Water is wet, the sky is blue, and the Phoenix Suns love their point guards. These are just the facts of life. When the successful backcourt pairing of Goran Dragic and an injured Eric Bledsoe wasn’t quite enough to get the Suns to the playoffs in 2013-14, general manager Ryan McDonough went out and added Isaiah Thomas to the mix.
With too many point guards and only one ball to go around, tensions rose to a breaking point. Dragic let everyone know he wouldn’t be re-signing in Phoenix over the summer, prompting McDonough to trade him and Isaiah Thomas away. The prized acquisition of those trades was Brandon Knight, who will be featured alongside Bledsoe as the starting backcourt this season.
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Bledsoe and Knight will need to develop their chemistry as soon as possible, especially since lineups featuring that two-man tandem were outscored by 2.4 points per 100 possessions last season. That came in a tiny 11-game sample size, but even after adding Tyson Chandler, the Suns’ success will be banking on this new pairing being Phoenix’s long-term backcourt.
Still, even with the 1 and the 2 positions being occupied by point guards, the Suns needed a third point guard to come off the bench and handle the ball. Instead of snagging another starting-caliber point guard like last summer, McDonough learned his lesson and went in the opposite direction, signing a serviceable, veteran floor general.
Ronnie Price certainly isn’t the sexiest signing of the summer, but he still has value for a young team like the Suns.
As currently constructed, the Suns’ only players over the age of 26 are Price, Tyson Chandler, P.J. Tucker, Sonny Weems and Mirza Teletovic. Their only players with more than five years of NBA experience are Price and Chandler.
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The addition of Chandler will provide Alex Len with a terrific mentor and give the Suns a top-tier interior defender, but one veteran leader — even one with championship experience — can only do so much for a locker room of 13-15 players. Adding a 10-year veteran like Price helps on that front, even if Bledsoe and Knight are better guards than Price has ever been in his career.
Looking simply at Price’s stats, it’d be easy to write him off as nothing more than an experienced veteran meant to help with the younger guards. Last season with the Los Angeles Lakers, he averaged a meager 5.1 points and 3.8 assists per game (both career highs) while shooting a paltry 34.5 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from three-point range.
Price is a career 29.1 percent shooter from three-point range and in terms of backup point guards, he represents a major downgrade from Isaiah Thomas. But this move is all about fit and defense, and there’s something to be said for a guy who will simply come in, handle the ball, work hard defensively and provide either Bledsoe or Knight with a quick breather.
Though he’s nothing flashy, Price rarely turns the ball over. He’s not a shooter, but he’s only meant to manage the game while Bledsoe or Knight rests. Head coach Jeff Hornacek will always have one of his two starting point guards on the court, which means Price’s role will be limited — a major change from last season, when the Suns trotted out three-PG lineups and Thomas was expected to put up points in a hurry.
Even better, Archie Goodwin will no longer have to worry about handling he rock when he checks into the game — a pretty big relief for both Goodwin and the Suns, since Goodwin’s turnover rate was actually higher than his assist rate last year.
Last season, the theory was disproven that two starting-caliber point guards in the backcourt and a third coming off the bench would help the Suns blitz teams with speed and shooting. There was just too much talent there for everyone to be happy. This year, McDonough will be banking on a veteran who knows his role and won’t be expected to do anything spectacular.
With Archie Goodwin, Devin Booker and Sonny Weems in the mix at the 2-spot, Phoenix’s backcourt will be crowded once again. But among all of Phoenix’s guards, Ronnie Price’s limited role won’t be a problem; it’ll be appreciated.
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