Rebuild and Retain: Phoenix Suns

Over the past two seasons, there isn’t a team that has embodied confusion more than the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns weren’t planning on being a playoff team with the roster they put together in 2013. Many people predicted them to be in the race for the top pick that year along with the Philadelphia 76ers. Instead, Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic thrived under new head coach Jeff Hornacek’s up tempo offense and the team came within a few wins of making the playoffs.

Things started to unravel towards the end of last season, after star players Dragic and Isaiah Thomas were unhappy about their roles with the team. This led to both being traded and the team bringing in Brandon Knight from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Suns missed out on the playoffs, but they had an exciting young backcourt to sell to free agents in the offseason.

After making some noteworthy signings last summer and having playoff aspirations this season, the Suns have imploded. Markieff Morris became upset when the team traded away his twin brother, Marcus Morris, and demanded a trade in the summer. Tyson Chandler, their big free agent signing that almost helped them bring in LaMarcus Aldridge, has shown a significant decline after a nice season in Dallas. And over the last month, Morris threw a towel at Hornacek during a game in frustration, Eric Bledsoe suffered a season ending injury and the team fired two of their top assistants.

With all that in mind, many believe that Hornacek’s days are numbered in Phoenix, with the team unlikely to pick up his option for next season.

The Phoenix Suns are the next team in this Rebuild and Retain series going through each NBA squad not considered a title contender and assessing the young players they have on their roster. Player development is key in building a championship contender, and this series looks at whether or not the young players these teams have will help them reach that level in the future. With how much this Suns roster looks to be up in the air going forward, which of their four young guys will stick around?

Note: Only players on their rookie contracts will be considered for this series. If a team has signed a player to a second contract, that more than likely means that they are considered a core member of the roster.

DEVIN BOOKER

Booker was Phoenix’s 13th selection in the 2015 NBA Draft. While there have been many talented rookies this season, Booker finds himself near the top of the list after 33 games.

Heading into draft night, Booker had already developed the reputation of being the best shooter in the class. He shot 41.1 percent from 3-point range in his only season at Kentucky, and that has more than carried over to the league. Booker has been throwing fire balls from behind the arc, shooting 45.6 percent from the perimeter so far in his rookie season. He has all the makings of being a great shooter, knocking it down off of screens, spotting up and off the dribble.

What really stands out about Booker’s game that he didn’t show at Kentucky is an ability to handle the ball in pick and roll situations and make the right read coming off of it.

The one area Booker has had problems is his defense, something that is normal for rookies to be inconsistent with. Booker had the notable game guarding Klay Thompson this season where Klay embarrassed him several times en route to a 43 point performance. That may be the main reason Hornacek was reluctant to play him earlier this year. As the season has progressed, however, Booker’s minutes have drastically risen due to the Suns’ need for help. Not only has Booker provided them with just that, but being the youngest player in the league probably makes him their most prized asset, especially given how well he has played.

T.J. WARREN

After being named the ACC Player of the Year his final year at NC State, Warren was drafted 14th overall by the Suns in 2014. He didn’t get much run at the beginning of the season, but Warren came on late, averaging 7.9 points per game in 25.7 minutes per game during the month of April. Warren has continued to come off the bench this season and has played well, averaging 11.3 points on 50.4 percent shooting.

Warren’s game is unconventional for a wing. He isn’t elite at the skills you would think a wing player should have, but the skills he does possess keeps him on the floor. He knows how to use his size and length to get into the lane and finish tough shots in traffic. His array of floaters and euro steps are quirky but they get the job done.

The one area that Warren has improved this season is his 3-point shooting. In his last year at NC State and first year in Phoenix, Warren shot less than 27 percent from beyond the arc. Warren has always been a threat from the mid range area, but never has he been able to stretch out his jumper to the 3-point line. This season, however, Warren has shown a drastic improvement by knocking down 39.7 percent of his shots from distance. Most of those attempts are coming from the corners, where Warren is shooting 41.9 percent.

Becoming a knock down shooter from the corners is a great sign in Warren’s development, and if he can become a consistent shooter from deep, he could develop into one of the better scoring wings in the entire league.

ALEX LEN

While both Booker and Warren have solidified themselves as players with a place in the long term future of the Suns, Len’s outlook is cloudier. After being drafted fifth overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, Len missed the majority of his rookie season due to an injury. The following year, Len won the starting center job and played well — he averaged 6.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

Things got more complicated when the Suns signed Chandler in the summer, however, making it seem like Len may not be a part of their long-term plans.

With how bad Chandler has been this season, Len may be back on the board as the Suns turn their franchise in another direction. Len isn’t the type of athletic, dunking machine that Phoenix envisioned Chandler being, but he plays hard and is willing to do a lot of the little things that some players aren’t willing to do. His frame is really strong at 7-1 and 260 pounds, helping him set great screens. His nimble feet also help him move well across the court and in pick and roll situations.

Len’s defense is his most intriguing attribute. Like I said before, he isn’t athletic, but he has already done a great job at learning the NBA’s verticality concept. The best shot blockers in the league master this, and Len has shown flashes of being able to protect the rim with his body and length instead of athleticism.

Len may not be what the Suns had hoped for when they selected him at No. 5. For a guy who shoots the majority of his shots around the rim, his 46 percent shooting from the field is poor. He won’t be a stretchy big man and Phoenix isn’t going to use their centers in the post, which means his offensive skill set will remain limited. He does the things they ask him to do at a solid clip, however, and Len could be one of the more high end backup centers in the NBA. It isn’t out of the question that, if he can continue to develop other skills, he could be an Andrew Bogut-type center.

ARCHIE GOODWIN

Of all the Suns’ prospects, Goodwin may be the odd man out heading forward. After being selected 29th in 2013, Goodwin has barely made it off the bench, with his most appearances thus far being 52 games in his rookie season. Goodwin has struggled to make the transition from a shooting guard to point guard, the position NBA scouts and the Suns envisioned him playing.

Goodwin is 6-5 with a skinny 200 pound frame, making his ability to play shooting guard limited. Since he isn’t able to stick with the size that the wings in the NBA have, he will have to develop his skills on offense to help him stay on the floor. His career assist-to-turnover ratio is less than one and he is shooting 21.3 percent from 3-point range for his career. If he can’t learn to create offense or knock down 3s, there isn’t going to be a place for him as a guard in the NBA.

Will Robert Sarver embrace his millennials?

Whether team owner Robert Sarver likes it or not, the most exciting thing about his Suns team is their current crop of young talent. With how bad things have turned for them this season, they have a few solid core players they can count on building with for the future. None of these players really have the potential to be perennial All-Stars, but they all have the capability to be quality starters and rotation players.

As this team decides to change the course and go a different direction with their rebuild, expect Booker, Warren and Len to stick around.