Suns' reason for signing EuroLeague MVP has become blindingly obvious

The Phoenix Suns may have made some massive roster changes this offseason, but there was one piece of business they did prior to trading Kevin Durant and buying out Bradley Beal that has since flown under the radar. With Jonathan Kuminga still a target, it makes sense that a player signed from Fenerbache in Turkey wouldn't get talked about much.

Even one who has won EuroLeague Final Four MVP honors, although he does have only nine career games in the league going all the way back to 2018. We're talking of course about Nigel Hayes-Davis, the 30-year-old feel good story who went to Europe and worked hard to get another chance in the NBA.

Reason for adding Hayes-Davis is now obvious.

When the signing was first announced, the thinking was that the Suns were going to keep at least Beal, and so would be a second apron team once more. That would have made doing trades and signing players with anything other than the veteran's minimum impossible, which was why Hayes-Davis was the perfect solution.

Then the Suns decided to re-tool around Devin Booker - who is now about to waste a year of his prime - and it became harder to see the reasoning behind bringing him over from Europe. But there are actually several important and clever reasons why Hayes-Davis will call The Valley home next season.

The first is that he can literally slot into Durant's spot on the court. That might be the biggest downgrade in league history, but we know that Hayes-Davis was never meant to replace the all-time great. Rather the Suns have gotten a lot younger in a hurry - and on nights when these guys don't have it or there are injuries to the roster - Hayes-Davis can fill in.

The organization also need as many veterans as they can get having drafted three rookies, as well as adding a 23-year-old in Jalen Green from the Durant trade. Hayes-Davis is definitely going to be a locker-room guy who can scare these players straight about experiences in Europe if they think they can just coast now that they've made it to the league.

The Suns lacked many things when Durant and Beal were in town, and having a culture on the roster was certainly one of them. The front office are building a young and hungry group around Booker that cares about defending, and Hayes-Davis looks like the perfect voice to guide the group through a long season.

His game should also be mentioned, because he can score in a myriad of different ways. He will also never have seen as much open space thanks to playing alongside Booker and Green, and will operate accordingly. Averaging 10 points per game might sound wildly optimistic - his career high in the NBA is seven - but goals exist for a reason.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, Hayes-Davis is going to play every game like his career depends on it, because it does. This is the same reason the Suns decided to do this with their third string point guard spot, to create competition and have guys in practice and games who will play their hearts out. Something else that has been lacking around these parts. Hayes-Davis, an astute signing.