Frank Vogel Has Rotation Decisions to Make
Frank Vogel is going into his first season on the sideline for the Phoenix Suns with one of the most talented teams in the NBA. The team obviously swung for the fences when acquiring All-NBA guard and former 30 PPG scorer Bradley Beal, but it didn't stop there.
ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, among many other reputable NBA reporters, praised the Suns and general manager James Jones for how free agency was approached. The Suns were essentially cash strapped, which in turn meant they could only dole out minimum contracts.
The results were about as strong as they could've been.
As CEO Josh Bartelstein said at Media Day last week - he, governor Mat Ishbia, and Jones curated a detailed list of minimum contract possibilities based around a bevy of factors. The Suns were able to sign players such as Eric Gordon, Keita Bates-Diop, and Yuta Watanabe - players who all had more lucrative offers elsewhere.
Phoenix is clearly creating a culture where the players are all high-character, on the same page, and about the team first, which is sorely needed when not everyone on the roster is guaranteed consistent playing time.
This is of paramount importance when it comes to the trajectory of the team, as Vogel will have many decisions to settle on in the next two weeks, at least in the interim.
Vogel will not only need to work with management to choose the odd men out on the team, but also who fits the best next to each other, how many minutes to allocate to each player in the rotation, and how many players are actually utilized on a game-by-game basis.
The starting five appears to be set in stone, with Okogie appearing to be the 5th man, at least for now. The interesting aspect of the preseason will be mixing-and-matching of role players alongside at least one star player.
Gordon seems like the obvious candidate to be in closing lineups, but didn't have much run next to the stars in the preseason opener. Bates-Diop wasn't overly impressive, but Suns fans pointed out the lineup he was included in wasn't the best fit for what he does well. Watanabe impressed even in minutes that weren't shared with Durant, which makes the proposition of pairing the two together in the regular season tantalizing.
Chemeize Metu was very impressive against Detroit and could continue a quest to receive minutes in the regular season, too.
Suns fans must keep in mind that the beauty of the preseason is to mix-and-match lineups and rotations to find what works best. It's also beautiful that the team was assembled in such a fashion that coach Vogel feels the need to give every available player a chance to prove themselves.
Phoenix makes their 2023-24 preseason home debut tomorrow night against the Denver Nuggets. Tipoff is at 7 PM Arizona time on TNT.
