A surprising Phoenix Suns lineup that could play important minutes

The Phoenix Suns finally moved on from center Deandre Ayton recently, and got a haul of no less than four players back in return. The additions of Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Keon Johnson and Nassir Little being met tepidly, to say the least.

On the surface at least one of these players is going to stick and make the rotation proper, with Allen the current dark horse. Although this trade was very much designed to get rid of Ayton and add a big who fit better with the current group in Nurkic, his injury history remains a concern.

No matter what though, after swinging on this Ayton deal, the Suns have now added different ways to hurt opponents once the regular season begins.

Any organization that boasts Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal is going to use them all in crunch time, and it should come as no surprise that the Suns will be doing exactly this when the going gets tough.

If we assume the Suns have full health when it really matters though, what sort of strange lineups could we see? More than that, are there any that will actually have success for the franchise, and so play important minutes, even if only a few at a time, once the postseason begins. This is one such lineup that would shock opponents, and could give the Suns an edge.

Point Guard – Devin Booker

It will come as no surprise to see Booker occupy this position. After all, he is sure to spend considerable time with the ball in hand once the season begins. The addition of Jordan Goodwin this summer in the Beal deal does help some, and the Suns may not be finished trying to add to their group just yet.

But “Point-Booker” has been on display before, and if he is to launch an assault on the MVP trophy, morphing into a high level ball-handler when the games are close and important would seem the next logical step here.

Doing so may mean that the flamethrower scorer we all know and love is kept in reserve a bit more, as Booker looks to set up his teammates. Really though Booker is going to be part of every meaningful lineup for this team, and more often than not it will be as the de facto point guard because of how this roster has been built.

Shooting Guard – Bradley Beal

Another player sure to find himself out there when it matters most is Beal. The Suns didn’t trade away Chris Paul this summer to have the 30-year-old stuck to the bench when an important game on the line, and in some ways Beal has the most important role of all here.

If Booker is handling the ball, and the opponent is glued to Durant, then Beal becomes the best third option in the entire league. The Boston Celtics may have swung a trade for Jrue Holiday, an excellent piece of business for them, but offensively at least, Beal is the better third option of the two.

The only concern for Beal here is how much he is tuned in on the defensive end, because Eric Gordon could make a push for this position in close games. An excellent 3-point shooter, Gordon has been in massive games before, and is a much more willing defender than just about anybody else on this roster.

The Suns also added him for a reason, and it may be to lock down elite scorers during a time like this. For now though this is Beal’s position to lose, and he is going to find himself in so much space next to Booker and Durant. His overall scoring numbers may go down each night, but he’s also the guy who may now hit the most crucial shots when they come his way.

3. Shooting Guard – Bol Bol

Now we’re getting weird with it, as the outrageously long Bol Bol finds himself slotting in at the three. Positions don’t mean as much in the league anymore, but the introduction of Bol here is exactly the kind of thing the Suns will be hoping happens with the player, in what is their best case scenario.

There is no guarantee he will even be on the roster when the games really start to matter, but for now he is, and he has a use as well. Despite what Kendrick Perkins recently said, not only will Bol not be going for the Defensive Player of the Year award – he is going to be one of the worst defenders in the league.

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Which is why he may appear in this lineup and at this moment. Offensively he’s an absolute oddity, capable of handling the ball, going coast-to-coast and hitting 3-point shots from all manner of locations. If he could do exactly that in an important three minute stretch even once, he would be worth his spot on this roster.

Bol may be an awful defender, again we cannot overstate enough how bad, but he is able to alter shots from time-to-time. Having him out here, and away from the paint no less, also ensures he is able to get in the airspace of shooters. Bol was added to be an offensive quirk, and if all goes well, that’s what he would be on this group, which as you can see is built to blow teams away.

Power Forward – Kevin Durant

Who else but one of the best to ever do it could occupy this spot in the lineup? Having Durant at the four ensures he plays in the position that is most comfortable to him. There was some concern that Durant at the five could be the direction the Suns were going to go, once they got rid of Ayton.

Injuries to his teammates could yet make this uncomfortable dream a reality – and if that did happen – offensively the Suns would destroy most of the opponents they came up against. This would also put a toll on Durant’s 35-year-old body that the organization would also want to avoid.

Which is why when it really matters, Durant will be out there in the same position he has terrorized the league in for well over a decade. Having him next to Bol is part of the intrigue as well, because Bol is somehow even taller than Durant. Can you imagine trying to guard these two, and then having to contend with Booker and Beal as well?

This is not to compare Durant and Bol, there literally is no comparison offensively, but Bol’s body type and shot-making ability would mean one defender would have to stick with him. If they decided to cheat off him and onto Durant, or even Beal, then Bol would have all the time in the world to knock down the shots which we saw him make with the Magic last season.

So the appeal of Durant here isn’t just that he can bail you out of any offensive possession, and will make the kinds of shots that will have the opponent’s bench reacting. He also allows the Suns to bring a raw talent like Bol into the mix, albeit for a small period of time, to make this group impossible to guard properly.

Center – Jusuf Nurkic

Well… we have to at least believe that the Suns will have Nurkic available when they really need him, right? Assuming that is the case, then there is actually a lot of good that he can do offensively on the court. As already mentioned, he is a better fit in that regard next to the superstar trio that the franchise has at their disposal.

Nurkic will run the floor diligently, and is underrated at setting screens and moving to where he needs to in order to get the ball back. From there, his ability to pass to cutters, or even to the open man in space, won’t show up in box scores, but are integral to building out an offensive scheme for new head coach Frank Vogel.

Defensively this five-man group would be horrific. We’ve already picked on Bol enough, but Nurkic is not much use on that end either. The Bosnian big man not quick enough or in possession of the lateral quickness required to deter opponents from having a go at him in the paint. Offensively however, and really the Suns have to lean into scoring, he is the perfect compliment here.

With the stars having all of the attention on them, and Bol floating around doing weird things, Nurkic should have more free space to operate than ever before. Obviously he is not going to be the intended target for most offensive sets, but his passing, footwork and ability to lead off scraps would be invaluable in this position. If he is healthy, Nurkic is closing out this oddball group.