• Josh Okogie: SG, 6’4, 213, 25 years old, 6th year in the league
Okogie started every game last year after the Suns signed Kevin Durant. While he’s listed at shooting guard, he played with a pure point guard in Chris Paul, and a two guard in Booker. They have no problem playing him with a two guard. The issue this season is do they play him with two shooting guards? He’s a career average 40/29/75 shooter, but with Beal, Booker, and KD they won’t need him for his offense. Top-heavy teams need glue guys who pick up tough assignments and do the dirty work. As the incumbent starter who has the trust of Booker and KD, I’m placing Okogie as the favorite.
• Grayson Allen: SG, 6’4, 198, 28 years old, 6th year in the league
Allen offers a completely different skillset from Okogie. A career 43/40/85 shooter, Allen has been a double-digit scorer on decent volume starting for the past two years in Milwaukee. He’s a hustle guy, but he’s known more for pissing people off and getting people hurt than for stalwart defensive play. Come playoff time, he's downright hunted. The Suns shouldn’t need extra offense with their starting unit, but in the modern NBA, who can turn down more shooters?
• Eric Gordon: SG, 6’3, 213, 34 years old, 16th year in the league
Gordon in the starting lineup is the balls to the wall option. All gas, no brakes, let’s beat this team 140 to 135. Despite it being his 15th year in the league, last season he played 69 games, started 58 of them, and averaged 28 mpg. A career 37% three-point shooter, he hasn’t taken fewer than five threes per game since 2013. Defense would be porous to say the least with Beal and Gordon as your backcourt, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them trot out this lineup just to see how it feels to break a scoring record.
• Keita Bates-Diop: SF/PF, 6’8, 229, 27 years old, 6th year in the league
Bates-Diop spent his last three years in piss poor pitiful San Antonio playing a lot of games that meant diddly squat. He’s the hipster pick for Suns starter, and he’s got the body type for it. On a bench laden with “wings” that are just shooting guards (see above), Bates-Diop’s frame fits this lineup perfectly. Last year for the Spurs he played 67 games, started 42 of them, and shot 51/39/79 on 7 shots per game. He’s going to have to get more than the three and a half rebounds he pulled down last year, but if he can mesh with a team of All-Stars, stick with his defensive assignments, and hit the occasional corner three, he makes the most sense as a starter.
• Yuta Watanabe: SF, 6’9, 215, 29 years old, 6th year in the league
Yuta tha Shootah flew onto the scene last year as the PR savior of the burning Brooklyn Nets. Harden was gone, Kyrie was being anti-Semitic, KD was hurt, and the Nets social media team was posting pictures of Yuta Watanabe. Hitting 44% of your threes will do that. He only took two a game, but that’s what great role players do: they knock down open shots. Yuta is my pie in the sky starter. He’s only started 9 games in his career, and even in his Christ-like year last season he averaged 16 minutes in 58 games. It’s not gonna happen. But he has KD’s trust, and that can’t be overlooked.
• Chimezie Metu: PF/C, 6’9, 225, 6th year in the league
Listen, it’s possible, so I’m gonna write about it. Metu played 21 mpg two years ago for the Kings, and then when they got good last year he dropped to 10. His FG% skyrocketed to 59%, though, as he took half as many shots. He only managed to grab three rebounds per game, but the Kings didn’t miss all that many shots last year. He’s likely to slide into a similar low-minute role with the Suns, but if they need some size and athleticism next to Nurkic who can take some defensive reps off of KD’s shoulders, Metu’s their guy
• Bol Bol: 1-5, 7’2, 220, 23 years old, 5th year in the league
Bol was must-see TV at the beginning of last year. All this hype about Chet and Wemby, and everyone was sleeping on Bol. He had by far the most playing time in his career, starting 33 of 70 total games, and getting 21.5 mpg. He put up 9 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and a block per game. It’s difficult to tell what position he’s best in, and his simple lack of an obvious role might hurt his minutes in Phoenix. They’re a top-heavy team that needs role players. Hard-nosed defenders who can hit open shots. Bol is less of a reliable machine and more of a positive variable. He’s a mismatch for 99% of the league, he can take a rebound coast to coast, and he can always get his shot off. Will Frank Vogel give major minutes to a wildcard over a surefire veteran? I’ve got my doubts, but we can dream, can’t we?
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