Arizona Sports Roundtable: Who will be the Suns’ most improved player?

The anticipation is immense. The expectations aren’t as high. Together, it makes for a unique lead-in to a Phoenix Suns season. The Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Empire of the Suns blog is previewing the 2016-17 season by asking our on-air, online and Suns-centric personalities to speak their minds.

In today’s roundtable, we ask: Who will be the most improved Suns player? The responses from our panel might surprise.

Previous editions:

— What’s the Suns’ best-case scenario for 2016-17?

— What’s the worst-case scenario for the Suns?

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Kellan Olson: Brandon Knight is in his ideal role, and if he accepts it and plays hard, he will without a doubt be the most improved player. Nearly every aspect of his game was not very good last year, most notably his defense, which looks to be a point of emphasis for him in the preseason. Getting 15-18 points per game with either above average efficiency or defense would be worlds better than 2015-16, kicking off his smooth transition into the NBA’s next Jamal Crawford.

Craig Grialou: If he can stay healthy, T.J. Warren should be in for a breakout season. He’s playing more mature, or in other words, the game has slowed down for him and he’s no longer thinking out on the court, he’s reacting. A lot of his success will likely be the result of other’s misfortunes, i.e. points after missed shots and grabbing loose balls.

Vince Marotta: The popular answer will be Devin Booker, but I believe he’s already pretty polished for such a young player. I’m going with Marquese Chriss. What he can do, you can’t teach. What he doesn’t know, you can teach. I think he’ll make the biggest leap from October to April.

Jon Bloom: T.J. Warren is my first response as he returns from his injury-shortened season a year ago. The guy can get buckets from all over the floor and his defensive intensity has been vastly improved this preseason. With P.J. Tucker making his way back from offseason back surgery, T.J.’s opportunity is now.

Doug Franz: From last year? Brandon Knight, because he’ll play 80 games.

Kevin Zimmerman: Call me a Brandon Knight truther. As a Sun, he’s never looked like the All-Star-caliber player he was in Milwaukee. He should be better defensively and more apt to attack the rim this year; and in his bench role, he’ll gladly be thinking score-first.

Paige Dimakos: T.J. Warren, I expect him to flourish under Earl Watson especially offensively.

John Gambadoro: Alex Len. It is time to transition away from the aging Tyson Chandler and try to trade the veteran to get his salary off their books. Giving Len more time makes more sense; he is a better player than Chandler right now and, again, if he stays healthy can make an impact.

Bryan Gibberman: It’s going to be Devin Booker but that’s boring. I’ll bring up Brandon Knight’s name here who I’ve been very critical of as he’s been a negative player for this team since they’ve acquired him. If Knight continues to accept his sixth man role and give effort on the defensive end like he did in the preseason — it makes his off-shooting nights less harmful — while allowing him to still have his scoring binges that can carry the Suns for stretches.

Adam Green: Not sure if it will count as improving, but T.J. Warren should finally emerge as a useful rotation player this season. Health and minutes should allow that to happen.

Ron Wolfley: Warren: the guy loves the game and has the desire to improve on the defensive end of the floor. Working hard is part of his foundation and it’s time for him to start putting studs up.

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