Jalen Green spent part of his offseason getting an education from one of the Suns’ all-time greats.
At Suns Media Day, Green said his attention has been on his pace of play and on creating for others, and the notable part was who helped guide that work: Suns Ring of Honor member and NBA Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash.
Green described what came out of those sessions in straightforward terms.
“The pace and just being able to read the game a little bit better. Haring somebody his caliber, [a] two-time MVP, Hall of Famer, being able to sit down and actually watch a workout and critique you…that sticks with you,” Green said during Media Day availability. “Being able to hear him, how he breaks the game down, how he sees it, helps a lot.”
The key here is that Green isn’t treating playmaking like an afterthought. He’s making it a deliberate point of emphasis, and that matters.
Last year, his preseason focus was mid-range shooting, and that translated into a full-season grade jump from D- the year before to A- according to BBall Index, as noted in John Voita’s player preview article. With this offseason centered on playmaking, there’s a path for another step forward.
There are plenty of examples of score-first players who added more to their passing game later on. DeMar DeRozan is the cleanest one.
Through his first four seasons, he never got above 4.0 assists per game. Then Raptors coach Dwane Casey made playmaking a focus in 2017-18, and DeRozan’s assists climbed to 5.2.
From there, he put together 10 straight seasons above four assists per game, reaching 6.9 apg in 2020-21. He still isn’t a point guard, and that label shouldn’t be forced onto Green either.
But like DeRozan, Green can be a high-level scorer who bends defenses first and then uses that attention to create for others.
That’s the realistic bar for now. Playmaking is harder to develop than dunking or shooting threes, and not everyone grows into it at the same pace.
Even in DeRozan’s case, the change came with a transition period and only gradual improvement at first. For Green, the signs to watch are simple: fewer turnovers, more than a one-assist bump per game, and a player who looks more in command of the offense.
If that happens, the long-term vision starts to feel a lot more real.
And if it does, Green will have had “MV Steve” helping him along the way.
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One option under consideration is Duop Reath on a two-way contract, a move that would give the Suns extra center depth while letting him split time between Phoenix and the G League affiliate. The appeal is obvious for a team trying to patch a position without creating bigger roster ripples, and the Suns are weighing that route alongside the other two-way pieces already in place. [Read more 🡒]