The Phoenix Suns are entering the season with more questions than answers.

One of the few answers is the team’s star, four-time NBA All-Star Devin Booker, who signed a two-year extension that will keep him under contract until 2030.

Outside of Booker though, there are not many other sure things for the Suns.

New arrival Jalen Green is projected to start alongside Booker in the backcourt and many are concerned about whether these two can coexist. Booker is undisputedly on top of the pecking order for Phoenix, so the onus is on Green to fit in next to him.

Projected starting center Mark Williams is another big question mark given his notorious injury history. The other two starters for the team are an even greater unknown as there are no other high-level starter caliber players on this team–Royce O’Neale, Dillon Brooks, Ryan Dunn, and Grayson Allen will all be in the mix here.

WHAT’S NEW?

Green gets a fresh start, arriving as the main piece received by the Suns in this offseason’s Kevin Durant trade. There are valid questions and concerns on whether he can play winning basketball and he has the perfect chance to address this on this team.

The 23-year-old Green spent the first four seasons of his career as a Houston Rocket, averaging 20.1 points per game. However, the inefficient manner by which he scores these points–his career shooting average is 42.2%–makes him unreliable, especially in the postseason.

In his first ever playoff series last April, Green was borderline unplayable. He averaged only 13.3 points on 37.2% shooting as the Rockets were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in seven games. He now has a chance to redeem himself with Phoenix and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to playing second fiddle next to Booker after being the primary perimeter option during his time with Houston.

BIGGEST QUESTIONS

If Jared Butler is the answer, you’re asking the wrong question.

The same goes for everyone on this roster outside of Booker.

Funny how a post from 2019 can still be relevant for this year’s team:

PLAYERS TO WATCH

If Booker can stay healthy, he could very well rattle off a classic Kobe-esque season.

In the ‘05-’06 campaign–which came after Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and before the arrival of Pau Gasol–Bryant averaged an astounding 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.8 steals in an era that played at a much slower pace versus the modern day.

The players in the Lakers’ rotation that season combined for a grand total of zero NBA All-Star appearances during their career. The fact that they finished the regular season with the seventh seed in the West and pushed the Steve Nash-era Suns to seven games before bowing out in the first round is a testament to how dominant Bryant was that year.

The stars are aligning for Booker to pull off something similar with Phoenix this year and as a longtime fan of the late Laker great, there is no doubt that he has this in mind heading into the new season.

REASON FOR OPTIMISM/CONCERN

Despite the underwhelming roster, there is hope.

Booker is still only 28 years old which gives the Suns a year or two to figure things out. If he can emerge as one of the best players in the league this season, then it should give Phoenix’s front office once again the confidence to–as they did when they traded for Durant two years ago–go all in.

The incoming sophomore Dunn showed promise during his rookie season too and if he can maintain his trajectory, he has the tools to become a useful rotation player in the NBA.