ESPN.com: Phoenix Suns’ ‘young core’ ranks in NBA’s bottom third

For the last couple of seasons there has been plenty of talk about the Phoenix Suns’ youth.

The thought process is that as the team’s young players grow and mature, the team’s win total will rise. The idea makes sense — as long as you feel like the team has some good, young players who will grow and mature into quality basketball players.

Depending on who you talk to about that, you’re likely to find different answers.

ESPN.com’s Bradford Doolittle took an analytical approach to viewing every team’s young core, which is players who will not be 26 years old by the end of the 2015-16 season.

So for the Suns, that excludes Eric Bledsoe and Markieff Morris, but includes Brandon Knight, Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, Alex Len and T.J. Warren.

That core, Doolittle writes, ranks 22nd in the NBA, in between No. 21 Atlanta Hawks and No. 23 Denver Nuggets.

In explaining his system, Doolittle notes that it is a little biased toward players who have already had some success in the NBA, so unproven-yet-talented guys like Goodwin, Len and Warren, in particular, would not do a to to help the grade. So, while the Suns do not rank too high right now, a little playing time (and success, mind you) could see Phoenix rise up the chart this season.

And for those who are wondering, the top three teams in the rankings are the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz.