Suns GM aims to make splash in free agency: We'd be 'naive to wait'

Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough wants to strike while the iron is hot.

McDonough told Scott Bordow of AZ Central that the Suns will be aggressive in free agency this summer, since he believes the core warrants adding more win-now assets.

"There are certain core pieces that are starting to solidify," McDonough said Saturday. "I think we'd be foolish or naive to wait forever or be overly patient ... We're planning on being one of five (or) six teams with a decent amount of cap space, and we'll see if we can improve the team."

He added, "We'll probably be more aggressive in June and July than we have been the last couple of years."

Entering play Monday, the Suns have dropped nine of their last 11 games to fall back into the basement of the Western Conference. They've been stuck in place since the 2013-14 season.

However, as McDonough revealed earlier this season, the decisions of the team are influenced by Devin Booker - and Booker appears to at least agree that the Suns are ready.

For his part, the 21-year-old continues to blossom into an All-Star-caliber player in his third season. He's joined by T.J. Warren, who is quietly averaging 19.7 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Along with promising rookie Josh Jackson, they could form the foundation for Phoenix.

Those players are the fruit of the Suns' recent rebuilding efforts. Having found them, McDonough wants to explore free agency to find complementary pieces.

"We've been patient," McDonough said. "I think we'll try to accelerate things this summer with all our draft picks and cap space. That's kind of our mindset as we sit here today in late January."

The last time the Suns were aggressive in free agency, they whiffed on LaMarcus Aldridge and ended up paying Tyson Chandler $52 million, mostly to serve as a veteran voice in an otherwise inexperienced locker room.