The unlikely Phoenix Suns player shaping as a must in next season’s rotation

The Phoenix Suns have a reasonably balanced roster heading into the 2022-23 season, aside from perhaps one too many bigs and a lack of point-guard depth.

Still, it’s a roster that’s expected to contend again next season as they seek to right the wrongs from the 2022 playoffs. One player that should be given an opportunity to aid that is Ish Wainright, the strongly-built forward who recently re-signed with the franchise on another two-way contract.

27-year-old Ish Wainright presents as an unlikely rotation option should Monty Williams utilise him effectively.

Let’s look at the Suns current 14-man roster, plus Wainright and fellow two-way player Duane Washington Jr. It’s widely acknowledged that Phoenix have a clear top six – Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton and Cameron Johnson.

For the sake of this topic, let’s assume that the coaching staff want to consistently run with a 10-man rotation on a game-by-game basis. By the current roster, Cameron Payne is the obvious backup point-guard, Landry Shamet or Damion Lee will be the backup two, Johnson or Crowder (depending on who starts) is one backup forward, while Bismack Biyombo, Dario Saric and Jock Landale can share the load as backup centers.

That leaves another forward spot up for grabs. Now, Williams could always shorten the rotation to nine and have the minutes filled by Johnson, Crowder and Bridges, or go small by playing Payne, Shamet and either Booker or Paul. However, that does extend a heavier workload which they may want to reduce given the flameout in the playoffs that followed a dominant 2021-22 regular season.

So, let’s look at other options, even if it’s just for ten minutes per game. It’s entirely possible Shamet and Lee both play, however that would open up some defensive holes if one is asked to slide down to the small-forward position. Realistically, that leaves three options – Torrey Craig, Josh Okogie or Wainright.

Craig and Okogie have had much more prominent careers, with Wainright having appeared in just 52 NBA games to this point. However, I’d argue he’s the one most ready, and the one best equipped to take this role.

This should be a fairly basic function – defend hard on one end, then stand in a corner and shoot the occasional open three or cut to the rim when required. Craig and Okogie may be slightly better defensive players, but Wainright’s 6’5″ strong frame means he can still be a positive on that end. With all three sharing similar stature and athleticism, they should all be theoretically able to cut effectively and finish open layups or dunks.

That leaves the shooting element, the primary reason Wainright should receive first opportunity. Craig is a 33% career three-point shooter, while Okogie is at a deplorable 27.5% across his four years in the league. Let’s not mistake things, Wainright hardly lights up the gym either, shooting 33.1% on his threes.

Let’s narrow it down to corner three-point attempts though, a facet that gives optimism to Wainright’s possible shooting improvements. He knocked down 42.9% last season, while Craig’s last four seasons have been 38.1%, 37%, 29.8% and 26.5%. Okogie is even worse, with his career yielding percentages of 31.5%, 34.8%, 27.9% and 18.2%.

The shooting is perhaps the most important element at play here, particularly if a traditional, non-shooting center like Biyombo is also in the lineup. The potential development is also a factor – Craig, at 32 years of age and with 300+ games of experience under his belt, is who he is at this point. Okogie is young and has room for growth, yet has actually regressed in the last couple of years.

On the other hand, Wainright should gain greater comfort with more and more experience. He’s not going to be a vital cog in the Suns aspirations, but he can play a role and be a solid contributor on both ends of the floor.

Of course, being on a two-way contract, Wainright can only be active in 50 of Phoenix’s 82 games. But with one roster spot available, I’d be giving him an early opportunity and if it works out, then the Suns can easily convert him to a full contract as they did in April last season.