Phoenix Suns (preseason) basketball is less than a month away. It always has a way of sneaking up on ya once the aftershocks of trades and signings have subsided.
Phoenix will be on a bit of an accelerated schedule, with the preseason beginning earlier on Oct. 3 so that a two-game stay in China a week later can have time to breathe with the travel and promotional needs of such a trip.
With that, the primary puzzle the Suns have to put together during that time is what the rotation will look like. While they are expected to be one of the lowest-performing teams in the league, Phoenix actually has a depth chart with some tough decisions to make when it comes to who plays and for how much.
So let’s try and figure that out.
Disclaimers before we get rolling. This is not a prediction, and more so opinion. We’ll see how accurate this is, but as one example, the heavy lean toward rookies and second-year players is going to be ambitious compared to what we see on opening night in late October. Also, the synergy of lineups was not put into much consideration. The goal here was to get to 240 minutes positionally, less so how all the pieces fit together, the much more difficult task ahead for Jordan Ott.
Ball-handlers: Devin Booker (36), Jalen Green (33), Collin Gillespie (12)
We’ve gone from no point guards to Ricky Rubio to Chris Paul to no point guards to three point guards off the bench to one point guard off the bench. What a tizzy.
What we’ll have to pick Ott’s brain on and decipher over the first couple of weeks of the season is who runs the offense and how much that dictates roles and minutes for others. While the guess is Green is going to do a good chunk of it, the choice made here in the name of stability and an attempt to form cohesion for a new group is Booker or Gillespie doing it at all times.
Booker’s going to have a pretty weird year bouncing between the two guard spots. He will attempt making his teammates better through relentless defensive attention as by far the biggest threat on the ball, while hoping for adequate enough setups when he’s off it. Gillespie was a great spark last year and also doesn’t have much experience in a concrete role like the one he will have for this team as the backup point guard.
Green’s adaptability will essentially dictate how this backcourt takes shape. Defensively, it’s on Booker and Green to accept the challenge, all while they command a tremendous sum of the on-ball responsibilities on offense. If Gillespie struggles, we will see Jared Butler or Jordan Goodwin at some point, depending on who makes the roster.
Wings: Ryan Dunn (30), Dillon Brooks (28), Grayson Allen (20), Royce O’Neale (19), Rasheer Fleming (19)
Beyond having Booker, this group is the biggest strength of the team. While it’s smaller of a wing quartet than you’d hope, the first four guys up are all quality wings. If Phoenix can figure out the ball-handling situation and get high-level scoring from both of its starting guards, this group can handle the two-way supplementary stuff.
Dunn’s minute total will likely land closer to the low 20s than hitting 30 but we’re prioritizing his development here, which comes to a detriment of veterans like Allen and O’Neale putting up the lowest minutes per game totals since their rookie years. Keep an eye on any significant injuries for contenders on the wing, as a situation like that arising would make it easier for the Suns to trade Allen or O’Neale, who surely both do not make it to the end of the year on this roster.
The “4” minutes here go to Dunn and then mostly to Fleming, with a smidge to Brooks too. Fleming has the athleticism, length and size this team sorely needs on the perimeter, but he’s a rookie, so it’s on him to show in training camp he can learn quickly. If not, that’ll either mean more minutes for O’Neale or overseas veteran Nigel Hayes-Davis gets a crack. It should be Fleming regardless, but we’ll see. This organization wants to win games.
Finding some wiggle room for Koby Brea would be handy but it’s an overcrowded room.
Centers: Mark Williams (28), Khaman Maluach (15)
This is a lofty goal for Williams, who has a career MPG of 23.7 and as previously covered doesn’t see the 30s too often, but for the sake of the exercise we will set it for him. Speaking of lofty goals, 65 games played is another, so playing time getting sprinkled in for the rest of the centers won’t be much of an issue.
High atop the list of biggest questions heading into the start of the season is if the Suns deem Maluach ready to play right away.
He was the most significant asset acquired across this retool/reset/reload/rebuild but just started playing basketball six years ago and has some major strides to make from a physical standpoint as an 18-year-old. In summer league, he matched up with Washington Wizards second-year big Alex Sarr and was pretty overmatched in that department, while also fighting his ass off to overcome it with the motor the Suns love. Phoenix will make that call through October. We are team “just play him anyway” around here.
If you’re noticing five minutes missing, that’s because they went to Fleming in some small-ball 5 looks. Fleming should absolutely get some opportunity to play this role, even with four centers deserving of playing time, on top of the need for Phoenix to explore some five-out lineups as well. It’s unclear if Fleming can be a traditional full-time wing or is better used as a combo big of sorts, so figure that stuff out sooner rather than later please!
It would be surprising if the Suns did not find a way to play Oso Ighodaro. With that said, Maluach should get priority over him, and playing Ighodaro out of position at the 4 without shooting from either big when Fleming or Hayes-Davis is available for the minutes is a tough fit both for the team and Ighodaro’s growth.
Nick Richards will get run, likely to relieve the stress of when a Williams injury comes down.
