7 Suns players who will thrive playing under Mike Budenholzer

In the wake of an opening round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns moved fast to hire Mike Budenholzer to be their new head coach. The former Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks leading man becoming the third leading man for the organization in the last three seasons.

Coach Budenholzer will inherit a roster that is top-heavy, although the hope is that he will be able to create an elite offensive scheme around Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Having won a championship in the past - and run a 60 win Hawks group back in 2014-15 as well - it will be on Bud to get the best out of this group.

Which should be music to the ears of several of the players in The Valley right now, who Budenholzer should be able to get the absolute best out of.

This assumes that the Suns' roster as we currently know it remains the same - and although that is extremely unlikely to happen - for now at least we have to assume this is the group that Budenholzer has to work with. The slew of minimum deals the franchise has on their books meaning change is likely, but not as easy to come about given their salary cap situation.

7. Devin Booker

Beginning with the obvious, and there is little doubt that Booker is going to thrive immediately with what will be his seventh head coach in a decade. That in itself is a concern, but what will not be a worry to Booker is how coach Budenholzer chooses to use him.

Already he has addressed the point guard situation in Phoenix, and all signs point towards a floor general of some kind being in place for next season. Even if that means bringing in an older veteran on a minimum deal - if they can have even half the impact Mike Conley Jr. has had with the Timberwolves - then it is going to be a successful addition.

Booker can expect to have the ball in his hands to score the ball plenty, with Budenholzer having experience from his time in Milwaukee getting Khris Middleton touches around superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. To be clear, Booker is much the better player than Middleton, and in many ways he is the star of the show in The Valley anyway.

But ensuring both he and Durant remain happy is a high priority, and Budenholzer has the experience of dealing with star players to make sure they are all happy to navigate this tricky balancing act. No matter what though - it looks like we're going to see the Booker of old in 2024-25 - and that is exactly what Suns fans will want to see each night.