Ty's 2025-2026 NBA Season Preview: Suns, Kings, Trailblazers
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Welcome to day three of my preseason NBA countdown. We are getting closer and closer to the play-in teams. It is only going to get better from here.
At number 24 I have the Phoenix Suns. The Suns traded away Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. That experiment clearly did not work and the Suns are trying to move on. They still don't have many picks of note, but they do still have Devin Booker. Booker is a legit star in the NBA. He is as good a scorer as there is in the league, and his defense is not terrible. He is a midrange beast, he can shoot the three and he is getting better at getting to the hoop. The problem is, he doesn't have a whole lot of help now that KD is gone. But, he did get a massive extension in the offseason, and if he has his way, he will be a Sun for life. Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks are here after the KD trade. Green has become an okay NBA player, but the progress has been slow and not very steady. He, for all of his athleticism, is still not a great driver to the hoop. Brooks is a good defensive player, but he is also a problem, and he seems to start stuff that he cannot finish. I also question if he will be on the Suns the whole season. He seems prime for a trade. Mark Williams was eventually traded to the Suns, after the botched Lakers trade. He has the tools to be a solid player, but he is always injured and the nixed trade should have been a major red flag for the Suns front office. Grayson Allen is not great. Their lottery pick, Khaman Maluch, is a project. He is going to need time. Collin Gillespie is no good and not very playable. And Ryan Dunn and Royce O'Neal have never been of much substance in the NBA as of late. The Suns got themselves in a bad situation when they traded pretty much everything to acquire KD and Bradley Beal. They will be digging themselves out of that hole for a while now. But, at least they have Devin Booker. That still won't be enough to win 30 games this season.
At number 23 I have the Sacramento Kings. Man, the Kings had some good things brewing two short years ago and then they decided to be the Kings and make bad decisions. They let Mike Brown go, which made no sense, and then they traded De'Aaron Fox. I guess their front office doesn't like having good players and coaches. They still have Domantas Sabonis. He is a good offensive hub and has been a solid pro. He doesn't really play defense and he is only getting slower the older he gets. Zach Lavine is who he is at this point. He is an empty calories scorer and he seems to make every team a little worse when he arrives. He is a good player, but he is not, nor will he ever be a great player. DeMar DeRozan is going to get so much more respect when he retires. Right now people seem to write him off as "old school" and not a player you can win a title with in the league. I have always liked DeRozan and alway will. He is a fun player to watch for me. Keegan Murray has some skills and looks like an okay player, but he hasn't shown any big improvement since his rookie season. Malik Monk is a microwave scorer, but the fact that the Warriors didn't want him in a trade showed me that he may not be as wanted as I once thought he was as a player. The Kings bench has guys like Devin Carter, an old rookie last season, Dario Saric, who is old and washed, Doug McDermott, who can't score like he used to, and Keon Ellis, who was supposed to be a defense guy, but he isn't great on that end of the floor. The Suns, at one point, had Sabonis, Fox and Tyrese Haliburton. Now they have DeRozan, Lavine and Sabonis. I'd much rather have the first trio I mentioned. The Kings have always had a special place in my heart, I loved when Chris Webber played for them. But they are back to being somewhat of a dumpster fire. They'd be lucky to win 30 plus games this year.
The final team for the day, at number 22 I have the Portland Trailblazers. The Trailblazers are going to be good, maybe even a play-in level team this season, but they're not a playoff team just yet. Scoot Henderson, who I really like, is hurt to start the season. I expected big things from him this year, and while that still can happen, he will not be ready for the start of the season, and that bums me out. I still believe in him, but this injury stinks. The Trailblazers also got Damian Lillard back, but he will not be playing at all this year coming off a torn ACL. Jrue Holiday is here again, and he seems to be staying. I feel like he could be the veteran leader this young squad needs. While not at the same level he was two or three years ago, Holiday is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and he can still score from time to time. Denji Avidija has been a revelation to me since being traded here. He is a really good player and he gets better every season. Donovan Clingan is going to start and I think he could be a good anchor for the defense in the post and he will bring some solid rebounding. Shaedeon Sharpe is a high flyer in the league and his shooting has gotten a bit better. He could explode this season. Toumani Camara was a steal in the draft and he should get some good minutes this year. And they have some nice depth off the bench in Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle. And I adore their rookie Yang Hansen. I hope he gets some run this season. The Trailblazers are coming and coming soon. Maybe they make a run at the play-in this season, maybe not. But they have a nice roster with a good mix of rookies and vets. This team could be a playoff team as soon as next season, and that is saying something since they are in the West.
That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.