Suns open camp with optimism and no point guard

The practice gym at Talking Stick Resort Arena overflowed with optimism Monday morning during Suns media day.

The marketing slogan “Time to Rise” was everywhere.

Guard Devin Booker raved about the talent on the roster.

General Manager Ryan McDonough proclaimed a three-year rebuilding process was over, that nearly every “todo” box had been checked over the summer, and the goal is to “be the most improved team in the league this year.”

But everyone, including McDonough, realizes one important box remains blank as the Suns head to Flagstaff for training camp: point guard.

The Suns have four on the roster, but they have little or no experience. The way the current roster is constructed, it’s hard to imagine the Suns putting together the turnaround McDonough envisions.

It didn’t take long for the need at point guard to be brought up Monday.

“I figured that would be the first question,” said McDonough in answering the first question. “We’re young there. We’re inexperienced there.”

Young and inexperienced is a bad combination at any position, but especially at point guard. McDonough knows that and said he will monitor trade options up to the trade deadline, if necessary.

That’s good, because in the meantime the Suns are counting upon coach Igor Kokoskov’s skills as a talent developer and strategist to compensate.

That’s a lot to ask of any coach, especially one in his first year.

If no deal is made, the position is going to be the subject of a grand experi-

ment over the three weeks of preseason, and perhaps into the regular season.

The Suns like their two rookies: Elie Okobo, who was drafted in the second round, and De’Anthony Melton, obtained in the August trade that sent point guard Brandon Knight and forward Marquese Chriss to the Rockets.

The other two contenders are Shaquille Harrison, in his second year, and Isaiah Canaan, who bounced around the NBA in his first four seasons.

On Monday, Kokoskov tried to make the point that what is perceived as a weakness could be a strength.

“We don’t have one guy that we say, ‘This is the starting point guard,’ ” he said. “But we have four point guards who can start anytime. So maybe those guys aren’t going to play longer stretches. They’re going to give us shorter stretches, play less minutes but more intense and be solid.”

Such a rotation would be revolutionary. But in reality, if a team has four point guards, it means it doesn’t have one.

Until McDonough trades for one, which is the easiest solution to the problem, Kokoskov and his staff will have to scheme their way around it. One way is to play several wing players at the same time and allow them to penetrate and create, both for themselves and others.

Another is to make Booker the de facto point guard. Have someone else go through the wear and tear of bring the ball up the court, then put the offense in Booker’s hands.

“There might be situations where Devin even starts on the weak side, the non-ball side, but the play is designed for him, or for him to be the primary initiator,” McDonough said, “without him having to take the inbound pass against pressure and then walk the ball up the court 94 feet.”

That’s not ideal, though. The obvious solution is to trade for a point guard, someone such as Patrick Beverly and Milos Teodosic of the Clippers or Tyus Jones of the Timberwolves.

The Suns are curious to see how their young point guards play, and McDonough acknowledged the team “has the assets” to make a trade if warranted.

“We’ll know three weeks from now how urgent, or not urgent, that need is,” McDonough said. “Hopefully, one of the young guys steps up. We feel good about our talent and depth, two through five.”

Missing from that evaluation is the one, the point guard. If the Suns don’t find that guy, they will be able to use “Time to Rise” as a marketing slogan next year, too.