Devin Booker on being surrounded by young players on Suns
Devin Booker, once a young phenom, is now a veteran surrounded by young players: “It’s a lot of jokes.”
Jalen Green appears just about ready to finally make his Phoenix Suns debut.
The explosive 6-foot-4 guard is listed as probable with a right hamstring strain for the game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, Nov. 6, at Mortgage Matchup Center.
Green has yet to play a game for the Suns (3-5) this season after playing every game in his previous two NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets.
He participated in 5-on-5 with Suns teammates Isaiah Livers, Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea, CJ Huntley and staff after the Nov. 4 morning shootaround at Chase Center as the Suns played the Golden State Warriors later that evening.
Coach Jordan Ott said the Suns are looking to see Green’s response to the workouts to determine if he’s ready to play.
“This is his highest day to date,” said Ott during his pregame availability on Nov. 4. “The ability to get up and down. Now it’s been multiple times and just see how he feels. How far was he able to push it and then how he feels tomorrow will give us a good indicator of what is next.”
Phoenix lost to the Warriors, 118-107. The Suns didn’t practice on Wednesday, Nov. 5.
Green also played 5-on-5 on back-to-back days last weekend.
He initially strained his hamstring in training camp leading up to Phoenix’s preseason opener on Oct. 3 against the Los Angeles Lakers in Palm Desert and then reaggravated it during the team’s weeklong stay in China for two preseason games versus the Brooklyn Nets.
Dillon Brooks is listed as out with a core muscle strain. He has missed Phoenix’s last five games after averaging 19.3 points in his first three games with his new team.
Brooks got in a workout on Nov. 4 as well.
“The same type of thing,” Ott said. “How does he feel? He had a really good workout today again. It was a longer, extended workout. He seems to be in a good place. This is more of a pain tolerance than anything. We know how high is pain tolerance is. He wakes up tomorrow and feels great, he’ll tell us and he’s just looking for how the body responds. It seems like he’s getting there. We don’t know exactly what that timeline looks like, but again, we’ll take that thing day-by-day and he’s progressing in a good place.”
The Suns acquired Green, Brooks and the 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft, 7-footer Khaman Maluach, from Houston in the Kevin Durant trade.
Green averaged 20.1 points in his four seasons with the Rockets. The second overall pick in the 2021 draft led Houston in scoring last season at 21 points a game as the Rockets posted a 52-30 record and landed the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Grayson Allen has been starting for Green and is third on the team in scoring at a career-best 16.4 points a game in his third season with the Suns.
Former Suns guard Bradley Beal isn’t on the injury report for the Clippers (3-4) after missing the team’s loss against defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder with right knee injury management on what was the second of a back-to-back.
Phoenix lost to the Clippers, 129-102, last month in Inglewood. Beal scored just six points in only 20 minutes of action in his first game against Phoenix since the buyout.
The Clippers will be without James Harden (personal reasons) and Kawhi Leonard (right ankle sprain) for the rematch. Harden scored 30 points and Leonard went for 27 in the first matchup.
The Suns got Beal from the Washington Wizards in the Chris Paul trade in the summer of 2023.
Beal teamed up with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant to form a Big 3 and make the Suns a championship contender, but they fell way short of expectations in their two seasons together.
Averaging 17.6 points in his short stint with Phoenix, Beal played a total of 106 games in those two seasons due to multiple injuries. The Suns traded Durant and bought out Beal, who later signed with the Clippers.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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