Phoenix Suns: 5 Adjustments That Need To Be Made

3. Start Alex Len

No offense to Tyson Chandler, but at some point, the Suns really need to stop trying to make the veterans happy and focus on the painfully obvious rebuild that hasn’t been given room to grow.

Chandler has been mostly terrific lately, posting back-to-back 20-rebound games just last week. He’s also 34 years old and would be far more useful to the Suns as a trade candidate, especially since his 27.7 minutes a night are impeding the front office from being able to make an informed decision about Alex Len‘s upcoming restricted free agency.

Len has shown plenty of flashes of potential off the bench this year, averaging 8.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in just 22.7 minutes per game. In his nine games as a starter, Len put up 10.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game on 56.9 percent shooting — more than acceptable numbers for a starting center.

At this point in his career, we know Len will probably never be a superstar. We know he’s been injury-prone at times, that he still struggles to regularly knock down midrange jumpers, and that every time he takes a running hook through the lane, an angel loses its wings.

But do we know if Alex Len can be a starting-caliber center in this league? Do we know if he can anchor an average NBA defense? Do we have any idea what his value might be on the restricted free agency market with the salary cap exploding the way it has?

The answer to all of those questions is an emphatic “no,” and the longer the Suns wait to see how he fares against starting-caliber centers on a night-to-night basis in his fourth season, the more they risk bungling this whole situation.

This isn’t rocket science; as one of the roster’s biggest enigmas in terms of his fit with a young core, Len needs the chance to log starter’s minutes. Let Len either prove himself as a long-term fixture in Phoenix, or as a player the Suns can afford to lose should another team swoop in with a massive offer sheet.