Thirty minutes after their teammates had left for practice, four Suns remained at various parts of the practice court, putting in unrequested and unrelenting work on the talent in which Phoenix has heavily invested.
On one main basket, Eric Bledsoe hoisted floater after floater, honing a new weapon in his offensive arsenal. He was the first of the current team to receive a long-term contract extension. He is rewarding it with production – 22.2 points, 6.3 assists, 1.9 steals per game – that quietly puts him in the same group as MVP candidates Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James.