The Suns and Kings: bad teams that are fun to watch

We all have our guilty pleasures. Maybe you secretly look forward to Keeping Up with the Kardashians every week. Some of us have that bad movie that we actually kind of like.

For me, it's watching bad NBA teams when I can.

Sometimes, a team is so bad that you just need to see it for yourself. Take the 2010-11 Cavs, who were still shell-shocked after LeBron bailed on them that summer. They went through a 26 game losing streak, which felt like watching Joel Schumacher's Batman movies 26 times to Cleveland fans.

Then you had the 76ers from 2013 to 2016, who won 47 games in three years (have mercy). Philly bottomed out in '16, posting an atrocious 10-72 record and suffering through a 27 game skid, breaking Cleveland's record while setting the mark for the longest losing streak in American pro sports history.

This year, the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings figure to be lottery teams yet again. They're not nearly as bad as Cleveland and Philly were, but it's still going to get ugly for them. Their futures, though, are looking brighter than they have in a while.

Let's start with the Suns. This year, they drafted center Deandre Ayton with the top pick, filling a void that was so glaring in recent seasons. Tyson Chandler is solid and can still crash the boards and challenge shots, but he can't be your best big man if you're looking to rebuild. Ayton will be a stud and hopefully negate the recent draft day whiffs of Phoenix, such as Dragan Bender and Alex Len.

I've seen the Suns play once this season, in opening week against the Mavericks. The Suns prevailed, thanks to Ayton putting together a promising debut. The Arizona product put up 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting while adding 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 block.

Suns GM Ryan McDonough made some good moves this offseason despite being fired shortly before the 2018-19 campaign began. Phoenix brought in Trevor Ariza from Houston, a good perimeter defender who's a bit shaky on the offensive side of things, but is good for a few 20-point outings. They dealt away Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss, one of whom had been injury-riddled (Knight) on the other labeled a bust (Chriss). The only thing that the Suns are lacking is a reliable point guard, which has forced them to settle with Isaiah Canaan for now. The Suns also hired Igor Kokoskov as head coach, a position that has been pretty unstable for the team recently.

The man in Phoenix, without question, is Devin Booker. Ever since being drafted in 2015, Booker has improved every year--pretty soon, we can expect him to be the leader of a Suns playoff team. This guy dropped 70 points in a game in 2017, and was the third youngest player in history to eclipse 4,000 points (only LeBron and Kevin Durant were younger).

Booker's not just a scorer, though. No, he's developed into a hybrid guard, more than capable of running the point and dishing to open teammates. The addition of Ayton will finally give Booker a worthy partner in Phoenix's pick-and-roll game, plus he can run it with Ariza and T.J. Warren on the pick and pop.

*FUN FACT: The Pacers could have picked Booker in 2015, but went with Myles Turner at #11 instead (Booker went to the Suns at #13). I like Myles......but 70 points is 70 points. Unless Turner explodes in the near future, that one will sting for a bit.

Watching the Suns-Mavs game, the Suns got out to a fast start and really never looked back. They'll put up a lot of points as the season rolls on, but there's just not enough defense there to translate to a bunch of victories. Ariza and Josh Jackson can take the perimeter, but there will certainly be a learning curve inside with Ayton. Some notable bigs in the West: Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Karl-Anthony Towns, Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge. Yeah.

The Kings are a little farther away from postseason relevancy than the Suns are, but they have some promising pieces of their own. De'Aaron Fox, who I've been a fan of since his Kentucky days, is looking like a breakout candidate in his second season. The point guard is averaging 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.8 rebounds (a lot for a point).

Buddy Hield could be another backcourt piece that bodes well for Sacramento's future. He's had some consistency issues since entering the league in 2016, but has looked solid so far in 2018. Bogdan Bogdanovic, who was named to the All-Rookie Second Team last year, should continue his improvement, while big man Willie Cauley-Stein seems to be inventing himself as a Capela/DeAndre Jordan type.

The Kings drafted Marvin Bagley right after the Suns picked Ayton, a decision that I didn't really agree with. I would've picked Luka Doncic, who ended up falling to the Mavs, but Bagley has been better than expected so far. Sacramento also has Harry Giles, a power forward who possesses Chris Webber-like passing abilities for a big man. By all accounts, Giles was the best high school player in the nation for the 2016 class, but his career has so far been plagued by injuries. He's back healthy this season, though, capitalized by a solid Summer League performance.

The Kings knocked off the Thunder in OKC's home opener a few days back, a game that was also Russell Westbrook's first since having knee surgery this offseason. Sacramento downed the Thunder 131-120, a victory that was fueled by outscoring OKC by 10 in the second quarter. Fox was on fire, putting up 22 points. Iman Shumpert led the Kings with 26, while Hield chipped in with 17. I wonder if OKC is rethinking that Paul George contract yet?

Going forward, coach Dave Joerger and the Kings will be looking at a foundation of Fox, Bagley, Hield, and Giles. If Cauley-Stein keeps improving, he might move into a bench role in favor of Giles (the better passer and offensive threat). The bad thing for them, however, is that they don't have their first round draft pick next year--that belongs to the Celtics.

Like I said, neither the Suns or the Kings will come close to the playoffs this year. They should be thinking long-term, with Phoenix's chances of playoff contention coming a little sooner than Sacramento's. Both teams have promising young guards, talented big men, and capable coaches. There's no reason to think that these two squads won't be right in the thick of things in 3 or 4 years (maybe 2 for Phoenix).

If you get a chance to watch either of these teams, try to. They're not on ESPN or TNT that much, but you can always find highlights on YouTube. As for me, I think I'm going to check if the Hawks or Nets are playing tonight.

What can I say? Bad teams are fun to me.

Image credits: NBA.com

YouTube channels: House of Highlights, MLG Highlights