Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson calls Jared Dudley an ‘obvious’ starter

A day after making it official that Devin Booker would be replacing Brandon Knight in Earl Watson’s starting lineup, the Phoenix Suns head coach called offseason free agent acquisition Jared Dudley an “obvious” choice to be named a starter.

Dudley joined Booker, Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, and Tyson Chandler on the Suns’ first unit in last night’s 91-86 preseason victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Watson was a guest on the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM to talk about his lineup and the expectations for the 2016-17 Phoenix Suns.

“It’s 82 games in an NBA season, and we all know that’s fluid with injuries,” Watson said. “But when you talk about, what’s the blue print, it’s the plan, and the role that is the role for the season.”

While Watson called Dudley the “obvious choice” he also spoke of the veteran helping the Suns’ rookies acclimate to the league.

“Yeah I think it’s the obvious [choice]. Jared Dudley comes with a lot of experience, we have two young guys right there at that power forward position, with Marquese (Chriss) being one and (Dragan) Bender being the other who can slide over from a small forward, so I don’t think it’s a bit of a surprise.”

We’ll get our next look at the new Suns Wednesday when Phoenix hosts the Utah Jazz in NBA preseason action. The Suns open the 2016-17 regular season at home against the Sacramento Kings on October 26th.