Will young Suns rise in tough West?

RISING SUNS? Young from top to bottom, the Suns aim to make some noise in the West. Photo from the Phoenix Suns' Facebook page.

Who’s in: Jeff Hornacek (coach), Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Lee, Alex Len, Ish Smith, Miles Plumlee, Gerald Green, Archie Goodwin, Dionte Christmas, Vyacheslav Kravtsov

Who’s out: Michael Beasley, Jared Dudley, Luis Scola, Jermaine O'Neal, Wesley Johnson, Hamed Haddadi, Diante Garrett

2012-2013 record: 25-57. Last in Western Conference

Strengths: Goran Dragic is slowly becoming the leader for the Phoenix Suns. He topped the team in points and assists. He’s basically trying to become Steve Nash’s successor, learning valuable lessons from the two-time MVP when he was still with the Suns.

Center Marcin Gortat teams up with Markieff Morris for a hardworking frontline that tries to compete with the rest of the league’s bigs. Fifth overall pick Alex Len gives the Suns frontcourt more depth as well.

Eric Bledsoe must take advantage of this big break too. His arrival in Phoenix will be a boost to his career. He is now the primary scorer for the Suns and he’s expected to do good every single night.

Weaknesses: There is not much to expect from the Suns after losing half of their squad this season. Beasley, Dudley, Scola, and Johnson have all logged at least 8 points apiece. That’s around a third of the Suns offense and they must find a new bunch of guys to make up for that absence.

It will be a totally different season for them and it won’t be easy if you lost half of your team and have a very young core group. They have little time to get the team together and it won’t be easy going up against the best of the west.

Prognosis: Dead last? It’s a pretty close call between them and the Sacramento Kings. There aren’t much reasons for them to be a threat in the Western Conference. Clearly, they’re on rebuilding mode and they’re far from thinking about the postseason. They have a lot of potential though to be contenders in the next years. – Rappler.com