Phoenix Suns: Can Rubio and Booker be the next “Backcourt 2000”?

Rubio can absolutely be part of a new Backcourt 2000

There will be plenty of fans that believe that the next few paragraphs will make absolutely no sense. If those fans just look at box scores, it won’t. But if you look at the veteran leadership qualities the Phoenix Suns desperately needs, he’s perfect.

Sure, Ricky Rubio was not re-signed by the Utah Jazz, but Mike Conley is an upgrade that the team needs to be a title contender. This just in to HoopsHabit: the Phoenix Suns are nowhere close to being a title contender.

The Phoenix Suns are loaded with young players that need a player like Rubio to be an extension of Monty Williams on the floor to be effective.

If Phoenix fans are looking for Rubio to put up the numbers and flash of a Stephen Curry or Russell Westbrook, they are going to be sorely disappointed.

But if fans are looking for a point guard to set the table while having no issue watching Devin Booker jack up 25 shots per night, you have your point guard for the next three years.

You don’t think the Suns can use performances like these last year?

Make this point will help Phoenix Suns fans believe that Rubio can be the best point guard for Devin Booker. Ricky Rubio helped another up-and-coming guard named Donovan Mitchell go to the next level. Utah fell apart in the playoffs when Rubio was no longer a factor in the Houston series. When Mitchell had to take on more responsibilities, his efficiency fell off.

This is not about stats or numbers, this is about production and dynamic teamwork. Even the pairing of Hardaway and Kidd can make that claim. It was another short-term backcourt that can make that claim.

Back in the 2005-06 season, Phoenix featured its highest-powered backcourt pairing. Before his seven All-Star appearances, Joe Johnson was a 20-year-old gunner running alongside Nash on a Suns team that won 62 games. If it wasn’t for a hard foul by Jerry Stackhouse that caused facial fractures that ended Johnson’s effectiveness, the Suns might have made a title run.

That year as a Sun, Johnson set a career-high in 3-point percentage in his last year playing alongside Nash. In an effort to save a bit of cash, the Suns elected to let Johnson walk during the free agency period of 2006, effectively ending this dynamic duo’s run.

Do you think Ricky Rubio and Devin Booker can form “Backcourt 2000” for the Suns?