It wasn't hard to find optimism amid last season's roller-coaster ride. Devin Booker had NBA observers salivating over his sweet jump shot, heady style of play and the thought that at just 19 years old, he has all the time in the world to get even better.
Not that Suns fans think he needs that much time. After watching the 6-6 shooting guard make All-Rookie First Team, scorch the NBA Summer League and play for the USA Select Team, many feel that Booker is going to take a huge step forward in just his second season.
In a 24-hour Twitter poll sent out on Friday, over three-fourths of voters pegged Booker as the young Suns player who would take the biggest leap in the 2016-17 campaign.
Booker's own expectations match his supporters' hopes. The former 13th overall pick has spent the NBA offseason working out nearly every day, most often at Talking Stick Resort Arena. He has also overhauled his diet in an effort to improve strength and stamina, something he felt was necessary after trying to keep up with some of the league's best scorers on the defensive end.
"[Being named All-Rookie First Team] shows that I’m on the right path," Booker said earlier this summer, "but there are a lot of people who have made First Team All-Rookie and you don’t know where they are anymore. So I just have to use this as motivation and keep grinding, because I know that comes with a bigger target on my back."
Here's a brief look at why the other players on the poll might have a breakout season in 2016-17:
Brandon Knight
Those who drool of Booker's young age should also remember that Brandon Knight -- who averaged 19.6 points, 5.1 assists, 3.89 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game last season -- is still just 24 years old. His stats are hard to find in general, let along among sub-25-year-olds.
Selected seventh overall in the 2011 NBA Draft, Knight was nearly an Eastern Conference All-Star in 2015. Phoenix acquired him immediately afterward and locked him up on a long-term extension. With Earl Watson settled in as the long-term head coach, don't be surprised if Knight can launch an even better season.
Alex Len
When the Suns drafted a seven-footer wearing a walking boot with the fifth overall pick in 2013, it was hard to envision how that investment would pan out. Alex Len is proving he was worth it by getting better each season:
2013-14: 42 games, 2.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.4 bpg, 42.3 FG%
2014-15: 69 games, 6.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 50.7 FG%
2015-16: 78 games, 9.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.8 bpg, 42.3 FG%
Team-wide health might be the best reason to expect improvement from Len, who wound up being one of the most durable Suns last season. He played much of the 2015-16 campaign without one consistently available point guard. Assuming the injury bug is kinder to his teammates, Len should be able to build much more chemistry with his main table-setters this year. He will also have another training camp to learn from veteran Tyson Chandler, plus another summer's worth of his constant work on the court and in the weight room.
T.J. Warren
When defenses were trapping a 19-year-old Booker on the perimeter late last season, you can bet Warren would have been nice to have around. The former ACC Player of the Year is the Suns' best player in terms of moving without the ball, and his teammates noticed right away. Eric Bledsoe in particular was adept at finding Warren cutting along the baseline just as defenses committed to stopping the initial drive to the basket.
It is easy to forget that when Warren went down with a broken foot in January, he was the Suns' third-leading scorer. The 6-8 forward also showed a quietly remarkable improvement in his three-point shooting, which went up from 23.8-percent in his rookie season to 40.0 percent in 2015-16.
Phoenix has invested heavily in its backcourt and post positions in recent years, leaving an opportunity for Warren to reclaim a major role -- and a potentially big comeback season -- at the small forward spot.