1 Way we'd love to see the Suns use Frank Kaminsky

Don't tempt us with a good time Phoenix.

Phoenix Suns v Minnesota Timberwolves
Phoenix Suns v Minnesota Timberwolves | Hannah Foslien/GettyImages

The Phoenix Suns proved they had one more trick up their sleeve ahead of training camp, with the recent announcement that former player Frank Kaminsky is back with the organization. Kaminsky - who spent last season playing in Serbia - will be competing for the Suns' 15th roster spot.

Despite his stats overseas being modest - 9.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 30 games played - the team don't need any more than that for the 15th guy on their roster. If anything the relationship Kaminsky has with the organization, star player Devin Booker and the fanbase might be enough to see him edge out the competition for this spot.

Should that happen there's one clear way the Suns simply must use him.

If you cast your mind back to last season - and against the Los Angeles Lakers in particular - the Suns went with a lineup featuring three guys together that we didn't see a ton of. The reasons were this were twofold, the first being that they wanted to combat the considerable size the Lakers had across their own five-man units that they would turn to frequently.

The second was unfortunately injury, with Bradley Beal's absence for stretches meaning previous head coach Frank Vogel had to get creative with who he used and when. Which was why at certain points the Suns had Kevin Durant, Jusuf Nurkic and Bol Bol out there at the same time, their own version of a jumbo lineup when fused with Booker's own considerable frame.

What this lineup allowed the Suns to do was have Nurkic bang in the paint, with Durant playing his favorite and most natural position at the four. This meant that - across two spots at least - the Suns weren't giving up any size. Durant turning in another excellent season on the defensive end, which was once again overlooked.

This then allowed Bol - a center in body size only - to freelance defensively and roam outside the paint, using his ridiculous frame to annoy opponents. He was still targeted on that end and he's not much help, but when he's using his long arms to disrupt the third or fourth best scoring option a team has, while also steering clear of the paint where he gets bullied, he can get by.

In the limited action where these three shared the court, they had what would have been the third best offensive rating in the league (120.0), and probably the best defensive rating in the history of professional basketball period (83.3). Obviously the sample size is tiny, and if used more regularly that defensive number would rise as Bol was picked on. But what if Kaminsky were to take Bol's place?

Right away he's a better option on that end - and while he only made 34.4 percent of his 3-pointers the last time he was in Phoenix - Bol is only a career 32.7 percent shooter from deep. That might be a bit unfair to him though, as he converted on 42.3 percent of his 1.2 attempts last season with the Suns.

Bol has always been enigmatic, whereas the team would know what they're getting if Kaminsky came in for Bol as part of that three-man group. Even better, the Suns now have a legitimate point guard in Tyus Jones who - when paired alongside Booker to fill out this lineup - could get Kaminsky the ball in the places he wants it.

What if we went even weirder though, and had Bol and Kaminsky out there. New head coach Mike Budenholzer might want to get funky with it - and although defensively question marks would certainly arise - how would opponents combat that kind of size? Bol and Booker (or Jones) patrolling the outside, with Durant and Kaminsky doing their best to stay in front of their men.

Really what Kaminsky could bring then is another option for this team, which they desperately need after last season. They'll only ever go as far as their stars can take them - but if there's some regular season help from the likes of Kaminsky and Bol - then this organization is going places. It would also be fascinating to see how opponents would deal with all of that size and shooting.

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