As December knocks at the door, both the point guard and center are positions that need an upgrade on the Phoenix Suns roster.
What most casual NBA fans have noticed by now is that the Phoenix Suns have some very nice young players on their roster. Devin Booker is playing at an All-Star level this season and T.J. Warren has become a solid secondary scorer for the Suns. Not to mention the development of both Dragan Bender and Josh Jackson have been evident this season. However, there have been two glaring deficiencies in the rotation. Both the point and center positions lack long term answers for the Suns.
Phoenix Suns
Starting with the point guard position, both Mike James and Tyler Ulis have had inconsistent play while starting this season. As a starter, James has averaged 13 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and one steal per game while shooting 38.9 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from the 3-point line. James’ numbers have only dropped when he plays as a reserve and Ulis has a similar dip in stats as a reserve as well. Ulis as the team’s starter averages 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game. When starting, Ulis shoots 41.1 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from behind the arc. Overall, neither of the Suns points guards are putting up numbers that a point guard of a winning team would have.
The Suns center position is in a little bit of a trickier situation. Unlike the point guard position, it’s not do to the poor play of the centers the Suns have, but rather the lack of a future each one has. Injured Alan Williams is the backup center of the future, but not the starting one. I mentioned in a previous article, Tyson Chandler, Greg Monroe and Alex Len are all not part of the Suns future for one reason or another.
The team could fill these needs in next year’s draft, but with Booker and Warren seeming like they are ready to make the next step to become a playoff team. The Suns could consider trading for a young and experienced player at either or both positions to help reach that goal next season rather than in two or three years. A trade this season will help sooner than a draft pick would and with Booker and Warren already playing at a high level, it only makes sense for the team to trade for a young talent.