NUGGETS

Nuggets helped end the current Suns, as Phoenix waives a star

Jun 7, 2023, 3:44 PM | Updated: 4:52 pm

*** This story has been updated below ***

The Denver Nuggets helped end the Phoenix Suns.

At least the version of the team that was supposed to win championships with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Monty Williams as the head coach.

Phoenix fired Williams after the Nuggets embarrassed the Suns in Game 6 of Round 2. And on Wednesday, they said goodbye to Paul, breaking up the trio of him, Durant and Booker.

Paul got hurt against Denver in Game 2 of the series, and was unable to play the rest of the way. The aging veteran point guard, who will march into the Hall of Fame one day, is still without a championship.

It’s hard to say it was Paul’s fault that Phoenix lost the series. After all, he didn’t play most of it. Booker was outstanding, Durant was pretty good, but the rest of the Suns were mediocre at best. Deandre Ayton pulled a disappearing act for long stretches during the battle.

The Nuggets are currently tied with the Heat 1-1 in the NBA Finals, and it’s safe to say a lot of folks thought the winner of the Denver / Phoenix seres would take the whole thing. That’s three games away from happening for the Nuggets.

For Phoenix, being on the wrong end of that tilt made for major changes in the desert. Paul’s just the latest man to suffer the consequences.

(Update 4:52 p.m.) –

The Athletic’s Shams Charania is reporting the Suns are exploring “multiple options” when it comes to Paul’s future. It sounds like they have three weeks to make a firm decision, although several possibilities have him still leaving Phoenix.

***

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