Phoenix Suns: 2019-20 NBA season preview
By Adam Noel
Storyline 2: Establishing starting wings and forwards
Perhaps the best job the Suns did this offseason was solidifying the small and power forward positions. Those were two major areas of concern all of last season.
The key being re-signing Kelly Oubre Jr. in free agency to be the team’s starting small forward of the future. The 23-year-old shined in the 40 games he played with the Suns last season and proved to be a reliable scorer when called upon. The only issue being that Oubre cuts into valuable minutes for young forward Mikal Bridges.
After starting 56 games for the team last season, Bridges now sits behind both Oubre and Devin Booker at his two primary positions. Moving him to bench hurts the efficiency of the defense, but could create a dynamic sixth man position for Bridges.
At power forward, the Suns finally abandoned the Dragan Bender project and found a viable starter in Dario Saric. He comes over after a split season between the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves. That resulted in a career-worst overall year for the Croatian big man.
Now in Phoenix, Saric is looking for a clean slate and should be happy with where he landed.
He’ll start as the unquestioned power forward of the team and should return to averaging over 30 minutes a game. Behind him is another free agent acquisition, Frank Kaminsky. Kaminsky brings in a very similar game and provides the bench unit with a stretch-four to pair with Aron Baynes.
With increased playing time, Kaminsky should bounce back after a strange season with the Charlotte Hornets.