Earl Watson: Bledsoe, Knight and Booker are Suns’ future
Mar 31, 2016, 1:36 PM
It is said that while two’s company, three’s a crowd.
Next season, the Phoenix Suns’ backcourt figures to be very crowded.
As of now, the team is set to have a pair of staring-caliber point guards in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight to go along with shooting guard Devin Booker. The team is also hoping to bring Bogdan Bogdanovic over from Europe, and 21-year-old Archie Goodwin is still viewed as part of the team’s future.
But really, any angst people might be feeling has to do with the top three guards, because there is a belief that it will be tough sledding if all three are around and asked to share the basketball.
See Suns, circa 2014-15 season.
However, while some view the glut of guards as an issue waiting to happen, head coach Earl Watson sees the picture differently.
“The future of the guard position has to be a collective vision; coaching staff, management, ownership,” he told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday morning. “Far too many times programs allow each sector to throw out a different vision. There’s no balance, no continuity.
“The future of the Suns are exactly those three. All three. Because why not?”
Watson, who currently holds the title of interim head coach, cited age and ability as reasons for why it can work.
Bledsoe, at 26, is the oldest of the group, while Knight is 24 and Booker 19.
“Eric Bledsoe, great penetrator, facilitator, can score; Brandon Knight, quick, fast, can shoot; Devin Booker, post, can handle, can spot up, can come off pin down, can isolate,” he said. “All three complement.”
Earlier in the interview, when discussing Booker’s ascension, Watson hearkened back to his time with the 2007-08 Seattle Supersonics and Kevin Durant’s rookie season. Along with drafting the future star second overall that summer, the team also jettisoned veteran star Ray Allen while allowing another key player, Rashard Lewis, to leave in free agency.
While the moves on the surface seemed counter intuitive, Watson and others soon realized it was simply a matter of creating shots and opportunity for Durant and the team’s other young players. In Phoenix, however, he does not feel like anyone has to go in order to make room for someone else.
“Those three players that we have here — the Killer B’s, right — Booker, Bledsoe and Brandon, they’re all so different they can complement each other,” he said. “But the truth is, the biggest question is what bench do we put around them, because everyone has to complement.
“I think the bench is more important, moving forward, than actually who starts with them.”
While there is reason to believe the trio of guards could co-exist on the court and score points, there are understandable questions regarding the group’s ability to defend. After all, the trade-off when going small in order to put the ball in the basket is that, assuming you are facing a bigger team, you will be at a disadvantage on the other end of the floor.
Bledsoe is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, Knight is 6-foot-3 and 189 pounds, while Booker is 6-foot-6 and 206 pounds. At his age, it would not be a shock to anyone if Booker adds some bulk to his frame. But still, he’s never going to be mistaken for a forward on the floor.
“We know Bledsoe’s a lock-down defender; can you play those three at the same time? That is the true question,” Watson said.
If the Suns cannot play all three at the same time, someone would have to come off the bench, and that’s where things could get dicey. Bledsoe and Knight are both playing under lucrative long-term contracts, while Booker has thrived as a starter and is, if not already, looking like the face of the franchise. Which of the three slides into a reserve role?
Would one have to?
“We talked about this [Wednesday] as a staff,” Watson said. “It’s interesting — I’m not saying it’s going to happen, it could happen — but think outside the box. Golden State is taking claim for small ball, well, we know (Mike) D’Antoni did it with Shawn Marion, they’re like a decade late.
“So, why can’t small ball extend to the three, to the small forward position? If Devin Booker becomes stronger in the future, eventually those three could potentially close games. I’m not saying who starts and comes off the bench, but those three could close games.”
