Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The optimal 2018-19 Phoenix Suns starting lineup

By Adam Maynes

PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 20: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns high fives Josh Jackson #20 during the NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Talking Stick Resort Arena on October 20, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Lakers defeated the Suns 132-130. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - OCTOBER 20: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns high fives Josh Jackson #20 during the NBA game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Talking Stick Resort Arena on October 20, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Lakers defeated the Suns 132-130. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 13: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns looks on against the Golden State Warriors during an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on November 13, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – NOVEMBER 13: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns looks on against the Golden State Warriors during an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on November 13, 2016 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Point Guard

Primary Starter: Brandon Knight

Primary Reserve: Isaiah Canaan

Secondary Reserve: Shaquille Harrison

At this point Brandon Knight is the starting point guard no matter what.

No other point guard on the roster is going to be nearly as good as he at this moment, no matter how high your hopes are for Elie Okobo, or your found memories are of Isaiah Canaan and Shaquille Harrison.

Having Brandon Knight start makes the Phoenix Suns a better team right away than they were last year because he is a better point guard than they had on the active roster since after game three of the season when Eric Bledsoe proclaimed that he didn’t want to be here.

Cannan, Okobo, and even Devin Booker at point guard does not make the Phoenix Suns a better team. In the case of either Canaan or Okobo they are lesser talent than Knight, and in the case of Booker, at that point the roster would be stretched in a direction that would tear at the team’s depth.

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While I have long been a proponent of Devin Booker as the starting point guard, in order to pull that off they would need to have another position-less ball handling player, a Dwayne Wade-type or even Luka Doncic.

But since this can’t be a thing for Phoenix this season, Booker has to stay at the two, and the optimal starting point guard must be Brandon Knight.

Having a veteran in Canaan coming off the bench is the perfect compliment to Knight, as he too has been around the block for a while, started for a short spell for Phoenix last season, and knows the team and the roster well.

While he is not as good of a scorer or distributor as Knight is, I do see him as the Negele Knight to those great old Suns teams led by Kevin Johnson.

While Negele was nowhere near as talented as KJ, he was a solid compliment and could even start in those oft periods where KJ was injured.

This will be Canaan’s role behind Brandon Knight, the right place for both of them.

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