The “Valley Boyz” should be the future, but they’re missing someone

Forget the Banana Boat Gang, they’re washed up. The Phoenix Suns have their own group of superfriends: The Valley Boyz. But this potentially long-term coterie is still missing one key piece.

The Phoenix Suns are in need of a strong collection of players who can be the core of a team that stays together for many years and sustains success over a long period of time.

Friends on a team can mean greater success as players who like each other play better together, and it appears that a new core of players have formed larger than just Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton themselves.

Kelly Oubre Jr. shared a photo on Sunday, March 10, of himself, Booker, Ayton, and Tyler Johnson. The group is sitting on the bench laughing and smiling (presumably near the end of one of the recent victories), looking like a core group of players who not only work well with one another, but enjoy each other just the same.

Somewhat reminiscent of the Banana Boat Gang of Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, and LeBron James, three very good friends off the court, the Valley Boyz’ recent 5-2 record with victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Golden State Warriors, is growing proof that they are continuing to grow with on another both on and off the court, and finding mutual success.

When discussing the photo and who all encompasses the “Valley Boyz,” it must be noted that the photo itself was not staged. It was very much a product of an instant in time that was caught by a photographer on the floor who happened to be looking in their direction, all of which by no means was an intentional exclusion of any players such as Josh Jackson, Mikal Bridges, or T.J. Warren.

Two players in the photo say as much when they were asked about it by Suns.com and their responses shared on Twitter, as their response to who or what the Valley Boyz are is more psychological, a description of a work ethic, than a specific group of players themselves.

By their description, the idea of “Valley Boyz” is one that can live on in perpetuity with different players being added and subtracted from the mix as time goes on, so long as the effort and time put into winning continues without break.

When you think about it, kind of like Batman…

Which leads me to wonder, who should be added next?

It is no great epiphany of thought for me to say that the Phoenix Suns are in desperate need of a point guard – although the Valley Boyz might argue, in fact, that in that photo there is  a point guard in Tyler Johnson.

But as we all know, Johnson is not the point guard of the future, and truthfully, he’s not even primarily a point guard. While he is running the position here in Phoenix, he had been playing off the ball with Miami and even when he is running point, is not of starter quality – although inarguably a very strong backup providing solid depth.

If we were to look at that photo and assume (hope) that Kelly Oubre will be re-signed, then we can see three of the five starters positions locked up for the foreseeable future, and at least for one more year, the backup point guard.

Booker and Oubre combine for a very exciting 2/3 combo, with Booker’s offensive flare complimenting Oubre’s antagonistic personality on defense.

Phoenix Suns

Of course then Ayton is set to be the long-term starting center, a position that the franchise has never had the ability to place a specific player and forget, giving the team a decided advantage in that regard.

Presuming that some combination of Jackson, Warren, and Bridges will return next season, any one of those players (along with Oubre) can play a small power  forward, essentially re-making the role of Shawn Marion during the Mike D’Antoni days, a situation that in most matchups can be very effective for the Suns.

That’s not to say that they would still prefer to find a more dominant power forward (preferably one of the stretch-four variety), but there is no reason that a combination of two of those four players cannot reprise their current role into at least 2020.

This all boils down to and simmers back up with the previously states common knowledge that the Phoenix Suns need a point guard.

Nay – the Valley Boyz  need a point guard, but not just any point guard.

For a franchise that has historically had prominent point guards throughout every succeeding generation, to have none on the roster now is a hole of unprecedented reality.

That player cannot just be added willy-nilly though. While the franchise should not be so careful as to paralyze themselves with over-analysis, they need to find a player who will fit well with the group and become part of the Valley Boyz.

The clique cannot be one that excludes in any way a single player of great need to the roster. Yet inversely, an incoming player cannot feel so exalted above the others that he refuses to accept an invitation when extended.

What seems to be working so well for a team that is missing two critical pieces in the starting lineup is the fact that they get along so well. They are able to rise above their collective deficiencies based in no small part on their ability to appreciate what each individual member brings to the table, rather than exclude others for what they lack.

A new addition to the Valley Boyz must be one who is both capable but eager  to approach the situation in the same manner.

If the Phoenix Suns’ next point guard is one who fits in with this group, then based on the recent results of this team now, the sky might finally be their only limit.

The Valley Boyz are a very good thing for this team and something exciting that fans should grasp onto and the franchise should both encourage and market.

But they need to keep room for one more player, someone who wants to be a part of that group, the traditional general of an offense, a franchise-changing point guard.