What Would A Phoenix Suns Youth Movement Look Like?

What would a Phoenix Suns youth movement look like? A comfortable amount of alienation and losing is the sad reality. There is not an easier way to put it. Also, it requires a copious amount of youth to be viewed on the court during meaningful minutes, something the Suns have in very short supply.

Define youth in the NBA and the thought process goes straight to rookies and second year guys for the most part. The type of players who have not been seasoned to a form of basketball over the years that has embedded bad habits into their normal routine is the elaborate definition. Raw talent is the simplistic answer.

Who are those players on the Suns?

Right now those players are Kendall Marshall, Markieff Morris, Michael Beasley, Diante Garrett, and... that is all. At least those are the only current prospects with under three years of NBA experience and/or are under 25 years old.

Wesley Johnson and Luke Zeller will be 26 this summer, Goran Dragic will be 27, P.J. Tucker, Jared Dudley, Shannon Brown, and Sebastian Telfair will be 28, Marcin Gortat will be 29 soon, Luis Scola 33, and Jermaine O'Neal is 34 years old making this a remarkably middle-aged team in terms of NBA experience.

That is the frustrating part for the organization as they want to focus on player development for the second half of the season, but they just do not have the horses in the pasture like other teams.

The writing was on the wall for the past two seasons that the Suns were going to be in a rebuilding phase soon, but instead of embracing that, they fought it, and now they are searching for the answers to the big test after evading the entire study process.

Once the Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets, Charlotte Bobcats, and Orlando Magic realized their seasons were at the point the Suns are now, they were able to insert John Wall, Bradley Beal, Tyler Zeller, Dion Waiters, Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and others to see what they have to offer in real NBA action. Not the Developmental League, not Summer League, and not in practice. In real games.

Or even lower ceiling prospects like Kevin Seraphin, Jan Vesely, Tristan Thompson, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeff Taylor, Andrew Nicholson, and others.

All of those players can step onto the court because their teams are losing and there is nobody in-front of them. The element of alienation is one that is not considered when fans chant, "We Want Marshall!"

Playing the rookie is not the issue, but when the team is battling in a close game like they have been basically all season, when do make the call to play him over Telfair or Dragic? Those two are higher on the depth chart for a reason and are helping the team despite the record. Playing Marshall might have produced nine to ten less wins than they already have and a better position in the lottery, but not that much better.

Alienating veteran players is a very thin line that if they are playing well and you cross it, makes the team look bad league wide in a variety of ways. Generally, in these types of equations a variable is moved so if the team is serious about focusing on the "younger" players on the roster some moves are to be had. At least for Marshall in specific.

Dragic was brought on to bring the "Return of the Dragon" to the Valley and essentially replace Steve Nash. Right now he is replacing his minutes, using his old locker, but not replicating the play from the point guard position that made the Suns such a dangerous team over the years. He is making starting point guard money in the same ballpark as Mike Conley Jr. and Jeremy Lin, producing similar to them, but does not have the help around him to obtain the ultimate goal of winning games.

For the others the playing time has been there for Beasley has played 21.5 minutes per game (6th on the team) including 20 starts and Morris at 20.5 minutes (8th) a night and was tested out as a starter for 11 games.

He has been given the chance as a starter, as a 6th man, and as a rotation player. The chemistry is not there and the common theme of a "disconnect" is most evident with Beasley no matter the role he has played. Flashes here-and-there are not going to win games which is why now former head coach Alvin Gentry has moved him around so much. How can you justify not playing P.J. Tucker after he has earned his minutes just to justify spending 18 million on Beasley?

As for the teams other lottery pick during the Lon Babby and Lance Blanks era, Morris, he is playing about as much as one would think. Getting him on the court for different situations and scenarios could help, but at the cost of others.

The season has been spent trying to figure out how to play the mix of young players and veterans. To be blunt the veterans were just better than the young players through the first 41 games. They wanted to play more, had the most energy and effort in practice, and earned their spot in the rotation.

How can Elston Turner, Lindsey Hunter, or Igor Kokoslov incorporate the young players as an interim?

The obvious answer is nothing. It is going to require the front office to make moves and to correct the mistakes that were made this past off-season trying to catch lighting in a bottle. One thing about trying to catch lighting in a bottle is that it is a rare feat and it is still lightning. Most of the time it just strikes you.

It is always hard to watch tough, likable players go, but in order to get Marshall or Garrett on the court Telfair is in all likelihood the odd man out. In order to give Morris more minutes they have to bench Scola because they cannot trade him. To begin the rebuild, in order to play younger players, the alienation and strenuous moves are on the horizon.

It is simple to want to play the young players, but the team did everything they could to avoid rebuilding for two years and now that they are ready to begin the cupboard is bare. Summer begins the rebuild, this season turned into a throwaway as quickly as the off-season can bring hope to the franchise.

Now the team has to rise up like the sun and labor until the work is done now that they are finally ready to address this as a rebuilding team.