[1] During the off-season, the Suns acquired Hot Rod Williams from the Cleveland Cavaliers,[2][3][4][5] and signed free agent Tony Smith.
[14] All home games were played at America West Arena; they were also one of the nine teams to defeat the 72–10 Chicago Bulls.
[25][26][27] Without Finley, the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, three games to one in the Western Conference First Round.
In his rookie season, Finley would average 15.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors.
Finley was traded to the Dallas Mavericks midway through his sophomore season for All-Star point guard Jason Kidd.
The Suns used their first-round pick to select small forward Mario Bennett from Arizona State.
The Suns used their second-round pick to select shooting guard Chris Carr from Southern Illinois.