Predicting the Phoenix Suns' starting lineup on opening night

The good vibes have flowed out of the Phoenix Suns this offseason, which given how last season ended, is as encouraging as it is surprising. The play of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant at the Olympic Games was integral to this, with the pair starting and closing the games that really mattered.

Not to be outdone by their star duo, the Suns' front office were busy in getting a new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, as well as capable role players in Mason Plumlee and Tyus Jones. With a pair of rookies also along for the ride, the back end of this roster has been remade in impressive fashion.

Which makes the question of which five players will start the 2024-25 season a difficult one.

This is a good problem for the organization to have - because beyond Booker and Durant last season - the lack of talent contributed to being swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs. Not that coach Budenholzer doesn't have work to do, and deciding who gets the nod to start is important in putting in place a pecking order in The Valley.

Not that the situation can't change as the season progresses. Cast your mind back to the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign and Josh Okogie started on that night. He played extremely well too. It should come as no surprise though, that you won't find Okogie here. Starting with the center position and working our way outwards -

Center - Jusuf Nurkic

Despite the new faces through the door in Phoenix this summer, center Jusuf Nurkic's position with the Suns is safe. For now. He has his flaws - and some were painfully exposed in the playoffs by the Timberwolves - but Nurkic plays his role perfectly for the Suns.

He passes out of the post, sets screens and moves without the ball, all while a play is rarely called for him as he rebounds on both ends diligently. As nice a pickup as the 34-year-old Plumlee was, it is unlikely he's going to be able to play 25-30 minutes per game and do everything that Nurkic does so well.

Coach Budenholzer clearly understands the importance of his big man as well, having been abroad to visit him already this summer. Fans might not like to admit it, but right now Nurkic is as good as it gets for them, and by some distance.

He might put a ceiling on how good this group can be, but the hope is that Booker and Durant's talent alone can break through that barrier. An interesting wrinkle here might be if a trade opportunity arises for Nurkic as the season progresses. He's entering the second last year of his current deal and on paper looks a nice fit on some other teams in the league.

Power Forward - Kevin Durant

Nobody is going to take this spot from Durant as long as he is in Phoenix, and with good reason. If anything the hope is that he spends even less time at the center position, even if he ended up being a capable backup in spot minutes last season, particularly on the defensive end.

Durant was fantastic last season - his consistency amid a turbulent season was relied on heavily - and as long as he is with the Suns, they have a chance to win. It will be interesting to see how coach Budenholzer uses the superstar. Last time out his 27.1 points per game was less than a point less than two of the four occasions he won the scoring title in the past.

If anything the move here for the Suns might be leaning even more heavily into Durant as he continues to stretch out his prime in impressive fashion. Suiting up for Team USA showed us that he's capable of being a leading man, especially once the postseason rolls around.

Just as important, Booker had no problem in being a role player while on national duty. The Suns want him to be much more than that - he might be the best player in franchise history - but the fact he can defer to others but also have an impact in important games is a massively underrated skill. Really the problem here though will be trying not to play Durant too much.

Small Forward - Devin Booker

Another obvious choice, Booker will be a starter as long as he is in Phoenix. When the calendar turns to 2025 it will become the 10th year that he will have been in the league, and you could make the case he is only now truly entering his prime.

The shift to a forward position also has a twofold positive impact for the Suns. It firstly allows Booker to get back to doing what he does best, which is scoring the basketball in many wonderful ways. He might have averaged a career high 6.7 assists last season, but is that really how you want to use such a pure scorer?

Besides, the passing ability of Booker will certainly have its uses next to a point guard as well. Slotting him in here will also allow the team to benefit from the high level of defending that we saw from Book during the Olympics. It got lost in the shuffle of Stephen Curry's 3-point shooting and the last dance of LeBron James, but Booker's defending help lead the group to gold.

The term "movement shooter" was also bestowed him during his Team USA run, and that style of play will also be beneficial to the Suns. Having Booker move without the ball - something he does so well - while not also being expected to set up his teammates is a welcome change of pace ahead of next season.

Shooting Guard - Bradley Beal

The question marks begin now for the Suns, but we're going with conventional wisdom and slotting Bradley Beal in as the two-guard. It might make sense to bring him off the bench as the best sixth man in the league, but actually getting the 31-year-old to sign off on that is another problem altogether.

Making over $50 million this coming season, you just don't see that kind of money not start in the league. Not that the Suns are entirely trapped by Beal's current deal - it's actually not as bad as you think - and he was really good towards the end of last season.

But as a player who likely won't ever make an All-Star team again and was limited to just 53 regular season games as his body began to break down, this looks like a position that will be returned to often during the season. Grayson Allen waiting in the wings to reclaim the starting spot that he's unfortunate to have lost in the first place.

Beal still managed an impressive 18.2 points per game, his lowest output in nearly a decade but given he's the third option at best in The Valley, not a bad return. The good news is that Beal shot 43 percent from deep en route to amassing that average, and actually bumped that number slightly higher to 43.5 percent during the playoffs. More of that and this spot remains his.

Point Guard - Tyus Jones

The only new member of the team to jump into the starting lineup, Tyus Jones is going to start for this group. He already said as much when speaking to media for the first time after signing, and it is ironic that in helping to get Jones to the Suns, Allen will now lose his starting spot to a former teammate both in college and with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The one area the Suns really lacked last season - especially in the playoffs - was not having an established floor general to manage them through games. In adding both Jones and Monte Morris, the franchise have done an amazing job in fixing this situation. Arguably too good with not enough minutes to now go around at this spot.

There may come a time when Jones again comes off the bench - he was the best backup in the league while in Memphis - but coach Budenholzer is sure to see what this can look like from the jump. Jones averaged 12 points and over seven assists per game while starting every game he played for the Washington Wizards last season, and that assist number will have to hold with the Suns.

The scoring they can take or leave - and although balance has now been restored with the addition of Jones - it does throw up question marks about the defensive end. The best two defenders of this starting five are Durant and Booker, but is that really the best way to use their talents? We'll soon find out, but Jones gets the nod come opening night.