NBA Insider Chris Haynes had the Phoenix Suns in the news for all the wrong reasons recently, when he revealed that there was growing frustration in the locker room over the roster's lack of a point guard to organize the offense.
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic spoke to Head Coach Jordan Ott at shootaround ahead of the Emirates NBA Cup meeting with the Denver Nuggets, and he backed Jalen Green to continue as a playmaker for this group, despite fans ringing the alarm bells on Devin Booker not having a floor general alongside him in the backcourt.
Coach Ott not ready to throw in the towel on Green just yet
Coach Ott revealed that the Suns won't be abandoning Green as their playmaker after seeing some promising signs during preseason play. "Overall we have to stick with some of the things we've been talking about all camp, because we did see success before the regular season started... we've got to give this a little bit of grace of couple more games just in general."
"Overall, we have to stick with some of things that we've talking about all camp because we did see success before the regular season started."
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) October 29, 2026
Jordan Ott on Suns offense when asked about sticking with Jalen Green in playmaker role.
"We've got to give this a little bit of grace… pic.twitter.com/TaDLM4FYPw
The coaching staff are in a tough spot here, as giving up on Green after only three games would be a huge blow to his confidence. He is also a former second overall pick and is making over $30 million this season, and bringing him off the bench would tank his trade value even more than it has already been hit since arriving in The Valley.
But Coach Ott needs to know when to admit defeat, and being stubborn about Green as a playmaker alongside Booker, even though both operate best as shooting guards, will see this team out of the playoff race by Christmas. They also have a ready-made solution sitting on the bench in Collin Gillespie, but that is not a direction the franchise appears ready to take at this point.
Green indeed had some flashes in preseason play of being happy to provide for others, but new addition Miles Bridges also looked like the perfect power forward when he was on the court. Since the games have started mattering for real, the woeful play of Bridges has only made fans miss the departed Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale even more.
Green surely nearing last chance to prove he can co-exist with Booker
Many fans don't want to believe that legitimate leaks came out of the Suns' camp, but there is no smoke without fire. Information coming through like this has also never been a staple of Booker-led teams, so for it to happen after only three games is hugely concerning. Still plenty of time to right the ship, but the fact that Coach Ott is not there yet is a problem.
He doesn't want to abandon using Green in this way, even though the Suns are struggling and both Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin are just begging to be used. We are already reaching a critical point in the Suns' season, barely a week into the new campaign, but for now, at least, Green has the backing of his Head Coach.
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