Anonymous NBA scouts give their take on Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns are rolling into the 2016-17 campaign with little to no expectations given to them by outsiders, despite having some bright spots in preseason play from rookies Marquese Chriss and Tyler Ulis.

Chriss has showed out, especially in his last game against the Dallas Mavericks, where he had 17 points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals. He also showed some toughness, as he threw Mavericks center Andrew Bogut to the ground after taking an elbow from him at the conclusion of a play. Ulis, a second-round pick out of Kentucky, has averaged 7.2 points and 2.2 assists per game.

Sports Illustrated interviewed anonymous NBA scouts who gave their take on every Western Conference team. The scouts had bad things, and good things, to say about every team; but the comments about the Suns seemed mostly negative.

Their ceiling is third in the Pacific but it’s so health dependent. Chandler, Bledsoe and Knight have all had injury issues and need to stay on the court if they’re going to make any noise. … Among new coaches, Earl Watson is the hardest to peg style-wise because he’s so young and inexperienced. This is a wait-and-see team as he gets his bearings, although he has a bunch of pretty good guards who should help ease his transition. He’s not facing any pressure to win this year, which helps.

Watson has been regarded as a players’ coach – someone who understands his guys, and the team respects him for that. He inherited the Suns last year after the firing of head coach Jeff Hornacek and went 9-24 to finish the season. The end result was a 23-59 record, the Suns’ worst year since their inaugural season in 1968-69, when they went 16-66.

They added Dudley and Barbosa because their locker room was a mess last year. … Chandler’s activity is starting to wane. … Len is 7-foot-1 and shoots 42%. Come on. I don’t know what he does that’s helpful at all. His size and supposed strength doesn’t translate into gameplay. He’s a top-five pick who is entering his fourth season and might not even have starter potential. A guy like Nikola Jokic already looks way better than him.

Len has had lofty expectations thrust upon him every season since being drafted fifth overall in the 2013 draft, but he hasn’t had that breakout season the Suns keep waiting for. He played in 78 games last season and averaged nine points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Len is going to be coming off the bench this season, as Watson already named the 34-year-old Chandler as the team’s starting center.

The scouts had good things to say about Eric Bledsoe and Ulis, and even gave some credit to Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley, but the highest praise went to Devin Booker.

Booker is their best asset and it’s not close. He has a higher ceiling than guys like CJ McCollum and Bradley Beal. He’s 19, high-level makeup, doesn’t get rattled, smooth on the ball, very calm and plays with great pace. He can be an All-Star in 2017-18, even in the West.

The second-year pro out of Kentucky had a superb rookie season. He shot 42 percent from the field, including 34 percent from 3-point range, and averaged 13.8 points, 2.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.