Storylines for the Phoenix Suns heading into Media Day

Media Day marks the true beginning of the NBA season.

The Phoenix Suns will have theirs on Monday and will then take a bus to Flagstaff for training camp just a few hours later.

Despite winning only 23 games last year, the Suns are one the most intriguing teams in the NBA in terms of rotation decisions and possible moves going forward. Here are three storylines to watch out for Monday that could have a major impact on what the Suns do for the future.

Brandon Knight’s starting role

The largest discussion point amongst those around the Suns from the second half of last season to opening night this season is Knight’s role on the team and whether or not it will be in the starting lineup.

Devin Booker’s fantastic rookie season and the fact that many believe he was the Phoenix’s best player last season has led many to believe he must be starting alongside Eric Bledsoe on Oct. 26 against the Sacramento Kings.

CBS Sports’ Matt Moore drew the same conclusion.

Booker has to start. His rookie numbers tailed off in the second half of the season, extreme as it was. Booker’s 3-point percentage was 40 percent before he All-Star break, 29 percent after. But the kid shows every sign of being not just a great shooting guard, but a future top-five scoring force in the league. His shot is poetry in motion.

Booker’s play along with Knight’s style being well-suited for a sixth man role makes the decision quite logical and simple for Earl Watson.

However, the other side of Knight starting and Booker coming off on the bench begins with Knight’s dismissive attitude towards the idea at exit interviews this April.

Knight was asked the initial question, saying that his “role is going to be the same,” and that he sees his role “being exactly the same.”

A follow-up was asked and Knight repeated his answer: “I see my role being the same.”

Asked a specific second follow-up about a bench role, Knight once again repeated, “I see my role being the same.”

Knight’s play in a Suns uniform hasn’t warranted this type of confidence, but the 24-year-old has started 96 percent of his 328 games in the NBA. He’s also played only 40 games with Bledsoe out of a possible 109, giving the Suns a reason to give the combination one more try as a starting lineup if they see a reason to do so.

A very important reason would be is Knight’s feelings on the situation, which we should find out more about on Monday.

Will the lottery picks play right away?

Leading up to the summer league, the Suns spoke of Marquese Chriss as a player who could play at center, power forward and small forward. For Dragan Bender, it was power forward and small forward. While we saw only a limited look at this, an intriguing transition from their play in Las Vegas will be if they have the same fluidity in the regular season, and moreso with P.J. Tucker possibly missing the beginning of the season.

The safe bet to start is T.J. Warren, but behind him only lies Jared Dudley as a listed small forward. Yet Dudley figures to start as the stretch power forward. There are a lot of ways for that lineup to operate, however, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Dudley in at small forward and Bender starting at power forward if Tucker is out.

As far as forwards on the roster, that leaves just Bender and Chriss behind Tucker, Dudley and Warren.

Tucker’s absence could force both into significant minutes right away, making it important for where the coaches evaluate their progress.

Guard play off the bench

Besides some of the more obvious reasons listed above, the decision between Knight and Booker also extends to bench play. While Knight and Booker have shown the ability to handle the ball and run the offense, the only natural point guard on the roster besides Bledsoe is rookie Tyler Ulis.

The Suns did stagger — having at least one player of the duo on the floor at all times — Bledsoe and Knight frequently last season, so expect for a good chunk of the backup point guard minutes to go to Knight by default, regardless of if he starts or comes off the bench.

There’s still a decent amount of minutes left to dish out, though, and the favorite has to be Ulis at point guard. “It’s only summer league” is a popular opinion to counter any analysis in Las Vegas, but it’s difficult to push aside how efficient, relentless and intelligent Ulis looked in his play.

Leandro Barbosa was signed in the offseason but makes his money off the ball as a transition threat and spot-up shooter in his later years. Ulis is a pure floor general who has the savvy and defensive ability to earn some playing time behind the big three at guard.

The wildcard for minutes not only at point guard but in general is Archie Goodwin. For two months, Goodwin saw an uptick in minutes last season, with most of them at point guard. While it is worth noting the team went 4-23 during this run, the 22-year-old played fairly well with them compared to his play in the past. Watson decided to bail on giving the youngster a look in favor of Ronnie Price coming back from injury, a deeper look at John Jenkins and an extensive log of minutes for Booker and Knight.

Instead of the past three seasons when the team has wanted to see improvement in the raw No. 29 overall pick in the 2013 draft, now Goodwin has real stakes in a contract year. He will be a restricted free agent next summer. Despite not growing as much as most would have wanted, Goodwin is still a very good slasher like he was coming out of college and it would be foolish to believe there still isn’t a future possible with him being a contributor at this level.

There’s a lot on the line for him, and if the Suns aren’t going to give him a chance, there are surely other teams in the league who would want to provide him with an opportunity.

What Watson, general manager Ryan McDonough and others say about the guard rotation Monday will give us our initial idea of Ulis and Goodwin’s standing.

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