Devin Booker = Franchise Player?

[slinslin]

Bledsoe and Booker should be a great combo.

True playmaking PGs are not winning in the NBA. (Rondo, Rubio)

And a high usage PG would take away from Bookers own playmaking.

A healthy Bledsoe would be a perfect match for Booker.

 

[sunsfan88]

I am all for playing the young guys as much as possible but 42 minutes plus in back to back gamesand in Denver and in blowouts is a bit extreme...

Can't believe I'm saying it but I agree with slin here. I love playing the young guys which is one of the main reasons I did not like Hornacek, but Booker's averaging 40 mins per game in his last 5. I'm not going to look it up but I'm positive that he probably averaged half that (or less) at Kentucky. He's 19 years old, I honestly don't want them to play him to the ground. Even though I don't agree with it, some Bulls fans say that that Thibs did with Rose and that was part of the reason for Rose never being the same since his MVP season in which he averaged 38 mins per game. Same with Luol Deng's downfall as he was averaging nearly 40 mins per game under Thibs in back to back seasons.

Yes we all want to see him play but lets not kill him. We don't have a shortage of guards now either with Knight back plus Price, Goodwin, and Jenkins.

 

[elindholm]

Actually he kind of reminded me of Bryant last night.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Between Booker, the upcoming draft, and (to a lesser extent) Len, I find myself more excited for the Suns' future than I have been in a long time. Throw in the potential of the Miami picks down the line, and it almost makes this tire fire of a season acceptable. Almost.

 

[SirStefan32]

Between Booker, the upcoming draft, and (to a lesser extent) Len, I find myself more excited for the Suns' future than I have been in a long time. Throw in the potential of the Miami picks down the line, and it almost makes this tire fire of a season acceptable. Almost.

Don't forget Warren. That kid plays like a smart 30-something, and will be a big-time scorer.

 

[TJ]

Booker, healthy Bledsoe, and Simmons would be a great trio in 2-3 years.

Just saying.

 

[Catlover]

Booker, healthy Bledsoe, and Simmons would be a great trio in 2-3 years.

Just saying.

I'm less impressed by Simmons today than I was 2 months ago, I'm not sure what he'll be at the next level. But if Len is thriving at the 5 and Warren turns into the small forward we all hope he can be, maybe Simmons' shortcomings won't matter as much.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Reggie Miller. Not necessarily style of play but caliber of player. Not an MVP but consistently all pro.

Call me crazy, but as weird as this sounds, I think he's actually the more athletic version of Jeff Hornacek. He doesn't have above the rim type hops, but he's GREAT at finding creases in the defenses and have just enough quickness to exploit them. He's got that rapid release and floater that Horny had too.

eh... that's probably selling him short (even though I'm talking about Horny at his best... and being better then that). Maybe Brandon Roy's a better comparison.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I'm less impressed by Simmons today than I was 2 months ago, I'm not sure what he'll be at the next level. But if Len is thriving at the 5 and Warren turns into the small forward we all hope he can be, maybe Simmons' shortcomings won't matter as much.

even if he ends up being Lamar Odom, a starting lineup of Bledsoe, Booker, Warren, Lamar Odom-ish and Len is a solid VERY young starting 5 to grow together.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Don't forget Warren. That kid plays like a smart 30-something, and will be a big-time scorer.

Agreed. I really like Warren. If Bledsoe comes back healthy, he's a really nice asset too. For as bad as the Suns have been, they definitely have some nice pieces going forward.

 

[JCSunsfan]

even if he ends up being Lamar Odom, a starting lineup of Bledsoe, Booker, Warren, Lamar Odom-ish and Len is a solid VERY young starting 5 to grow together.

I am thinking a bigger more athletic Boris Diaw. But that type of player would mesh perfectly with this roster. The ball would move. Simmons is an excellent rebounder. My big concern would be his absolutely non-existent defense.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I am thinking a bigger more athletic Boris Diaw. But that type of player would mesh perfectly with this roster. The ball would move. Simmons is an excellent rebounder. My big concern would be his absolutely non-existent defense.

I feel like a bigger, more athletic version of Diaw is actually Odom. I think people forget how much of a talent Odom was in his prime.

 

[BC867]

I am trying not to get too excited about Booker, but he seems to improve game by game. Kudos to EW for letting him do it.

He is more athletic than I thought he was. He is very fast but smooth at the same time. His intelligence and composure is a marvel. I have no doubt that he will eventually add the last missing piece to his game which is defense. If he does that, he will be a complete player. There have been so very few of those and I don't remember any on the Suns.

Shooting, driving, ball handling, distributing and defense. That puts him in MJ and Kobe territory. Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying he will be as good. I am just talking about being a complete player.

I watched three quarters of the game last night. And something special about Booker impressed me, beyond his ball playing skills at such a young age.

The Suns aired a promo during the game. I had stepped away from the TV and said, "Who is that deep voice?". It was Devin Booker. Even as a public relations voice at the age of 19, he sounds much more mature.

As someone posted, he is on the verge of becoming our Paul Goldschmidt. It is so good to see something not just positive, but outstanding, about the Suns right before our eyes.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Booker is averaging 25.8 ppg and 4.3 assists per game in March. That is a six game stretch. When was the last time a Sun averaged over 25 ppg for a six game stretch?

Goran never did it.
Bledsoe never did it.
IT never never did it.
BK never did it.
Gerald Green never did it.
Steve Nash never did it.

Its probably Amare. Yes. I checked. Its Amare in April of 2010. Did I miss someone?

 

[itlnsunsfan]

Booker is averaging 25.8 ppg and 4.3 assists per game in March. That is a six game stretch. When was the last time a Sun averaged over 25 ppg for a six game stretch?

Goran never did it.
Bledsoe never did it.
IT never never did it.
BK never did it.
Gerald Green never did it.
Steve Nash never did it.

Its probably Amare. Yes. I checked. Its Amare in April of 2010. Did I miss someone?

Wow. This is a great post. Very interesting.

 

[itlnsunsfan]

Just curious here. Would anyone trade Booker, Len, Warren for D. Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle? Just trying to compare our youth to the Lakers.

 

[devilalum]

On Around the Horn Israel whatshisname just went off about how Booker is the next great 2 guard.

We aren't the only ones noticing and it's not just our homer colored glasses.

This kid is really good.

sent from a fone

 

[devilalum]

Booker is averaging 25.8 ppg and 4.3 assists per game in March. That is a six game stretch. When was the last time a Sun averaged over 25 ppg for a six game stretch?

Goran never did it.
Bledsoe never did it.
IT never never did it.
BK never did it.
Gerald Green never did it.
Steve Nash never did it.

Its probably Amare. Yes. I checked. Its Amare in April of 2010. Did I miss someone?

To be fair Nash could have done it he wasn't a pass first player averaging 10 dimes a game.

But you are right about the kid playing well.

sent from a fone

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Just curious here. Would anyone trade Booker, Len, Warren for D. Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle? Just trying to compare our youth to the Lakers.

I wouldn't make that trade, but I'm admittedly biased.

It seems relatively even though.

I was listening to national radio today and they were talking up Booker, arguing over whether Booker or Russell would go before the other in a redraft. They thought Towns was an obvious #1, and thought Booker, Russell, and Zinger all had arguments to go second. Big praise for Booker, but shows Russell is getting similar praise nationally. So that's relatively even.

Randle and Len I think are also pretty even. Personally, I think Len's size and defensive potential make him a no-brainer over Randle, but I know Randle is regarded highly enough that there are plenty of people who would strongly disagree.

Clarkson has proven more than Warren, but I think they are also similar in value and potential.

Hopefully, the Suns get Simmons and the Lakers lose their pick, and who has the better young talent isn't even a discussion next year!

 

[JCSunsfan]

I wouldn't make that trade, but I'm admittedly biased.

It seems relatively even though.

I was listening to national radio today and they were talking up Booker, arguing over whether Booker or Russell would go before the other in a redraft. They thought Towns was an obvious #1, and thought Booker, Russell, and Zinger all had arguments to go second. Big praise for Booker, but shows Russell is getting similar praise nationally. So that's relatively even.

Randle and Len I think are also pretty even. Personally, I think Len's size and defensive potential make him a no-brainer over Randle, but I know Randle is regarded highly enough that there are plenty of people who would strongly disagree.

Clarkson has proven more than Warren, but I think they are also similar in value and potential.

Hopefully, the Suns get Simmons and the Lakers lose their pick, and who has the better young talent isn't even a discussion next year!

Its hard to sort out the bias in my mind. The reason is that, all things being equal, I would want our next stars to be "our" guys. There is something hugely satisfying about it being players that we drafted.

I agree on the Lakers losing their pick. It was ours, its gone, water under the bridge. There is no benefit for the Suns in being satisfied that we would not have gotten it anyway. The only priority right now is that things turn out badly for the Lakers.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Its hard to sort out the bias in my mind. The reason is that, all things being equal, I would want our next stars to be "our" guys. There is something hugely satisfying about it being players that we drafted.

I agree on the Lakers losing their pick. It was ours, its gone, water under the bridge. There is no benefit for the Suns in being satisfied that we would not have gotten it anyway. The only priority right now is that things turn out badly for the Lakers.

Agreed. What's bad for the Lakers is good for the Suns.

And yeah, as a subjective Suns fan, I absolutely hate this trade. It is way more fun to root for "our" guys, and we would have to get a ridiculously unfair return for me to even consider being happy about a Booker trade.

Likewise, I already can't stand Russell and Randle because of their Lakerness.

 

[elindholm]

Booker is averaging 25.8 ppg and 4.3 assists per game in March. That is a six game stretch. When was the last time a Sun averaged over 25 ppg for a six game stretch?

Goran never did it.
Bledsoe never did it.
IT never never did it.
BK never did it.
Gerald Green never did it.
Steve Nash never did it.

Its probably Amare. Yes. I checked. Its Amare in April of 2010. Did I miss someone?

I'm not disputing you, but where do you get those stats? That sounds pretty obscure.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I'm not disputing you, but where do you get those stats? That sounds pretty obscure.

Feel free to dispute. I scrolled through espn game logs looking for any stretch by any of our main offensive weapons and could not find a stretch like that since Amare. I would not be offended at all if someone found an exception. I wasn't sure how to check it out.

It was pretty easy to check Knight, Bledsoe, and IT. They haven't been here that long. I looked through all of Goran's game logs with the Suns and could not find a stretch like that.

I just couldn't think of anyone else who score like that since Amare so I went back and looked at Amare's game logs and found that he had scored over 25 per game in his last month with us. Amare score more than that in the playoffs often as well.

 

[Errntknght]

I'm not disputing you, but where do you get those stats? That sounds pretty obscure.

That crossed my mind, too. I'd be willing to bet he's right though because I think I'd remember if any of the aforementioned had a streak like that.

 

[JCSunsfan]

OK. A little thought experiment. Lets say that Booker IS the franchise piece you decide to build around. Forget who else is on the team right now. What other pieces would you want to put around him? Type of players and skill sets rather than specific players.