Phoenix Suns: 5 Takeaways From 2016-17 Media Day

1. The Starting SG Spot Is Still Up For Grabs

The biggest question heading into the 2016-17 season, of course, revolves around Devin Booker and Brandon Knight competing for the starting shooting guard spot.

There are a few reasons for Knight to retain his starting job, but there’s no question that Booker’s high ceiling as a superstar-caliber player should not be stunted either.

From McDonough to Watson to Chandler to even Knight himself, the Suns seem to all be on the same page that this 19-year-old may be the foundation of the franchise moving forward.

"“A guy who was getting DNPs to start the year, for him to be the fourth youngest player in NBA history to score 1,000 points along with LeBron, Kobe, Kevin Durant, you know, some of the legends of the game, that’s pretty heady company,” McDonough said. “What’s impressed me about him more than anything is he doesn’t let that get to his head.”"

The Suns are excited to see what he can do with a full offseason of work, especially after being a dominant player in Summer League and playing with USA Basketball’s Select Team over the summer.

However, Booker’s rapid rise has also created a situation similar to when the Suns’ backcourt was overloaded with Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas. With only one ball to go around between the three of them, tension ran high and both Dragic and Thomas were panic-traded at the 2015 NBA Trade Deadline.

This situation is a bit different since Booker’s true position is shooting guard, but the central conflict remains the same: Someone will have to embrace a role off the bench.

"“It is going to be an open competition going up to training camp, we haven’t predetermined anything,” McDonough said. “We have at least three starting-caliber guards, I think maybe more than that potentially, but three guards who have received All-Star consideration or will receive All-Star consideration in the future — we view that as a good problem to have.”"

On the one hand, McDonough is right. The Suns have all three players under contract for awhile, which definitely helps the situation.

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But Markieff Morris fit the same description last year, and if Knight continues to resist a sixth man role, tensions could flare up if and when Booker replaces him in the starting lineup.

At Media Day, a total of five players, one GM and one head coach took to the podium…and Brandon Knight wasn’t one of them. Perhaps that’s just a coincidence, but Knight only spoke to a media scrum for about five minutes before being escorted to his next photo shoot.

Perhaps this is all making a big ado about nothing, but Knight’s curt responses and the way he largely dodged questions about a potential sixth man role weren’t encouraging.

"“We’ve got a lot of talented guys,” Knight said. “It’s just a matter of coming together and trying to win games. That’s the biggest thing. As long as we’re winning, as long as that’s the common goal, which it is, that’s the best thing.”"

At this point, it’s really starting the feel like Booker is poised to seize the starting shooting guard spot. He’s already a fan favorite, a potential star and his game is not that far behind Knight’s.

Playing for a Suns team with tempered expectations, Booker and the youth movement should take precedence sooner or later.

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“He tells me he’s the best teenager in the world, which could be true,” Watson said. “At 19, that’s a lot to ask, but if we look at age as a safety guard, then he can’t do anything special this season.”

Booker and Knight will most likely be training camp’s most fiercely contested battle. The rest of the roster is not blind to that power struggle, and most are already dropping subtle hints about the importance of sacrifice for the good of the team.

“Sometimes it’s your night, sometimes it’s not,” Bledsoe said. “You can’t be jealous of somebody else’s success. Just let ‘em shine and be happy for ‘em”.

“There are definitely guys that are going to have to make sacrifices in order for us all to accomplish the common goal,” Chandler added. “But I think that will happen.”

This is where all the off-court bonding and chemistry is going to need to come into play.

“It’s easier to sacrifice for someone that’s sitting next to you that you’ve known for a long period of time and that you truly love and care about,” Watson said.

If the Suns play Booker at the 3 more than anticipated, Phoenix will temporarily avoid the issue by having Bledsoe, Knight and Book on the court at the same time. There will be major defensive issues there, but from a pure chemistry standpoint, Booker was optimistic about the idea.

"“I think we can all work well together,” he said. “One, we’re all competitive and I think that’s going to make us take that step forward — being competitive, but still have the understanding that we all have the same goal. So when we step out on the floor together, we know that we’re going to be trying to win games together. So I think it’s a brotherhood in between us that’s really competitive and that’s best for us.”"

Once Warren and P.J. Tucker are both 100 percent, however, minutes at the 3 will become scarce — especially since Dudley can play minutes at that spot once Bender and/or Chriss become more comfortable.

As opening night creeps closer and closer, it appears the starting 2-guard is still an unknown. Heading into training camp, it’s the biggest question facing the Suns.

Will Booker prove his rise to stardom is ready to begin before his 20th birthday? Or will the Suns take the more cautious route and delay Knight’s NBA destiny as a sixth man by giving him tenure over the younger Booker?

Next: NBA Predictions: 2016-17 Win Total Projections For All 30 Teams

“The main thing we really want to emphasize is that what’s best for the team is what’s best for us,” Watson said. “So the family is first, what’s best for our family. A lot of times, the guy that sacrificed the most is the most important part of the family. We understand that whoever comes off the bench — which is the real question — has a chance to win Sixth Man of the Year. So we have to embrace that, uplift that and empower that.”