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Jalen Green is a “New Hope” for the Phoenix Suns
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- Jalen Green is a “New Hope” for the Phoenix Suns
Help Me Obi "1" Kenobi. You're my only hope.
Help me, Obi "1" Kenobi. You're my only hope.
There hasn't been a lot for Jordan Ott and the Phoenix Suns to hang their hat on after stumbling out of the gate in the 2026-27 season, and the Rebellion's greatest warrior has been on a milk carton since the Suns' forgettable series against the Thunder.
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A young leader desperate to find a counter to the overpowering weaponry of the Western Conference sends out a desperate plea for points, shots, and leadership, and a little bit of give of shit. But Obi "1" goes by Obi "15" now, and after his performance against the undermanned Thunder team, we can probably just call him Ben. A veteran who has come through many battles, from opening skirmishes of the bubble, to the Suns in 4 offensive, to the ill-conceived Bay of Bradley Beal that set back 19 million dollars through the 29 season. Our boy is tested, but possibly tiring. Luckily, the Suns have on their roster a new hope who, with the right tutor, time, and developmental plan, has the potential to wield a power even greater than Ben's.
To be upfront, I haven't exactly been pushing the pom-poms for Jalen Green since his arrival in the Valley as a player Houston was trying to discard after drafting him with the second overall pick. In the offseason, I wrote about five possible trades for Jalen Green, and if pressed, I could probably find another ten.
His contract size, youth, and potential make for a lot of exciting possibilities for mock trades. I, like almost every Phoenix Suns fan I've interacted with, was devastated when the Suns were forced to trade Kevin Durant and when that trade went through Brooks was the player the Suns wanted, and Jalen Green is the player the Rockets forced the Suns to take but since his explosive defensive effort in the play in win against Golden State to his early improvements in efficiency on offense my heart is beginning to thaw towards Jalen Green. Now, everyone wants him gone or thinks he should come off the bench. I don't see that for Jalen Green, but if I don't like what the Suns see for Jalen Green.
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Jalen Green needs to make better decisions when he's driving to the hoop. Jalen Green doesn't need to be turned into a point guard or become a facilitator. One of these goals is asking Jalen Green to be a better Jalen Green. It improves Jalen's efficiency, reduces turnovers, and makes the Suns harder to defend. The other goal is asking Jalen Green to be a different Jalen Green. It increases his cognitive load, puts him in spaces where he feels uncertain, and limits his impact as a scorer.
Jalen Green is an Uber-athlete. Regardless of the sport, when a team has an elite athlete, they can only fully utilize that athlete's athleticism when they play instinctively. The more the Suns ask Jalen Green to process, the less they are going to get out of his explosiveness. The Sun's have rostered themselves into a corner where they are going to need to ask players to sacrifice and to take on different roles than the roles they've previously played but they really need to reflect on who they are asking to sacrifice, and what they are potentially losing.
Ben can't fight this war alone. Even in the ancient battles, Obi "1" had heroes standing next to him. Elite warriors. All-stars. All-time greats. Those Suns are gone, chased into retirement, or traded away to the dark side, but the question remains. How can the Suns put a second all-star around Devin Booker?
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He almost had one last year, and the Book and Brooks tandem provided a stellar Cinderella season when hope was non-existent. The Villain's star is dimming and was never quite bright enough to guide the Suns to the promised land of postseason success. The Villain is great, but Jalen Green's light burns brighter. It's not particularly close.
Skim the Suns' roster and tell me who the second all-star could be? All fingers have to land on Jalen Green, who has the burst to collapse even the best defenses and could be one of the premier advantage creators in the NBA if he could figure out what to do when he gets in the lane. Jalen needs to improve his decision-making if he wants to take a step towards an all-star bid, but the good news is that Jalen wants to learn. Jalen wants to get better. Jalen wants to be legendary, and he does it with a smile while the Twitterati knife him in the back like it's March in Ancient Rome.
What has Jalen Green done to deserve the outrage of a desperate fanbase? Nothing short of being a great teammate, accepting a clearly miscast role as the primary facilitator, and seeking out a Suns legend to help him try and get there.
And get there, he might. If the Suns let him be the player he's supposed to be. Now, let me clear up some misconceptions about Jalen Green and his role on this Suns team.
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Devin Booker is the point guard, and Jalen Green is the shooting guard when they share the floor together. Devin Booker could best serve this team by taking on the CP3 to Green's Young Booker. Cp3 had the ball all game, but he knew when to pick his spots to score. Booker is having trouble with top defenses like the Thunder camping out on his midrange spots, ready to swipe the ball out of his hands. Let the young legs of Jalen Green drive into the gauntlet. Allow Booker to utilize his basketball IQ and gravity to get the Suns into the right positions. Focus your developmental efforts on teaching Green how to read the defense better on drives. Cut down the turnovers, pump up the open shots. Then, when the ball gets kicked out, it's a pass away from getting it to Devin Booker to attack a defense in rotation, rather than finding Bridges, Brooks, or Green for a contested step-back. Allow Jalen Green to be the engine of the offense, and Devin Booker to be the steering wheel.
The Suns don't have the money to sign a bona fide all-star or the trade capital to acquire one if they want to keep Book, so if they want to win a playoff series, they are going to need to create one. That player on the team with an all-star ceiling Jalen Green. If the Suns are serious about making this roster work, Jalen Green needs to be their new SG1. There's no other path.
