The Suns have tried to solve their point guard problem for years, and the newest version of the plan is already looking shaky.
With Jalen Green sliding into more of a distributor role next to Devin Booker, Phoenix is getting the kind of early returns that make the whole setup feel awkward. The sample is tiny - just two games - but the numbers point in the same direction the eye test does: Green looks far more comfortable as a scorer than as a lead guard.
Through a 1-1 start, Green has averaged 2.5 turnovers and 2.0 assists. Booker had to explode for 43 points just to get Phoenix past a severely depleted Golden State Warriors team, and Green’s playmaking has not helped stabilize the offense. In his career, he owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of about 1.4, which is not the profile of a natural floor general.
The turnover breakdown tells the story even more clearly. Green has already committed three bad-pass turnovers and two lost-ball turnovers, according to Basketball Reference data.
That lines up with his career numbers, which show 357 bad-pass turnovers and 326 lost-ball turnovers. He’s at his best when he’s moving without the ball or creating for himself.
Once he starts trying to set others up, the margin for error gets thin fast.
That leaves Suns coach Jordan Ott with a choice that may be tougher in theory than it is in practice: should Collin Gillespie be in the starting lineup instead of Green?
Gillespie spent most of last season starting alongside Booker while Green was out with a hamstring injury, and the production was solid. In 58 starts during last year’s breakout, Gillespie averaged 13.3 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds while posting a 58 percent true shooting mark. In 22 games off the bench, he still gave Phoenix 11 points, 4.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game with a 56 percent true shooting percentage.
That kind of profile fits cleaner next to Booker. Gillespie would bring the kind of point guard skills the Suns have been chasing, and he could also help new addition Miles Bridges. The trade pickup thrived in Charlotte when he played beside a flashy point guard like LaMelo Ball, and was more pedestrian without one.
If the Suns wanted to reimagine Green’s role, there is at least a path. He could become a bench scorer in the Jamal Crawford mold, handling offense for the second unit while the starting group leans into the scoring of the three Bs: Booker, Brooks and Bridges.
But that’s not a comfortable fit for Green, because it’s almost entirely unfamiliar territory.
He has started 336 games in his career and come off the bench only five times, all of them last season while returning from injury. The results in that reserve role weren’t encouraging: 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, with 37.2 percent shooting and 30.4 percent from three.
The bigger issue for Phoenix is that the current starting group seems overloaded with players who want the ball in scoring situations. Gillespie is a scorer too, but his passing would give the lineup a much-needed upgrade.
Green’s willingness to accept a different role is still an open question. What isn’t up for debate is that several players from his 2021 draft class have already made the kind of leap Suns fans are still waiting for from him.
Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Alperen Sengun and Jalen Johnson have all earned at least one All-Star nod since being drafted. Green, by contrast, sits 20th in his class in win shares.
If Phoenix can’t get more out of him - or at least get him closer to the player he was in Houston - the front office may eventually have to think bigger about the roster around Booker.
In Other News...
Suns Fans Forced To Revisit One Trade Regret And One Rare Triumph
For Suns fans, trade talk has a way of dragging up both the franchises brightest what-ifs and its biggest misfires. Phoenix has lived through enough roster swings over the years to know how one deal can change the trajectory of an era, and the Bradley Beal trade sits near the top of the regret list because of what the Suns gave up to get him.
Charles Barkley is the rare counterpoint in that history, the kind of move that can still make long-time fans smile. Arriving in 1992, he immediately changed the ceiling of the team and helped push Phoenix all the way to the NBA Finals the next year, a reminder that bold trades do not always end badly even if the modern memory tends to lean the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Booker Carried The Suns But This Win Still Raised Questions
Devin Booker made the home opener look easy for stretches, pouring in 43 points on 17-of-25 shooting to lead the Suns past a short-handed Warriors team, 131-122. Phoenix shot 58.1 percent from the field, pushed the pace effectively in transition and got useful support from Miles Bridges and Dillon Brooks, all of it enough to keep control against a Golden State group missing several key players, including Stephen Curry.
Still, the box score did not answer every question about where this team is headed. Booker was brilliant enough to cover a lot of ground, and DeAnthony Meltons 25 points kept the Warriors in the fight, but Phoenixs opening-night showing against depleted competition left room to wonder how the Suns will look when the challenge gets heavier and the matchups start to tighten up. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Suddenly Face Another Problem Grizzlies Fans Will Notice
Golden State is heading into its matchup with Memphis already thin, with the Warriors announcing that at least six players, including Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, will be unavailable because of injuries or recovery management. Draymond Green is doubtful, and Charles Bassey is questionable, leaving Steve Kerr with another roster puzzle at a time when availability has become just as important as form.
For the Suns, the picture is much cleaner. Most of Phoenixs roster is expected to be available, with only a few players listed out or questionable, which could matter if the game turns into the kind of late-season grind where depth decides the night. For a Grizzlies team watching both sides of the West picture, the contrast in injury reports is hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]