Training camp is approaching, which means we’ve reached the end of our preseason administrative duties and completed the process of ranking every member of the Phoenix Suns based on who we believe the best players are right now.
To everyone who took the time to vote throughout the process, thank you. These rankings give us a baseline for how we view this roster before the games begin. And once the season is over, we’ll come back, do it all again, and see how much those perceptions have changed based on what actually happened on the court.
So, without further ado, here is your final preseason SunsRank:
One of the most interesting aspects of the final rankings is where everyone ultimately landed on the Cornerstones. You want to talk about narrow margins? In the community rankings, the difference between Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks came down to one hundredth of a point, with Green barely edging him out. That’s about as close as it gets.
Here’s how the final Cornerstone rankings shake out:
Personally, I had Jalen Green comfortably ahead of Dillon Brooks. Again, this is all subjective, but if I’m looking purely at skill set, I think Green is the better basketball player. That doesn’t diminish what Brooks brings to Phoenix. The culture shift. The identity. The toughness. The attitude. The example he sets for younger players. A lot of that is unquantifiable.
But if I’m asking myself which player I would rather have on my team, regardless of contract, I’m taking Green. And I think the larger point is what each player means for the Suns’ ceiling. If Jalen Green is your second-best player, I believe Phoenix can go further and accomplish more. If Dillon Brooks is your second-best player, you’re probably looking at a much lower ceiling. You know, like getting swept out of the postseason.
I also factor upside into the equation with Green. If he can finally turn the talent and athleticism we’ve seen in flashes into consistent production, it changes everything. It raises the Suns’ ceiling and creates some interesting decisions for the front office when it comes to his future and a potential extension.
For anyone who ranked Brooks ahead of Green, I don’t fault them at all. What Brooks brings to this team is incredibly valuable and hard to quantify. I just don’t know if I see him as the second-best player on a team that wants to seriously compete.
And that’s ultimately what SunsRank is supposed to capture. Not who has the better contract or who we appreciate more, but who we believe is the better player today. Green has more to prove, while Brooks has already shown exactly how valuable he can be. Now the rankings are locked, the debates are documented, and the baseline is established. The fun part comes next. Basketball gets to tell us how wrong we were.
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