Ever since the Phoenix Suns traded away future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, the franchise has been in need of a true point guard to play alongside Devin Booker. The “Point Book” experiment hasn’t translated into sustained success, and the early returns with Jalen Green looking to be more of a distributor have been even worse.
Jalen Green, like Devin Booker, should not be used as a point guard
While we’re only two games into the new season, Green’s stats in a small sample size continue to suggest he should only be considered a score-first option.
Through a 1-1 start, which included Booker needing to pop off for 43 points to beat a severely depleted Golden State Warriors team, Green is averaging more turnovers (2.5) than assists (2.0). In his career, Green has an assist-to-turnover ratio of approximately 1.4—not the makings of a floor general.
Green has three turnovers on bad passes and two lost-ball turnovers thus far, according to Basketball Reference data. That’s in line with his career trends, as he has 357 bad-pass turnovers to 326 lost-ball turnovers. Green is at his best when he’s cutting off the ball or creating offense for himself. When he looks to pass, he simply doesn’t have the instincts necessary to avoid coughing up the ball to opponents.
Ultimately, Suns Coach Jordan Ott will have a difficult (or perhaps not-so-difficult) decision to make. He needs to decide if Collin Gillespie would be better suited to be in the starting lineup beside Booker, as he was for the bulk of last season with Green sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
Should Gillespie replace Green in the starting five for the Suns?
In 58 starts throughout a breakout campaign a season ago, Gillespie averaged 13.3 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest with a true shooting percentage of 58 percent. In 22 games off the bench, he averaged 11 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.9 rebounds with a 56 percent true shooting mark.
Gillespie would be the prototypical point guard beside Booker in the backcourt, and could even pay dividends to new addition Miles Bridges. The trade acquisition thrived with Charlotte in lineups consisting of flashy point guard LaMelo Ball, while being somewhat pedestrian without him out there.
In theory, Green could aim to become a Jamal Crawford-esque scorer off the bench. He could be the go-to offensive option in the second unit and allow the starting five to focus more on the scoring chops of the three Bs: Booker, Brooks and Bridges.
Unfortunately for Coach Ott, that’s a role almost entirely foreign to Green.
Green's time as a reserve hasn't gone well
In his career, the former No. 2 overall draft pick has started 336 games, while coming off the bench in just five. Those five bench appearances all occurred last season when Green was coming back to the court from injury. It’s a small sample size, but the statistical difference is not pretty.
Green as a starter: 20 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 42.2 percent shooting, 34 percent from beyond the arc
Green as a reserve: 9.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 37.2 percent shooting, 30.4 percent from beyond the arc
As things stand, the Suns' starting five appears too crowded with score-first guys. Gillespie is also a scorer who looks to let it fly from beyond the arc, but his passing ability would be a massive upgrade in the starting unit.
Whether Green would be open to that type of role change is unclear. What is clear, though, is that many players from Green’s 2021 draft class have already made All-Star leaps that Suns fans are still waiting for from Green.
Evan Mobley (No. 3 overall pick), Scottie Barnes (No. 4), Alperen Sengun (No. 16), and Jalen Johnson (No. 20) have all made at least one All-Star team since being drafted. Green, meanwhile, now ranks 20th in his class by win shares.
If the Suns’ coaching staff can’t maximize Green’s talents to at least get him back to the type of player he was in Houston with the Rockets, the front office will have to consider trading him to retool an incoherent roster.
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