Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green discusses joining the team
New Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green on joining the team after being traded from the Houston Rockets for Kevin Durant.
The Phoenix Suns are rebuilding around Devin Booker after trading Kevin Durant and buying out Bradley Beal.New head coach Jordan Ott will be tasked with making the scoring guard pairing of Booker and Green successful.
Devin Booker started his offseason earlier than he has in recent years.
The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season despite Booker playing 75 games, the most since his second NBA season in 2016-17 (78 games), and having Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Booker for a second straight year.
Booker never envisioned being back in a losing situation after being on the wrong end of too many games early in his career. So, he had no plans to shut it down after Game 82.
“I’ll start open gym right after the season,” Booker said after Phoenix’s final home game last season.
He spent his usual time in Flagstaff with his dogs, Haven and Hector. Did some traveling beyond that, too, but Booker also was part of the Suns head coaching search and liked what eventual hire Jordan Ott brought to the table.
Booker connected with his new teammates, ran open gym with them and will now begin his 11th training camp as the unequivocal team leader.
Durant is in Houston after an offseason trade before the 2025 draft.
The Suns bought out Beal, who is now with the Los Angeles Clippers.
No more Big 3. The Suns begin training camp Sept. 25, looking to rebuild around Booker.
Phoenix Suns building around Devin Booker
Booker has been the face of the franchise for years, and, further cementing his status, he signed a historic two-year, $145-million extension in the offseason that keeps him under contract in Phoenix through the 2029-30 season.
He’s the Suns all-time leading scorer who came to Phoenix as an 18-year-old rookie out of Kentucky, reached the 2021 finals and became one of the game’s best players.
However, this feels like a restart for Booker.
The Suns tried to put together a super team with Booker, Durant and Beal, but it fell way short of expectations. They never won a playoff series with that trio.
Bad fit. Questionable roster decisions. Salary cap restrictions.
The Suns are now under the first and second tax aprons with Booker at the center of whatever roster decisions they have made and look to make moving forward.
One of the more interesting decisions was getting Jalen Green in the Durant trade to pair with Booker in the backcourt.
They are both scoring guards, a move that didn’t appear to work with Booker and Beal. The Suns went 21-27 last season when those two played together.
Green doesn’t sound worried about coexisting with Booker.
“We are two people who are going to accept the double team and be able to play off each other,” Green said during 2025 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
“When you look at something like that, it’s like, we’re two people who know how to score the basketball. We’re two people who know how to attract the defense. When we’re doing something like that, you got to pick who you want to score tonight. He and I are going to be a deadly scoring duo.”
Suns’ Jalen Green, Booker a formidable backcourt
Green is a talented 23-year-old who was the second overall pick in the 2021 draft and has averaged 20.1 points in his four NBA seasons.
If one believes former NBA head coach Rick Pitino, the point guard concept no longer exists in the NBA. One exception would be 40-year-old Chris Paul, who played that role at an elite level in leading the Suns to the finals along with Booker.
However, the Indiana Pacers reached the 2025 finals with guard Tyrese Haliburton averaging 9.2 assists. Only Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Denver Nuggets big Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP, averaged more last season at 11.6 and 10.2 assists, respectively.
Maybe Pitino has a point, but teams still need at least one player who is looking to create for others or an offense that lends itself to sharing the ball by committee.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, with Ott as an assistant under 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson, led the league in scoring last season at 121.9 points a game. They averaged 28.1 assists to finish ninth in the NBA in that stat, but only one player averaged more than five a game – Darius Garland at 6.4.
First-team All-NBA selection Donovan Mitchell was Cleveland’s second-leading assist man at five a game. The next four leaders for the Cavs in assists averaged between 3.7 and 3.1.
Cleveland scored off screens, pindowns and backdoor cuts on the baseline. If the Suns run a similar offense, maybe Booker and Green can coexist on offense even though both are scorers and operate with the ball in their hands.
Booker attempted 18.9 shots a game last season with a season-high 5.1 of them coming on three to six dribbles; 4.8 attempts came on zero bounces.
As for Green, he attempted 17.5 shots last season with a season-high 6.5 coming on seven or more dribbles. He attempted 4.3 on three to six bounces and 4.1 on zero bounces.
Based on those numbers, Booker doesn’t need as many dribbles as Green for score, but Ott may have an offense that can lead to both getting good looks to score without one necessarily depending on the other to find them.
Green has averaged only 3.4 assists in his career, but he’s shown the ability to handle the ball out of the pick-and-roll and find teammates. His numbers are partly a product of the Rockets shooting 45.5% to finish 21st in field goal percentage last season.
If nothing else, Ott knows Booker can serve as a playmaker and still get buckets. Last season, Booker averaged 25.6 points and a career-best 7.1 assists.
Under Jordan Ott, Green can be an All-Star
The interesting dynamic between the two is Booker is a four-time All-Star and Green has that level of talent. Green has yet to earn the nod, but may someday achieve that in Phoenix, especially if he plays a significant role in the Suns returning to the playoffs.
Green has been haunted by inconsistency while Booker has been the opposite. This may be a situation in which Green learns from Booker, and Booker has a younger teammate who brings new excitement, energy and has takeover potential.
The Oklahoma City Thunder won an NBA title last season with two perimeter players leading the way: 2024-25 NBA Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, a third-team All-NBA selection.
They averaged a combined 54.3 points a game. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged an NBA-best 32.7 points a game while Williams averaged 21.6.
How do Booker and Green compare when combining their scoring averages from a season ago?
Try 46.6. Booker averaged 25.6 points a game while Green averaged 21 a game.
If they average four more points each, Booker and Green match the combined scoring output of Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams.
Maybe that’s an unrealistic ask.
Green hasn’t averaged more than 22.1 points in a season in his career. Booker’s career high is 27.8 a game in the 2022-23 season.
However, Booker and Green have a chance to show — this season — that the Suns have something special in the backcourt and that the two can form a foundation for Phoenix to become a playoff contender sooner rather than later.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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