoenix Suns. And yes, it was still a good 2022 NBA Trade Deadline for James Jones and co. As we’d already covered here a few months back with our 10 potential Suns trades, this team was unlikely to make a splashy move at the deadline. Even for a potential target like...

Despite Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder missing chunks of the season, despite the ongoing struggles of Cam Payne and Landry Shamet, despite players and coaches being in and out of the lineup due to injuries and COVID-19 alike…the Phoenix Suns currently own the NBA’s best record. And yet, whether it’s due to a fundamental lack of respect for this team or a simple acknowledgement of its potential roster flaws, it still feels like the Suns should do something at the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline — not because they have to, but because this group is only one or two savvy moves away from bolstering down the playoff rotation and cementing their status as legitimate title favorites. It’s not…

Even for a team near the top of the standings like the Phoenix Suns, there are always opportunities to get better. So when The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Bob Kravitz reported on Tuesday that the Indiana Pacers are open to trade talks on Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, it was only natural to wonder how Phoenix might get...