Try to Develop a Point Guard
Phoenix is limited with their options at the point guard spot. Their choices come down to Brandon Knight and Élie Okobo. I do not believe that Knight has a skill-set that a team with winning aspirations should want long-term next to a talent like Devin Booker. For the sake of player development, I’d try to get Okobo on the floor with Booker when possible.
The rationale behind pairing Booker with a point guard that can shoulder the burden of running the team’s offense and be another playmaker is that it would simplify the game for him. He is effective during off-screen sequences, in spot-up, and occasionally as a cutter and having another reliable ball handler would allow for him to be used more in those situations.
#Suns‘ Elie Okobo has already shown the ability to create offense for himself and his teammates https://t.co/LaUstIK685
— azcentral sports (@azcsports) July 8, 2018
The rest of the unit with an Okobo-Booker backcourt is fluid except for the center spot. It comes down to who you want at power forward. If they want immediate success then using Ariza at power forward and either Jackson or Bridges at small forward makes sense. If they’re going to focus on player development, then Bridges at the three and Jackson at the four would work as well.
The main challenges with this unit are that rookie point guards typically struggle with producing net positive results. It could get even worse if DeAndre Ayton does not have a smooth transition to the NBA level in his rookie season or if Ariza proves to not be impactful enough as a small ball power forward. It will require patience, but long-term it could work out quite well to follow a temple of this kind.
Overall, what makes this lineup combination intriguing isn’t what they are capable of for this upcoming season. Instead, it is the value that it could have for the Suns by allowing Okobo to play through his mistakes early in his career. Regardless, this pairing likely wouldn’t be worse than the -9.0 net rating that the Suns had during the 684 minutes that Booker and Tyler Ulis played together last season.
Next Up: Try to Develop a Small Ball Power Forward
