Maybe the Suns did need a point guard after all

The position of leader. It’s been a conundrum this season for 2023-24 Phoenix Suns. Do they need someone dedicated to this role? Someone who spent his entire development as a basketball player honing the skills of a playmaker and distributor? Someone who understands how to engage teammates and put them in a position to maximize their skills?

Before the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, James Jones made his strategic decisions. When rumors began circulating in Washington about three-time All-Star Bradley Beal’s happiness levels and his desire to leave the franchise he had played for the past 11 seasons, Jones seized the opportunity.

It’s rare to have someone as talented as Beal who wants to get out of his situation, knowing that he holds all the cards and all the levers in the situation. Beal possessed a rare no-trade clause, which essentially allowed him to dictate where his destination would be. His desire? Phoenix, Arizona playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

With Chris Paul aging and failing in the playoffs multiple times during his three-season stay in the Valley. Jones chased talent. Using Paul and Landry Shamet’s contract, combined with numerous first-round picks, Jones brought Bradley Beal to Phoenix despite his roster position already being occupied by one of the franchise’s greatest players, Devin Booker.

Our conversations began.

Did the Suns really need a primary game leader ? The team had one of the best players of all time playing the position over the previous three seasons and the result was a NBA Finals appearance and two exits in the second round. Devin Booker had played the point guard position earlier in his career when his team lacked talent and playmaking, and he was forced to develop aspects of that skill set. Beal, at 6’4″, also had experience playing some point, and Kevin Durant facilitated offenses throughout his career with his passing abilities.

Jones doubled down by trading former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton for Portland Trail Blazers and gain Jusuf Nurkic in return. Nurkic, while nowhere near as athletic as Ayton, possessed the passing skill. His basketball IQ created a comfortable fit for the team and theoretically solved the problem of lacking a point guard.

I was on the side of those who thought it would work. You don’t need someone dedicated to the game when you have four playmakers on the court. Looking at previous and most recent NBA champions, none of them possessed a true point guard by traditional standards.

Jamal Murray is a capable playmaker, but he’s more like Bradley Beal than Chris Paul in his scoring ability. Stephen Curry plays point guard, but we all know he’s not a point guard. Jrue Holliday is a defensive stalwart, not a primary distributor. The traditional leader is no longer what he used to be. So why would Phoenix need one with this level of talent on the court?

What I failed to realize in making this argument is that these three players have played the point their entire careers. They have developed this skill set and understand the ebb and flow of a game; when to activate it from a point guard perspective and when to rely on their elite scoring ability. In the case of the Nuggets and Warriors, Murray and Curry both possess chemistry with their teammates that develops with repetition and time. They instinctively understand how to run the offense, where their teammates are going to be, and how to maximize those around them.

Phoenix, on the other hand, is a team of mercenaries. This is a team built on the basis of talent rather than connectivity. Of course, the end goal is to reach that level of chemistry, but that hasn’t come to fruition this season due to injuries. The result? Phoenix is ​​atrocious at taking care of the ball.

The Suns are 27th in the league with 15.0 turnovers per game. They are the 5th worst turnovers in the league in total live ball turnovers this season. They lead the league with 4.1 turnovers in the fourth quarter, coughing up the ball on 17% of their possessions in the period.

Having a primary point guard position would negate some aspects of their problem.

If you look at Phoenix’s recent history, it’s clear that losing a senior point guard has affected their ability to secure possessions. They went – ​​in just two seasons – from the seventh-best ball-handling team to the fourth-worst.

The hope was that as the season progressed, the turnover numbers would begin to dissipate and that chemistry and understanding of the offense and spacing would lead to muted turnover numbers. It just didn’t happen. Even at this point in the season – 60 games – the number of turnovers is astonishing.

You can point the finger at the injuries. You can point to the newly acquired players and the roster shuffling in rotations. You should point out the lack of point guard play.

Devon Booker is having a career season averaging 27.5 points and 6.8 assists. He also takes care of the ball, posting a respectable assists-to-turnovers ratio of 1.63. He did what he could to fill the lead role when asked, and statistically, he apparently succeeded.

The challenge ahead, however, lies in that delicate balance between playmaker and scorer.

A point guard must be completely selfless and, if not, know when and where to use his skills. We’ve seen instances where Booker has had an off night offensively, and rather than resorting to facilitation, he continues to try to find his chance. He’s had an incredible season, but he’s more effective as an off-ball double guard than as a primary facilitator.

Then there’s the addition of Bradley Beal. He spent nearly half the season on the injured list, missing 29 of the Suns’ 61 games. In the games he played, he was not asked to be the main dealer. This is partly due to Booker taking on this role. Unfortunately, we have seen a regression year after year in the ability to create games.

It won’t get easier as the season goes on, nor will it get easier in the playoffs. Opposing defenses aren’t any easier to deal with in the playoffs; they become harder. If you are a team prone to turnover, these teams will make you pay for it. We saw him last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There are two matches, against the Houston Rockets, the Suns turned the ball over 19 times. The Rockets converted those turnovers into just 19 points. Last night against the Thunder, they turned the ball over 22 times. The Thunder turned them into 31 points.

What the Suns have built this season is not sustainable. This is not a recipe for success. The team has 21 games to figure out how to turn the ball over less. Frankly, I don’t know if it’s possible. We’re at the point in the season where you are who you are and teams with an affinity for the ball don’t usually magically find a spell they can cast on themselves that allows them to stop turnovers.

All hope is not lost. Just look at the turnover rates of some of the recent NBA champions:

Looking back, I was wrong. I wanted to believe that starting with four players who were quality passers would equate to a team not needing a primary ball handler. It was an experiment and it doesn’t work. I accept that hope has blinded my instincts.

The journey that awaits James Jones is delicate. Beal still has that no-trade clause and is under contract to make $50.2 million next year, $53.7 million the following year, and has a player option for $57.1 million dollars in 2026-2027.

The franchise has sold out the future of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. We’ll wait to see how much of that future James Jones can recoup with his remaining assets. And whether or not adding a point guard is in the cards.