Out of the final 19 games, 12 will be played against teams with a .500 or better record. Even worse yet 6 games are against teams with a .600 record or better. After last night’s throttling at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, it has become apparent the Suns simply don’t have another run in them.

Beyond the sheer difficulty of their remaining schedule the Suns are not playing with their normal full arsenal of talent. Steve Nash is still the best passer in the game, however his age is beginning to show in his shooting as the season progresses. Over the last 10 games where the Suns are trying to creep back in playoff contention, Nash has shot a paltry 40.7% from the field and only averaging 12.9 points per game. Nash perennially shoots over 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point land and 90% from the charity stripe. Nash is currently only shooting 38% on 3′s which is -4.9% worse  than his career average. Nash always deals with a degenerative back issue, however an additional  lingering groin injury continues to adversely affect his long-range shooting. The problem is that Nash, 37 doesn’t heal like he used to and that simply does not bode well for the Suns playoff hopes. Then add in the fact that the Suns 2nd best player Channing Frye is out 2-3 weeks with a dislocated shoulder doesn’t help the cause. I also believe that even if he comes back in 3 weeks, his long-range shooting will not be there as that is heavily reliant on a healthly shoulder joint.

The emergence of Marcin Gortat has largely overshadowed Robin Lopez’s inability to do anything productive on the basketball court. Grant Hill is nearing the end of his career despite remaining productive especially on the defensive end. Vince Carter will be bought out of his contract after this season is over. Hakim Warrick has proved to be a decent role-player but by no-means a starter. Jared Dudley is full of heart and is an excellent role-player but also not a starter in this league.  Mickael Pietrus falls into the category of role-player as well and his future is far from certain with the Suns. Gani Lawal and Garrett Silerare no where near being ready to play next season, however they both have enough potential to not be fully written off. Aaron Brooks provides a glimmer of hope at PG for the future beyond Steve Nash.  Lastly, Josh Childress beyond his cool fro is the biggest waste of $34 million in recent memory. All in 2 seasons from now the Suns starting lineup consists of Marcin Gortat, Channing Frye, and Aaron Brooks…not exactly awe inspiring. It is clear the Suns need to re-load in the draft or do the unmentionable: trade Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

After the trade to the Orlando Magic that acquired Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus the Suns are left with one draft pick in the late first round. The 2011 NBA draft is supposed to be one of the weakest drafts in recent memory so it is unlikely the Suns will be able to acquire a future star in this draft. To be honest, even if the draft was loaded with talent, the Suns have proven they are not a good judge of potential talent. Over the past 5 years of 1st round picks, the Suns have only retained Robin Lopez and he is little more than 6 fouls a game at this point. The likes of Alando Tucker who now plays in Russia and Earl Clark now with the Magic turned out to be worthless 1st round picks.

As a Suns fan, I was hoping they had one more run in the tank with Steve Nash at the helm. However, those hopes appear to be fading and the prospects for the future appear to be bleak unless some major changes are made.

The last week has been amazingly busy on Planet Orange. The Suns made some major strides this past week in defining what their team will look like next season. Grant Hill is back in the fold; signing a 2-year deal in which he has a player option for the 2010-2011 season. This season Hill will earn slightly more that $3 million. The Suns also signed free-agent Center Channing Frye to a 2-year deal worth approximately $1.9 million per year. Frye,  26was a stand out and the University of Arizona, has disappointed many thus far in his career; averaging only 4.2 ppglast year in 63 games with Portland. However that will likely skyrocket this season as Channing Frye will fit in well with the Suns run and gun offense. Frye is an adept shooter all the way out to 20 feet, which in turn will leave space for Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash to operate in. This is a drastic change from last season, when the lane was constantly clogged with Shaquille O’Neal andhis defender.  The Suns also signed first round pick Earl Clark to a 4-year deal, with team options for years 3 and 4.  Finally, it has been reported that the team is close to extending the contract of Steve Nash for 2 more years; possibly allowing him to retire as a Phoenix Sun.

The question now looms is this team a title contender or are they just doing enough to stay relevant? Most media pundits out there don’t give this team a chance at all next season. I on the other handthink this team is going to be in the thick of things in the Western Conference winding up with around 55 wins. This is of course based on the assumption Amare will come back healthy and with a vengeance to get a maximum contract in Free-Agency 2010. Granted the Suns may not be better than the Lakers or Spurs, but one injury of one trade deadline move could easily change that. What most people are not realizing is the Suns depth is simply awesome this season, their 2nd five could likely be a decent team on their own: PG: Goran Dragic,  SG: Leandro Barbosa/Alando Tucker, SF: Jared Dudley, PF: Lou Amundson/Earl Clark and C: Robin Lopez.

The Suns begin Summer League play in Las Vegas this evening. The Suns will play 6 games in this league and will hopefully get a gauge on how some of the younger players on the team will perform. For some players like Taylor Griffin who is the  brother of Blake Griffin, their spot of the team may be on the line. Some notable Suns to look for on this roster are: Goran Dragic, Alando Tucker, Robin Lopez, Earl Clark, and Taylor Griffin. The Suns also added Takuya Kawamura, who is looking to become the 2nd Japanese born player to play in the NBA.