Hardwood Knocks

Not a lot happened for the Phoenix Suns over the summer—other than them doubling down on their rebuild. They resisted the temptation to go all in on a Kyrie Irving trade, instead electing to keep the tandem of Devin Booker and rookie Josh Jackson intact. They also signed T.J. Warren to a four-year, $50 million extension, a deal that seems more like a hedge against a breakout campaign from the 24-year-old. Beyond that, plus the returns of Alex Len and Alan Williams, there isn't much to review. The Suns are facing the same question they were facing at the end of last season, following a mid-year tank job that landed them the top-three pick and right to select Jackson: Where do they go from here? Eric Bledsoe's future will say a whole lot about this team's interest in rebuilding from the ground up. He's 27, so he doesn't run completely counter to their timeline, but he'll be a free agent in 2019, at which time Booker will be a restricted free agent himself. Investing what it'll cost to keep that backcourt together doesn't make too much sense when the former's next deal will take him into his mid-30s. Phoenix's frontcourt situation is also wonky, if messy. Len, Williams, Dragan Bender, Tyson Chandler and Marquese Chriss all need time at center, while Jackson, Warren and Jared Dudley each figure to join the battle for time at the power forward position. NBA savant and Suns aficionado Ben Leibowitz (@BenLebo) joins Hardwood Knocks to run through the Suns' rebuilding project backwards and forwards while offering some insight into their more immediate endgame. As always, be sure to subscribe to and rate Hardwood Knocks on iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher and BlogTalkRadio. And as 50 Cent's biopic suggests: Follow Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey), Dan Favale (@danfavale), the show (@HardwoodKnocks) and NBA Math (@NBA_Math) on Twitter or die trying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices