Quirky lineup suggestion for Suns this season has many issues

In a strange turn of events considering how badly last season ended for the Phoenix Suns, they arguably now have too many players on their roster, and not enough minutes to go around. Despite appearing top-heavy with three star players, there is every chance none of Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale and Mason Plumlee are going to start for this team.

Depending on your preference, Tyus Jones may also come off the bench, although he could be out there to close contests. This seems particularly unfair to Allen in particular, who had a career year in his first season in The Valley and also led the league in 3-point shooting at 46.1 percent.

It is clear then that the Suns are going to try some quirky lineups next season, but this suggestion shouldn't be one of them.

Credit to Kevin Hicks of Sports Illustrated for trying to think outside the box, but this five-man group shouldn't see the court much together over the course of the regular season. On paper it makes sense, with the group being Devin Booker, Allen, O'Neale, Oso Ighodaro and Kevin Durant, but there's too many flaws for this to be successful.

Beginning with the obvious, and the Suns tried Booker as their point guard last season - and although he had a career high 6.9 assists per game - we can all agree this was not the best use of his amazing talents. That's what Jones and Monte Morris were added for, so that Booker and Bradley Beal don't have to split playmaking duties once again.

The hope is that with more clearly defined roles, the Suns won't be the turnover-prone, "whose taking the controls here?" group that we saw last season, while it will also allow Booker to become the elite primary scoring option we know he can be. He is at his best when passing at a high level is something he is able to do in the flow of a possession, as opposed to feeling like he has to tee others up.

That's not the only issue here, as Kevin Durant playing the five for extended minutes can only end in disaster as well. He will be 36-years-old by the time the regular season begins - and while Durant as center has a place and was used well at times last season - this is not the lineup to break the glass and have this happen.

Durant is an underrated defender, but expecting him to protect an undersized duo in Allen and O'Neale is not the best way to use his incredible talents. Again there will come a time where we'll see this - possibly even during the postseason - but without Bradley Beal also on the court to make the most of Durant in this position, it just seems like a waste.

Allen and O'Neale certainly both deserve extended time on the court - they'll be battling it out for the sixth man role - and although they can be undersized in a lot of matchups, both are elite 3-point shooters. Allen's athleticism is another useful tool to have, while O'Neale's fit with the starters looked promising after coming over at the deadline last season.

But neither is good enough defensively or diverse enough on the other end to merit both being out there at the same time - and with a rookie in Ighodaro no less - for this to work for long periods of time. Better for one of these two to play with the starters, with the second propping up a bench unit that will need to spacing and scoring punch.

Then there is Ighodaro - who looked impressive in Summer League - but who is still so green. The Suns don't have time to bring him along at his own pace, especially when out on the court with Booker and Durant. Taking an optimistic view on this, and perhaps playing alongside these two superstars and making his role simple could be the best way to introduce him to the league.

But with the organization needing to win as many games as possible - and the room for error so small - playing Ighodaro in this big spot could backfire tremendously. He'll get some chances to impress in the early goings of the season, but being expected to cover for Allen and O'Neale on the defensive end is a big ask. Just one of many reasons this idea is nice in theory, but wouldn't actually work.