There are two things that I love most in this world, the Phoenix Suns and wings. There is nothing better than watching hoops and eating a plate of wings. Nothing.
And for the last week, I have been trying
to come up with a clever way of breaking down this year’s Phoenix Suns wing rotation, and then, maybe one of the best (or quite possibly the absolute worst) ideas I have ever come up with happened: break down the Phoenix Suns wing rotation by using chicken wing flavors.
Good idea or bad idea? I don’t know, but I’m going to wing it.
The Parameters
You could make an argument that just about any Suns player outside of Collin Gillespie and the three seven-footers on the roster are wing players, so for the sake of this article, Devin Booker and Jalen Green are guards, and no player on the wing list will take any of their minutes. Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neal, Ryan Dunn, Rasheer Fleming, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Koby Brea, and Isaiah Livers are the ones we’re going to break down.
Most, if not all, of these players outside of Brea and Livers have a legitimate case for extended minutes in the rotation this season. Some players like Brooks, Dunn, Allen, and O’Neal are more entrenched than the others. There’s no possible way for all of them to be in the rotation this season, just like there is no way to order all the wing flavors you want.
The Traditional Buffalo Wing: Ryan Dunn
Dunn is the most obvious candidate to receive the bulk of the wing rotation minutes this season. He checks off both boxes for what the Suns are trying to do this season: win games and develop their young core. The Buffalo Wing never misses, and you can always expect it to be good. Dunn playing 30-plus minutes a game this season will help the Suns win, and it will give him a chance to develop into a legitimate high-level role player that the Suns can build around for years to come.
The Knockout/Atomic Wing: Dillon Brooks
The easiest comparison to make by far, Dillon Brooks’ passion and intensity are just like the spiciest wing on the menu; it will fire you up, but too much can make you sick. Brooks’ addition has helped the Suns in many ways, beyond just his defensive ability. His toughness, attitude, work ethic, and leadership will show themselves time and time again this season. He is the most established wing on the Suns and deserves a lot of minutes, but if he is playing 36 minutes a night at the expense of developing the other young wing players, it could hurt what the Suns are trying to do long term.
The Honey Barbecue Wing: Grayson Allen
There is nothing sweeter than watching Grayson Allen shoot the rock, and nothing sweeter than a Honey Barbecue wing. His form is exquisite, and his accuracy is precise. The way you want to share a good wing with your friends is exactly how I feel about Allen. He is such a weapon that the Suns need to let him play, build up his trade stock, and get him to a title-contending team where he can continue to be great. Oh, and hopefully get a young prospect with high upside back in return.
The Lemon Pepper Wing: Royce O’Neale
Lemon pepper wings have never disappointed me once, and the same can be said about O’Neale. He is not flashy; he is consistent. You don’t order a whole tray of lemon pepper wings, but it is an absolute lock if you are ordering a party pack. O’Neale will play anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes a game at times this season. Depending on the rotations, the matchups, and the Suns’ record, O’Neale will be the consistent professional he has been throughout his career. The Suns need his veteran presence, whether or not he is playing consistent minutes this season.
The Garlic Parmesan Wing: Nigel Hayes-Davis
In our Bright Side Predicts series and other articles on the site, I have sung the praises of what Nigel Hayes-Davis could potentially bring to this team with his shot-creating abilities. Hayes-Davis, to me, is like a Garlic Parmesan wing, a quality wing that I wish were a little better.
Over the four preseason games, we saw that he can create his own offense, but the downside was how poorly he shot the ball. He finished the preseason a combined 7-of-27 over four games. I still believe that there is a role on this team this season if he can provide individual scoring juice off the bench this season, but he has to make the shots he creates for himself.
Regardless of his production on the floor this season, he is another veteran in the locker room who can keep morale high and mentor the young players to become high-caliber NBA players. Why? Because he flamed out in the NBA once, grinded his way through Europe, and got back to the NBA by changing his game, he knows how to survive.
The Cajun Wing: Rasheer Fleming
The Cajun wing is all boom or bust; the perfect Cajun Wing is the best wing out there, but it can go wrong in many different ways. It can be too spicy, too mild, and too much. Fleming has the potential to be one of the best players on the Suns in a couple of seasons.
His athleticism jumps off the screen when you watch him play, but he has no idea what he is doing. He is still uber raw, and his shooting needs a lot of work. So, for sure, throw him out there in short spurts to give him some experience, then bring the young guy over, have him sit and watch guys on the Suns and the other players on opposing teams with his similar abilities, and have him soak it all in. Then, next season, it is his time to go out and play.
The Mild/Plain Wing: Isaiah Livers
No one pulls up DoorDash to order Mild Wings. If you eat wings, you want them to pop with flavor.
Unfortunately for Livers, he does not have the same pop as the other wings on this team. Will the wings work when you need them in a pinch? Yeah, mild wings are better than no wings, so of course, you want them on the team in case of an emergency. That is how I see Livers this season: he can come in, shoot the ball well, be in the right spot defensively, and not look out of sorts on the floor. But he has the same appeal as a mild wing compared to the other wings on this team.
The Asian Zing Wing: Koby Brea
The Asian Zing wing is not one I am going to try very often; I have to be feeling a little funky to get it. The same goes for Koby Brea, not a guy who I imagine the coaching staff will look to consistently, but he is a guy who has scoring potential that not a lot of other players on this team have. There will be a handful of games this season where Brea balls out with his shot-making, and when that happens, all of us will be clamoring for him to get more minutes.
The Carrots, Celery, and Ranch
Out of all of these wings, will any of them make an NBA All-Star Game? Based on the other young wings around the NBA, probably not. But can all of these players carve out solid NBA careers or continue building on their NBA careers? Yes! Every player has tangible or intangible winning qualities that can be used to varying degrees of success for the Suns this season. My hope for this wing rotation this season is that the Suns operate like a hockey team. Pair the bright young wings with the grizzled veteran wings and just keep them rotating in and out like a shift change. Each guy brings a different flavor to the mix, and I hope we see all of them this season.
If you did not like my wing flavor-player comparisons and can you come up with better ones? Sound off in the comments.
