Ralph Freso/Associated Press The NBA rumor mill becomes more of a grab bag at this point on the hoops calendar. Since rosters are largely settled ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, there's no telling what type of information will make up a news cycle during basketball's dog days. Take the latest batch of rumors, for instance. We not only have the typical trade and free agency talk, we also have a rising star reportedly going under the knife and a faded star seeking a path back to the Association after last appearing there in 2014. Devin Booker Having Hand Surgery, Out Indefinitely Brandon Dill/Associated Press For all the excitement the Phoenix Suns have generated this summer—drafting Deandre Ayton No. 1, trading for Mikal Bridges, signing Trevor Ariza—the identity of their most important player didn't change. Devin Booker is both their marquee name and their top talent, a franchise face by any measure. Video Play Button Videos you might like He's also reportedly having hand surgery on Monday and is out indefinitely, per Arizona Sports 98.7 FM's John Gambadoro. The procedure is expected to cost him at least the start of training camp. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski has heard that Booker's recovery timetable will become clearer after Monday's operation. Booker initially jammed his right hand during a March practice, but surgery only became necessary once it "swelled up recently," a league source told Wojnarowski. Booker, 21, has been Phoenix's top scorer each of the last two seasons. His 23.3 points per game are the 14th-highest over that stretch. He signed a five-year, $158 million max extension this summer. Suns' Point Guard Search Expanding Matt Slocum/Associated Press Phoenix's point guard depth chart looked iffy at best before Brandon Knight was traded away. Now, the cupboard is virtually empty. Rookies Elie Okobo and De'Anthony Melton—both second-round picks—are in the mix for the opening spot. Isaiah Canaan (career 36.9 field-goal percentage) and Shaquille Harrison (undrafted sophomore with 23 games under his belt) presumably comprise the rest of the competition. To say this position needs attention would be a significant understatement. Then again, so would saying the Suns are attempting to address it. They started off aiming high, with Gambadoro previously reporting they'd fallen short in attempts to trade for Damian Lillard, Kemba Walker and Terry Rozier. Their latest targets, again provided by Gambadoro, are a few tiers below the initial batch—Spencer Dinwiddie, Patrick Beverley and Cory Joseph. Dinwiddie might be the most appealing of the bunch, as he's both the youngest (25) and most productive (12.6 points, 6.6 assists last season). Of course, he's also a 38.7 percent shooter for his career, so it's not like this trio is brimming with big-time ability. Beverley is fine as a three-and-D option, but he's 30 years old and coming off knee surgery. Joseph is similarly pesky on defense, although he's a shakier shooter (career 32.9 percent) and mostly unproven as a starter (86 starts in 446 career games). They'd still be upgrades over what the Suns have, but only if the price is right and Booker's injury doesn't prevent them from competing this season. Andrew Bynum Comeback? AJ MAST/Associated Press File this in the #StrangeButTrue section—Andrew Bynum is apparently on the comeback trail. The Athletic's Shams Charania shared the news: This shouldn't be interesting. Bynum hasn't logged an NBA minute since March 2014. For context, the All-Star Game rosters from his last season included Roy Hibbert, Joakim Noah, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson. It's been a minute since we've seen Bynum and even longer since he was a hardwood force (he only played 516 mostly forgettable minutes after 2011-12). Last we'd heard, his knees were shot. But...he's only 30 years old, younger than Mike Conley, Joe Ingles, Wilson Chandler and Wesley Johnson. Bynum's career per-36-minute averages include 16.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. Even in his injury-riddled 2013-14 campaign, those marks were 15.7, 10.1 and two, respectively. Maybe there's a depth role out there in someone's frontcourt rotation. More likely, this comeback attempt never gets off the ground. Even if you set aside Bynum's baggage and all the time he's been away, you'd still be hard-pressed to find clubs seeking out centers who don't stretch the floor and struggle defending in space. Another Reunion for Tom Thibodeau? Ron Jenkins/Associated Press Tom Thibodeau coaches the Minnesota Timberwolves. He used to coach the Chicago Bulls. He was, apparently, a big fan of coaching the Bulls—or rather, coaching the players on those Bulls teams. Since grabbing Minnesota's coaching and front office reins in 2016, he's added three of the best players from his Chicago tenure: Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose. A fourth could be coming soon. Thibodeau reportedly met with Luol Deng on Sunday, per 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson. Deng had a disastrous two-year tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, playing just 57 games before having the final two seasons of his four-year, $72 million deal waived and stretched. When he had his chance in 2016-17, he flopped to the tune of 38.7 percent shooting and a 10.1 player efficiency rating. That said, he more than held his own for the Miami Heat the year prior. Often utilized as a small-ball 4, he proved an expert off-ball cutter, serviceable three-point shooter and malleable defender, delivering positive box plus/minus marks on both ends of the floor. In other words, if Deng lands in the Gopher State, don't assume he's only there to help complete Thibodeau's vision of coaching the Windy City Wolves. Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball Reference or NBA.com.<doc-sep>Phoenix Suns' star Devin Booker will reportedly undergo surgery on an injured ligament in his hand today, according to a report by Arizona Sports 98.7's John Gambadoro on Sunday. According to Gambadoro, Booker's recovery will likely to keep him out for the start of training camp which will begin on September 25 at Northern Arizona University. ESPN reports that the injury bothered Booker for much of the 2017-18 season and it is believed the surgery is minor, although a timetable for his return has not yet been announced. The 21-year old sharpshooter signed a five-year, $158 million max contract extension with the Suns in July, not long after the team selected Arizona center DeAndre Ayton with the #1 overall pick in the draft. The Suns, a team that has lived in the lottery for the last few seasons, also acquired Villanova three-and-D wing Mikal Bridges in a draft day trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. In his third season in the NBA, Booker averaged career-highs across the board with 24.9 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per night, although he missed a career-high 28 games due to injury. As a team, the Suns finished with the worst record in the NBA at 21-61.<doc-sep>Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker will undergo hand surgery on Monday and is out indefinitely, reports 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro. Booker will have the surgery in Los Angeles and is likely to miss the start of training camp. Gambadoro reports Booker will miss at least four weeks. The bothersome right hand injury lingered for Booker throughout the end of the 2017-18 season after he jammed it in practice on March 14, a day before the team’s game against the Utah Jazz. Booker went on to play and shot 3-of-18. From that point on, Booker was required to wear a splint until his condition improved and he missed the last 12 games of the season. The 21-year-old Booker proved he was one of the best young players in the NBA last season, averaging 24.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. In the offseason, Booker and the Suns agreed to a five-year max contract extension worth $158 million. The Suns start a four-day training camp in Flagstaff on Sept. 25 and then will hold an open practice that Saturday, Sept. 29, in Phoenix. Two days later, the Suns’ preseason schedule begins on Oct. 1 against the Sacramento Kings. The regular season opener is on Oct. 17 against the Dallas Mavericks. Follow @KellanOlson<doc-sep>
You do not need to be an expert nor much of a basketball head to see what the Phoenix Suns’ plan is when it comes to roster construction. With trading up in the 2018 NBA Draft for Mikal Bridges, signing Trevor Ariza and selecting Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender in the two prior drafts, the Suns want positional versatility. 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro reported Sunday that star shooting guard Devin Booker will be having hand surgery and the Suns announced a day later the recovery time is approximately six weeks. With the regular season already underway in six weeks time, Phoenix could be using that versatility soon. Troy Daniels, Davon Reed and George King fill out the depth chart behind Booker at shooting guard. Daniels has started 19 of his career 241 games, Reed has 242 career NBA minutes and King has zero. It’s less about those names, though, and more about the Suns possessing better-quality options at small forward. The long-time veteran Ariza is the favorite to start, but there is a glut behind him consisting of Bridges, Jackson and T.J. Warren. Bridges brings the highly desirable shooting and defense, Jackson’s pace of play and skill is a plus and Warren’s know-how to score also helps. Ariza, Bridges and Jackson, in particular, also have the defensive presence and athleticism to guard some traditional 2s as well. Starting two of those guys is an option and could be the plan while the Suns continue attempting to acquire a point guard on the trade market. The key word there is “could.” New head coach Igor Kokoskov already has a motion-heavy offensive system of ball and player movement to instill, on top of his other philosophies and other normal adjustments to bring as a new head coach. Additionally, most of his team is young and inexperienced. Very young, in fact. Ariza is the one player in the versatile wing realm with a plethora of NBA experience. Bridges is a rookie, Jackson is entering year two and Warren has had an inconsistent role prior to last season. So, how soon would Kokoskov want to pull the trigger on abandoning the ideas of positions on the wings and instead have the shooting guard and small forward serve as two wings? It’s another complex consideration to push by a franchise that is simply looking to start fresh with Kokoskov and build winning habits they would already have — if a solid foundation had been built two years ago. Oh yeah, and the Suns tried this last year. We saw how Jackson’s beginning of the season went when he started alongside Booker, Warren and Eric Bledsoe in the first three games of last season. Yes, it’s sexy to think about Jackson, Bridges, Ariza, Bender and Deandre Ayton all playing together, switching everything on defense and bringing an ocean of spacing to the floor, at least compared to the past few seasons. It’s not that simple, though, especially without the Suns’ best player and overwhelming No. 1 option on offense. It’s an early, unexpected test for Kokoskov, one he has to ponder before even seeing a second of his team at training camp. While Booker is out, the Suns could simply start Daniels and pick their spots with implementing the wings, or dive in right away to the concept of positionless basketball. Either way, Kokoskov will have to do the nearly impossible and make up for the loss of Booker the best he can, and how he chooses to do so could give an inclination of where he sees the short and long-term future of his team. Follow @KellanOlson