Predicting the Phoenix Suns bench unit for 2024-25

The Phoenix Suns may have won 49 games last season, but they have revamped their roster ahead of the 2024-25 campaign. Not only that, but they went and got a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, who is expected to wring even more offensive juice out of their three All-Star players.

Already we have examined who we think will start for the Suns opening night of the new season, and there were a couple of surprises in there. After all, you don't bring in point guard Tyus Jones during the summer and bring him off the bench. You want him in there from the start.

But a much more interesting exercise is predicting who the Suns' bench unit will be.

Obviously this won't just be five players - the Suns have two rookies who will get some minutes for example - but we're going to try and predict who the most common five bench guys are going to be. Which is why you won't see Bol Bol here for example, as he'll begin the season getting spot minutes and will have his work cut out trying to turn that into a steady gig off the bench.

Center - Mason Plumlee

Working from the inside out, and this position is going to be Mason Plumlee's all season long. The departure of Drew Eubanks may have been seen as a negative in the offseason - although most Suns fans were through with the experience of him as backup - but Plumlee is definitely an upgrade.

He may be 34-years-old, but there's still some underrated athleticism in those legs. Plumlee also has nice handles for a big guy, and it is for that reason that he's sure to excel in coach Budenholzer's offensive schemes. Starting center Jusuf Nurkic is known for his own soft hands and passing, and Plumee ensures the drop off isn't as significant in that area when he checks into the game.

He's also a more imposing figure than Eubanks - and in some ways than Nurkic - and this will be crucial throughout the season. In the playoffs last year, the Suns were bullied inside by Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and even Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Plumlee at least gives Nurkic some help in that regard, although rookie Oso Ighodaro may fancy himself as another viable option as the season progresses. All in all this is an easy one, and Plumlee will be the anchor in the middle which the second unit rotates around.

Power Forward - Ryan Dunn

A surprising pick, but the Suns didn't draft Ryan Dunn in the first round for nothing this summer. Although not known as a power forward - outside of Kevin Durant and the newly added E.J. Liddell - the Suns don't really have a traditional four. Which is where Dunn enters the equation.

He's got a ton of bounce and an a physicality to his game that was on display during Summer League, although the obvious concern here is having a rookie playing considerable minutes during the regular season. Dunn is going to make mistakes, and the Suns don't have the time or patience to absorb these as they try and win a championship.

What Dunn does have going for himself though - and he may even play some with the starters as a result - is a high ceiling on the defensive end. As we will see with the rest of this bench unit, Dunn's role could quickly grow into an important one. That of a slightly undersized four, but somebody who can defend elite wing scorers reasonably well.

Looking at the rest of the roster, and this is Dunn's position to lose as well. As mentioned Bol isn't going to slot in here, while there's an element of known commodity about Josh Okogie. Nassir Little is another who is likely too small and offensive-minded to play this position. An exciting spot for Dunn to be in.

Small Forward - Royce O'Neale

The early goings of the 2024-25 season for the Suns are filled with important games against fellow Western Conference contenders, and so having some veterans fill out the second unit will be massively important. Which is where Royce O'Neale enters the conversation.

Signed to a new four-year, $44 million contract this offseason - which represents fantastic value for the 31-year-old - O'Neale's role on this roster is perhaps the hardest to pin down. Right now he looks like an excellent choice to be the sixth man, his 3-point shooting and defending a valuable asset as the first player off the bench each night.

But O'Neale also played well in the playoffs for the Suns last season, and showed a degree of comfort and understanding next to Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. It is going to be extremely hard to squeeze Jones out of the starting group - and Beal is another conversation altogether - but it is not impossible.

The value of O'Neale is obvious then, and that's without even considering what a trade could look like. His contract is so team-friendly - and his skill set so easily moved elsewhere - that other teams are likely to enquire about him as well. All in all a perfect fit off the bench for the Suns, but he could become so much more as the games become more important.

Shooting Guard - Grayson Allen

The one player who should feel the most aggrieved to even find himself in this position is clearly Grayson Allen. Last season was a career year for the 28-year-old, as he averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists.

On top of that, he led the entire league in 3-point shooting at 46.1 percent, and started all but one of the 75 regular season games he appeared in. This led to being handsomely rewarded with a four-year, $70 million contract prior to the playoffs beginning, although injury appeared to hamper his play against the Timberwolves as he had a poor series.

Allen certainly would have kept his spot with the starting five, if not for the introduction of Jones this summer. There's also a chance he could yet claim the spot back - as for all of the Suns' flaws last season - the play of the starting five together was not one of them. There's every chance they've tried to shoehorn in a floor general to a group that wasn't necessarily broke.

The idea of Allen and O'Neale as a tandem is interesting, and he too could become the sixth man for this team. Defensively Allen also brings something to the table, while his athleticism that was so clearly on display while with Duke somehow continues to get slept on. He'll push hard to get off this group and onto the main five.

Point Guard - Monte Morris

For Monte Morris, life comes at you fast. Earlier this offseason when he signed to play in The Valley, he automatically became the solution to the Suns' point guard issues. Yes he's become a little bit of a journeyman in recent seasons, but he is a more than capable backup.

Which is exactly what he's become again now that Jones is in Phoenix. Prior to that, you could have made the case that he'd start. The five to begin each game would have been weaker - Morris likely would have taken the place of Allen - but he also provides a skill set which was desperately lacking last season.

Coming in off the bench makes much more sense for Morris and for the Suns. Between himself and Jones, the group now has a table-setter out there for all 48 minutes each night. Unfortunately for Morris though - when the postseason comes around - he is sure to get squeezed out of the rotation.

Until then he'll prop up this second unit with his passing and playmaking, and the prospect of playing with Dunn and Plumlee is a positive one. They'll provide defensive cover and some solid rim-running options for Morris, whose role is as defined as it gets in Phoenix. He's the backup point guard, that is his spot to lose.