#5 Point Booker
When this first emerged back in April, my initial reaction was to go easy on playing Booker at the point. Now that I’ve had a few months to let the idea marinate, I still feel like Monty should go easy on point Booker.
I just don’t see the need. The Suns already have roughly 14 point guards on the team and one of them is third in the league in assists. It is well documented the Suns don’t have a strong backup point guard, so in theory, sliding Booker over to be the primary ball-handler when Rubio needs a break makes sense, but what is talked about far less is the Suns’ lack of a quality backup shooting guard.
That means when Booker is playing the point, a backup point guard (who has already been deemed not good enough to play backup point guard) is now playing out of position at the two. On the surface, that doesn’t seem like a recipe for success.
Then again, Monty could insert Cam Johnson or Mikal Bridges at shooting guard, but that gets us back to the problem with a lineup full of bigs.
Maybe if the Suns had Oubre available to them, I could foresee a lineup featuring Booker, Johnson, Bridges, Oubre, and Ayton doing some damage. That would error toward a position-less style of play that could be exciting to watch.
However, a Booker-led five with a carousel of Carter, Okobo, and now Cameron Payne at the two, seems forced and doomed for mediocrity.