It’s been nine years since the Phoenix Suns have made the playoffs, back when Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire were in their prime. The Suns would face the Pacific division-winners Los Angeles Lakers, who were also the West’s top seed, in the Western Conference Finals, but end up losing the series in six games.

Now, fast-forward nine years later… not a lot has happened ever since we clinched playoff berth back in 2009. After falling to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, the Phoenix Suns set a franchise record with their 15th-straight loss. From the looks of it, the organization is going in the wrong direction.

NBA rookie Josh Jackson has now began to embrace his role in Phoenix, scoring 20 or more points in the last 3 games they’ve played. However, with Devin Booker and Elfrid Payton both out, it only hurts the team even more to not have their star players on the court. It’s been a while since the Suns have played a professional game in the NBA.

While tanking may seem like the only option for the Suns, it might just save us from another bad season. When the Suns traded a second round pick to the Orlando Magic for Payton, it seemed as though it was enough to convince Suns GM Ryan McDonough to say that they won’t tank final 23 games of season. It’s pretty obvious that they have plans otherwise especially with him being out with an injury.

As the Sun’s reach the end of their season, what essentially makes the most sense is to continue tanking for the rest of the season. With young talent still developing, I still believe something special is in the making with the Suns. I’m tired of seeing the Phoenix Suns performing badly in a professional league and hope we can see them reach the playoffs at least within the next three years.