Phoenix Suns: All-Decade Team Starters and Reserves
By Adam Maynes
Shooting Guard
Starter: Devin Booker – 296 games: 21.7p/3.5r/4.4a
Reserve: Gerald Green -156 games: 14.0p/3.0r/1.4a
While selecting Devin Booker as the best shooting guard of this decade was one of the easiest decisions to make with this list, finding a decent reserve was ridiculously hard.
After Raja Bell and until Book, the Phoenix Suns had a rotating wheel of shooting guards, including P.J. Tucker, Gerald Green, Brandon Knight, Jamal Crawford, Troy Daniels, Jason Richardson, and even Goran Dragic while playing alongside Eric Bledsoe.
In the end, based on certain statistical circumstances (his scoring average was easily the highest of the bunch, while some players played more time at small forward than shooting guard), Gerald Green ended up being the second best shooting guard of the decade for the franchise and therefore the reserve on this All-Decade team, and when you think about it, he’s kind of perfect, isn’t he.
Devin Booker is the first pure scorer the Phoenix Suns have employed since Amar’e Stoudemire, not only the second best scorer in franchise-history, but one of the best scorers of all-time for his age. Not only can he score-in-bunches kind but as an all-around player, he is at worst the third best player to have played for the Phoenix Suns this decade behind only Nash and STAT.
At best, second, behind the power forward.
Imagine though today if Booker had the Green-of-old on the roster to back him up, the kind of score-first energizer bunny that he used to be, with his high-flying antics bringing a level of energy to any team that coach’s love.
The Phoenix Suns wouldn’t miss a beat with Booker on the bench resting, and the two even playing side-by-side for short spurts would be more fun than a fan should be allowed to have.