SCOTTSDALE — Devin Booker and Jalen Green could mesh better than the previous pairing of Phoenix Suns shooting guards because of how they will play off each other, general manager Brian Gregory said Monday.
The Booker and Bradley Beal backcourt never sustained success in its two seasons as a combo, and Beal is now expected to be bought out.
Green represented some of the most upside in Phoenix’s return for the Kevin Durant trade, a deal Gregory said he was “very pleased” with.
“I think there’s a speed factor that’s being played in the NBA right now,” Gregory said of why Green and Booker can work when Beal and Booker didn’t. “They’re both great with the ball. I think they can play off each other when they don’t have the ball.
“I think our style of play, playing at a faster pace with better movement, is going to open up the court for both of them.”
Green’s athleticism has been one of his most appealing traits since he reached the NBA as the No. 2 pick out of the G League Ignite in 2021.
He also attacks the rim with a relentlessness that checks boxes Gregory alluded to on draft night. Green’s 10.5 drives per game led the Rockets and was higher than any Sun except Booker (14 drives per game), just ahead of Beal’s 9.8.
Suns GM Brian Gregory explains how he envisions Devin Booker and Jalen Green meshing on the court.
"I think our style of play, playing at a faster pace with better movement, is going to open up the court for both of them." pic.twitter.com/bmSqBCIicK
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) July 8, 2025
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Those touches came with the drawback that Green hasn’t been a plus playmaker with just 3.4 assists on 63.4 touches per game. His touches took up the most time (4.98 seconds) and came with the most dribbles (4.7) of any Rocket. He had 2.5 turnovers per game, 0.1 behind the team lead.
It didn’t help his driving or creating ability that he has shot 42% consistently over the four years of his NBA career. Last year, he set career highs as a 3-point shooter at 35% accuracy on 8.1 attempts per outing.
On the defensive end, Gregory envisions the pair thriving off the ball with anticipation in the passing lanes being the key to disruption.
“I do think that you’re going to see our ability on the defensive end with more perimeter pressure that both those guys … their ability off the ball as other guys are pressuring the ball to play passing lanes and to read things, they both have unbelievable anticipatory skills defensively,” Gregory said. “And I think they’re going to be really, really good in that.”
Green was part of a Houston defense that ranked 11th in deflections per game (16.8 per game to be ahead of Phoenix at 14.1). However, he was on the lower end of that with 1.2 deflections per game, the lowest of any Rocket averaging at least 15 minutes per game.
His 0.9 steals per game in 2024-25 were a career high.
Dillon Brooks, who was part of the return from Houston in the record-setting, seven-team deal, can provide some of the pressure on the ball Gregory was mentioning along with second-year forward Ryan Dunn.
The first-year general manager was asked about the reports surrounding Beal’s apparently imminent departure but declined to comment amid “negotiations and contract stuff.”
Suns GM details timing of Mark Williams trade, Khaman Maluach pick
Gregory said the path to double-down on centers and acquire both Mark Williams and Khaman Maluach during the 2025 NBA Draft became clear as the first round unfolded.
“Khaman was No. 1 on our list at 10 if available. So I’m not sure a week before the draft that that was going to be (a possibility), but as we progressed through the first day of the draft, it became more of a reality and we made the decision to go for it.”
Phoenix dealt No. 29 in this draft, which the Charlotte Hornets used to take UConn wing Liam McNeeley, as well as swap rights to a future first-round pick that will likely place it in the 20s.
Williams had been sent to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the 2025 trade deadline, but the Lakers pulled out of the deal when Williams was unable to pass a physical. Gregory was confident those concerns can be handled by Phoenix’s infrastructure.
“I think always when a young player at 23 years old has had those injury issues, you take a look back and you say, ‘OK, do we have the things in place that can help him? Do we have the resources and tools and personnel that can put him in a better position where his body is able to recover from any previous injuries and the prevention of other ones?'” Gregory said.
“So obviously it’s talked about and discussed, but we felt pretty confident with him in our environment that we can get him healthy and then he can play the way he’s capable of playing on a more consistent basis,” the GM continued. “You look at the last part of the season, he was tremendous. … So I think that gave us cause to say OK, and with our medical group which is as good as anybody’s around and their commitment level is probably even better, we felt very comfortable with that.”
After the deadline ordeal, Williams returned to Charlotte to finish the year with 13 double-doubles in his last 19 games, averaging 15.4 points (64.2% shooting), 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
Maluach, who will likely develop behind Williams to begin his NBA career, will make his Suns debut this week in the Las Vegas Summer League. Phoenix begins play on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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