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Inside the Suns - A Devin Booker/Jalen Green backcourt, Nigel Hayes-Davis, further roster adjustments
Source: https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/...ourt-analysis-nigel-hayes-davis-lineup-issues
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Your weekly Inside the Suns analysis straight from the BSotS community who live and breathe the team.
Welcome to Inside the Suns, your weekly deep down analysis of the current Phoenix Suns team.
Each week, the Fantable — a round table of Bright Siders — gives their takes on the Suns’ latest issues and news.
Fantable Questions of the Week
Q1 - The Suns have so far indicated that their starting backcourt for 2025-26 will be Devin Booker and Jalen Green. What do you see as the possible positives and/or negatives of this backcourt pairing?
GuarGuar: I think offensively in Ott’s high pace offense, these two can put up some really special numbers on offense. Defensively, I have questions about the fit. Who is going to be our point of attack defender? If we make Brooks the POA defender, does that mean Book is the 3 on defense? Also, who exactly is going to be the point guard, or is it a joint role between Book and Green?
I can see it going well, but also going about as bad as the Book/Beal duo was.
Ashton: First of all, if you have not read Brynne Tannehill’s articles on the subject, I highly recommend them. They are not flattering appraisals, so Sun optimists may want to steer clear. They are located here and here.
But this is an and/or question of positives and negatives. Great! Boolean Logic.
Let’s start with what everyone knows. There are too many shooting guards in this rotation. Sure, squint and you may be able to see a point guard or a shooting forward. As of this writing and before publication, this has not been addressed with an overabundance of shooting guards. Call this a solid negative.
Or…
One begins to realize that Jalen Green was the frigging number 2 pick of the 2021 Draft! Was rated as the best shooting guard in the 2020 class and also managed to win three gold medals in FIBA world championships. The list goes on and on. But if you read the wiki, you are seeing a shooting guard’s resume come true.
But the question is about the fit with Book. And this is in the eyes of the beholder. It sure looks like the Suns are going to run Point Book back. So, can Green become the heir apparent with time under Book’s tutelage? And that is the million-dollar question. My response to this is ultimately, maybe?
I honestly think this may be a quorum on the personality fit between Book and Green on the Suns. One may go eventually.
OldAz: I am intrigued to see how it works and what Ott brings to the table. We have seen the Suns try “positionless” basketball in the past, but those teams had far less talent so the lack of a true PG was noticeable. Starting with the negative, many of us would love to see Book return to a pure SG role where he can focus on getting his shots instead of facilitating, that will be very tough with Green as his backcourt mate. Green only had a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio (compared to Book being 2.4 and 2.7) over the last couple of years. This will have to get a lot better if the Suns intend to share ball-handling duties. If not, Book becomes the full-time PG, and this is really not a recipe for success as their best player can’t do the things he is best at.
On the positive side, Green will be (by far IMO) the most athletic backcourt partner that Book has ever had. I can’t remember the last time the Suns had a player that could simply blow past their defender 1:1 and finish so well at the rim. If Green can take a step forward and use that ability to then facilitate for others (as Book had to learn somewhere about Greens age) then there is potential for a really dynamic backcourt.
Rod: First, Book isn’t a natural PG, and neither of them are great defenders. Book has made some very good progress at becoming a PG though and I suspect that he would be more successful at it in a more structured offense that plays at a faster pace as Ott has stated he wants to do.
With Green, I think offensive efficiency will be important for him to work out in this pairing but, as he’s not going to be asked to play out of his natural position, I think that will be easier than for Book. He also won’t be counted on to be the #1 scoring option on the Suns which should take some pressure off him and give him the opportunity to grow as a player.
It won’t be a perfect fit but I feel as though it will be a better fit than Booker and Beal and I have much more confidence that Green won’t be sitting on the bench injured as frequently as Beal was, forcing the team to use frequent patchwork starting lineups that hindered the team in developing chemistry on the court.
While it isn’t strictly about them, both Book and Green should also benefit from having a better frontcourt this season and more youth with defensive talent overall.
Q2 - Is the signing of Nigel Hayes-Davis by the Suns a solid play or a ‘Hail Mary’?
GuarGuar: I’m pretty cool with this Hayes-Davis signing I think it’s a pretty low risk potential high reward. He league was decimals away from shooting 50/40/90 in the EuroLeague last year. That really pops out and it’s not like we signed him to some sort of big contract. A good move for a chance to try and find an edge for this team.
Ashton: A lot of commentators really like this acquisition. To me, it is a major reach. Scouting and the associated tools for analytics (dare I say AI?) should have caught this player and well before he spent all his time in EuroLeague from 2018 to the present (Now Suns). Did he play on the premier teams from across the pond and win championships? Yes. Did he receive honors like the EuroLeague Final Four MVP? Yes. Trained with the USA Select Team in 2024? Yes.
But it is so difficult to find a polished diamond in the rough these days with the technology that exists. So, I remain skeptical.
Also, I know where Rod is going to go with this without even reading his write-up. NHD owns a cat named Sly that he refers to as “Grey Shadow”. Yeah, let’s see if I called that right.
OldAz: I don’t know if I would go all the way to “solid” but I think it was a good signing. The Suns are still stuck signing players at the minimum because of their cap situation. In the past 2 years they have signed players that have one really good skill (like Yuta or Eric Gordon’s shooting or Okogie’s defense) and then we get really excited about how they will fit in and form a great bench. What everyone always missed was that there were very big reasons those players were available for the vets minimum, namely that they weren’t really that good.
In signing Hayes-Davis, they are trying something different within those same financial restrictions. They are getting a player who had shortcomings in their game and decided that playing time overseas was preferable to riding the end of an NBA bench. I have not dug into the video, but by all accounts Hayes-Davis took the opportunity to work on his game, played more minutes and now the Suns have a more well rounded player who is still hungry to show he belongs in the NBA.
Rod: I’d call it more of a solid play than a Hail Mary but there’s at least a little bit of Hail Mary in it. I’ve seen people on Twitter bringing up fears that he could be another Sonny Weems but also others with hopes that he could be another PJ Tucker for the Suns. We’ll only know for sure once he’s actually out on the court against actual NBA level competition but he’s bringing back some very impressive credentials earned in Europe so I’m pretty confident that he could be an even better contributor than PJ was back in his days with the Suns, especially on the offensive end of the court. At 30 though, he is what he is, and I believe he will likely turn into a solid contributor in the Suns’ player rotation rather than reach the same All-Star-like status he achieved in Europe.
And those that bring up Weems’ name would probably still find fault even if the Suns had somehow gotten Nikola Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo on the roster instead.
Q3 - In reference to the roster, what is now the most important thing for the Suns to accomplish between now and training camp?
GuarGuar: I really think we need to find more wing depth and cash in on our of our shooting guards to do so. Whether it’s Grayson or Beal (or both), we gotta find away to offload them and bring back a true athletic wing somehow. Way easier said than done though!
Ashton: Outside of moving some shooting guards, this one is pretty simple to answer. Our buzzword on the board, Cohesiveness. The Suns really did not have it last year, despite all the reports at the time to the contrary. If this means training sessions between the Vets and the Rooks with dinner and drinks afterwards, so be it.
But the quicker the roster is settled between now and the start of the Summer League is really on the Front Office. They can’t be messing around with probabilities and possibilities on this much roster churn during the Free Agency period.
OldAz: Execute on the plan in regards to Beal, Allen, O’Neale and Richards. We as fans talk talk and speculate all we want, but the front office has to have a plan with regards to these 4. They have a good young rotation and as Q1 discusses, they are probably not looking for another true PG so with lowered expectations, just to have fun and exciting basketball, the core is likely set.
Among Beal, Allen, O’Neale, and Richards, only O’Neale seems to have a role available as a rotational wing until Fleming (and/or Hayes-Davis) shows they are ready for NBA minutes. Richards would be next, but 3rd string centers tend to only play when the top 2 get hurt or into foul trouble. Something has to give! Having all those veterans on the bench that are good enough to deserve rotational minutes needs to be addressed. Hopefully that can happen before the season, with the return getting the team under the 2nd apron and/or returning a better (though still young) starting quality PF.
Rod: They really just need to find a way to move a few SGs and one of the centers. Bringing in another PG would be great but if they are truly set on starting Book and Green as the starting backcourt then another backup PG for insurance should be sufficient. Even if you are against the Book/Green backcourt, who could the Suns possibly get to start at PG? Yeah, many want CP3 back but Ott has already said he wants to play fast and that’s not CP3’s game. He likes to walk not run the ball down the court so I’m not sure of the fit. And even though he managed to stay healthy and play in all 82 games last season, there’s no guarantee of that happening again.
Another lengthy, versatile wing would be a nice addition too if possible. Even if it’s not, adding someone at almost any position that hustles and plays hard on defense would be a plus, even if he starts out buried deep on the bench.
As always, many thanks to our Fantable members for all their extra effort this week!
Suns Trivia/History
On July 11, 2012, Steve Nash was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for a 2013 1st round draft pick, a 2013 2nd round draft pick, a 2014 2nd round draft pick, and a 2018 1st round draft pick. In 2015, that 2018 1st round pick was traded to Philadelphia as part of a three-team trade that brought Brandon Knight to the Suns from Milwaukee.
Many fans were upset when that draft pick was traded, but later delighted when they still got the player selected with it (Mikal Bridges) in a draft night trade with Philadelphia in 2018.
On July 11, 2015, Devin Booker made his NBA Summer League debut for the Suns in Las Vegas against the Washington Wizards. He had 12 points and 4 rebounds on a disappointing shooting night, making only 4 of 11 shots and missing all four of his three-point attempts. Booker’s teammate-of-the-future and fellow rookie, Kelly Oubre Jr., also had his Summer League debut that night and led the Wizards with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Archie Goodwin led Phoenix in scoring with 22 points in the 86-77 Summer Suns win.
Suns Summer League Schedule
July 11 (Friday) - Suns vs Wizards @ 6:00 pm (ESPN)
July 13 (Sunday) - Suns vs Hawks @ 12:30 pm (NBA TV)
July 14 (Monday) - Suns vs Kings @ 7:00 pm (ESPNU)
July 16 (Wednesday) - Suns vs Timberwolves @ 2:00 pm (NBA TV)
Game 5 is TBD and will be on July 18, 19 or 20.
A Game 6 is possible if the Suns make it to the SL tournament stage.
All Suns Summer League games will also be televised on ESPN+
Last Week’s Poll Results
Last week’s question was, “Are you excited about watching the Suns Summer League team play this year?”
87% - Yes.
13% - No.
A total of 142 votes were cast.
Important Future Dates
July 10-20 - Las Vegas Summer League
October 3 - Preseason game vs LA Lakers (in Palm Springs)
October 21 - Regular Season Opening Night
Feb. 13-15, 2026 NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, CA
This week’s poll is...
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Source: https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/...ourt-analysis-nigel-hayes-davis-lineup-issues
