We are still months away from the NBA's regular season getting back underway, but you can bet the organization's coaching staff and front office are hard at work putting together a blueprint to try and win a first ever championship.
Working in the Suns' favor is an offseason that so far has gone better than expected, with a pair of rookies joining the ranks and some notable additions in point guard Monte Morris and backup center Mason Plumlee joining the squad.
Yet the biggest question of all for this roster needs to be decided, and it is whether or not Bradley Beal should be coming off the bench in 2024-25.
Unfortunately for the now 31-year-old, there is now too much evidence to suggest that he should be coming off the bench for the first time in his career, and it starts with his health. Beal was limited to only 53 regular season appearances in his first season in The Valley, as a result of everything from back issues to a broken nose.
That nose issue was so bad that Beal went under the knife when the season was over, although there is no reason to think there will be any lingering issues as a result of that proceedure. But in order for the Suns to preserve the body of a guy who is still owed a whopping $160 million over the next three seasons - and has a no trade clause - having him play less minutes is a necessary start.
Phoenix Suns starters: Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic.
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) July 6, 2024
Bench: Royce O'Neale, Bol Bol, Mason Plumlee, Monte Morris, Nassir Little, David Roddy, Damion Lee, Ryan Dunn, Oso Ighodaro.
2-way: Jalen Bridges, Collin Gillespie.
Thoughts? #Suns. pic.twitter.com/6RCdqBVWKc
This isn't even a negative either, as we actually voted Beal as the team's fourth-quarter MVP of the last regular season, carrying them to the finish line and an eventual date with the Minnesota Timberwolves. That didn't go to plan, but Suns fans saw the best of the player when he was healthy and had a run of games to show what he could do.
Which brings us nicely onto the next key reason Beal should come off the bench. He'd automatically be the best sixth man in the entire league, and he could also close certain games when the matchup dictated it. Certainly playoff contests you could still see Beal out there with the closing group.
But having him come in and destroy second units is the next phase of his career, and it would also restore balance to a roster that was struggling in that department last season. Morris isn't going to solve everything as the roster's true point guard, but there's also no doubt the fit next to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant is more clean than that of Beal.
Whereas Booker and Beal have a lot of overlap to their games, Morris is going to set the table and get out of the way. The All-Star duo tried admirably to do just this last season - Booker even had a career high 6.9 dimes per game - but a combination of Beal's injuries and both players trying too hard to defer to the other meant that it didn't really work.
Better to let this group get used to the idea of Morris handling the ball a lot, with Beal subbing in for Booker the first time he's taken out of a game. From there, head coach Mike Budenholzer can put substitute patterns in place that would allow Booker and Beal to spend time on the court together, most likely to close out games.
It is also worth noting that Morris has history with new big Plumlee, and that could be an avenue for the Suns to explore as well. A bench trio of Morris, Plumlee and Beal in theory would cause havoc for opponents every night. The hard part to all of this of course would be convincing Beal to buy into this new role.
Sacrifices have to be made to win a championship - just ask Chris Bosh during his stint with the Miami Heat - and this has now become the necessary next step for the franchise. Bradley Beal still has a ton to give this team, but the path to him being his most effective and ironically getting closer to the statistical output the Suns brought him in for, is by coming off the bench.