Rotation
After strong Summer League performances by Mike James and Davon Reed, many Suns fans – and indeed some within the organization – wanted to see the two young guards receive significant rotation time this coming season with the hope that they would either become impact players right away, or much like last season, use significant playing time to help with jumpstart earlier development.
As Brandon Knight had very little trade value over the offseason – it is fair to say that McDonough did try to trade him to no avail – he was going to have to have a spot in the rotation in 2017-18. If for nothing more than to give him the chance to raise his trade value, having Knight playing was going to take away minutes from younger players who were going to be forced to play behind him. Davon Reed, Mike James, and Derrick Jones Jr. were all going to have third and fourth team run in games due to the likelihood of Knight ending up as Devin Booker’s primary backup. As such, those young players would lose minutes which theoretically could actually stunt their growth to some degree (although truth be told, it is never as much as some would have fans believe).
Regardless, Earl Watson no longer has to worry about getting his younger players minutes because he no longer has a built in backup for Book. While Reed and D.J. specifically will still have to work hard for their spots in the rotation, especially guaranteed playing time, all three young players will now each move up one position in the rotation, and the fear of them not getting enough minutes this season because of Knight, is no more.