Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis
Devin Booker probably should not be on this list as his size and shooting ability lends him to be more of a pure shooting guard. However, he saw minutes last season as a point guard out of necessity, and no one cringed or looked away.
As we all witnessed, Devin Booker flashed signs of stardom on the court at only 18 years old, and the fact that an NBA team would ever entrust a player of his age with the point guard duty for any length of time, just shows the maturity and capability that this young man has.
Now, it was not a perfect trial by any means. Booker too tends to turn the ball over with consistency, and there is no doubt that Head Coach Earl Watson does not have plans to play him with any regularity at the point, especially with Bledsoe, Knight, Barbosa, and Goodwin on the roster.
But there is little argument that Devin Booker can play point guard, and he can do it well enough that he was not run off the court by his coaching staff. It is very possible that there is more promise in that kid than what we even realize at the moment, and that makes him that much more special.
Tyler Ulis will be the smallest player on the court for the Suns, but the one with the biggest heart. For all those who complain about Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight’s size, they will loom large compared to Tyler, but that is not in any way a knock against the man. The easiest and most recent Phoenix Suns comparison is to Isaiah Thomas: Short, but tons of heart and lots of game, and obviously Thomas has proven that his kind of game can be very successful.
What makes Tyler so particularly intriguing though is that he and Devin Booker have such a solid report together from their Kentucky days, that their play on the court may more easily maximize one another’s potential this season.
Should Tyler play his way into the rotation with regularity, or should the Suns move one or two of the other point guards to move him up on the depth chart, then he may very well prove to be the steal in the draft. His Summer League highlights are outstanding, and if he is able to work his game through the giants of the NBA, he will be a very nice player off the bench.