Phoenix Suns: Examining The Youngsters 2 Weeks Into 2016-17 Season
Two weeks into the 2016-17 NBA season, here’s an in-depth look at every youngster on the Phoenix Suns’ roster.
At 3-6, the Phoenix Suns are pretty much exactly who we thought they’d be two weeks into the 2016-17 NBA season: A young team with plenty of promise for the future, but not quite enough talent in the here and now to compete for a playoff spot.
That may be a bit of a downer for fans depressed by the prospect of a seventh straight year without a postseason appearance, but with Phoenix heading toward an inevitable youth movement, playing the youngsters provides far more hope than the win-loss column ever could.
Head coach Earl Watson has not been shy about declaring that the future is now. He moved rookie Marquese Chriss into the starting lineup over Jared Dudley two games ago, has not been afraid to tweak his roster in favor of the youngsters, and regularly acknowledges that players like Devin Booker, T.J. Warren and Alex Len are key to this team contending for a championship one day.
“The formula is simple and I lived it on many teams: You have to let young players play now,” Watson said before the Detroit Pistons game Wednesday night. “You have three years for a player to be molded into a personality the same way as when we have our children, the first five years are so important.”
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There’s more to this team than just its youth. Eric Bledsoe is looking like a borderline All-Star player again, Tyson Chandler is gobbling up boards, P.J. Tucker is boosting his trade value now that he’s healthy and the returns of Dudley and Leandro Barbosa are happy stories.
However, there’s no question this season is about development more than anything, and it’s never been more evident when Watson talks about building a family and nurturing a winning culture for the long-term. The younger players have taken centerstage, and rightfully so.
“I’m not afraid to let them fail or succeed,” Watson said. “I believe they can be pretty amazing to be honest with you, and we’re pretty lucky to have all these young guys and the veterans embrace them. The veterans want to fit in. But as veterans try to fit in around them, young guys are constantly developing, so that’s why it’s fluid for us.”
Two weeks and nine games is a very small sample size, but in the interest of evaluating the youth, here’s an in-depth look at what Devin Booker, Alex Len, T.J. Warren, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis have shown us thus far in 2016-17.