The Phoenix Suns will have three All-Stars in their starting lineup in 2023-24.

The Phoenix Suns had an eventful 2022-23 season. They made a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets in February, sending Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson to the Nets for Kevin Durant.

Durant appeared in eight regular-season games with the Suns, who went 8-0 with KD in the lineup. Phoenix defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in five games. It appeared the Suns were ready to go on a deep postseason run.

However, Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets beat the Suns in the second round in six games. Monty Williams was fired as head coach after the postseason and replaced by Frank Vogel.

The head coach of the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers championship team, Vogel will have three superstars in his starting lineup next season. Let’s take a look at the Suns’ projected starting lineup for 2023-24.

Point Guards

Starter: Bradley Beal

Reserve: Jordan Goodwin

Bradley Beal will enter the 2023-24 training camp as the Suns’ projected starter at point guard, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Phoenix traded Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards in the Beal trade and sent Cameron Payne to the San Antonio Spurs.

Beal averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the Wizards last season. The three-time All-Star shot 50.6% from the field, 36.5% from beyond the arc and 84.2% from the free-throw line.

Beal waived his no-trade clause to get traded to the Suns. The Miami Heat also spoke to the Wizards about a Beal trade, but the Florida product wanted to play with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

Shooting Guards

Starter: Devin Booker

Reserve: Eric Gordon

Devin Booker is one of the best players in the NBA. He averaged 27.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists last season while shooting 49.4% from the field, 35.1% from beyond the arc, and 85.5% from the free-throw line.

An anonymous member of the Suns acknowledged to Keith Smith of Spotrac that there is some overlap between Booker and Bradley Beal since both stars are shooting guards. However, the Suns aren’t worried about the Beal-Booker fit.

“Brad is going to be a terrific addition to our team,” the anonymous member of the Suns said. “Is there overlap with Devin Booker? Sure. But show me the coach that says they have too much playmaking and scoring and I’ll show the first coach to ever say that. We think he might have his most efficient season ever too, because he’s not going to have to create so much for himself.”

Small Forwards

Starter: Josh Okogie

Reserve: Keita Bates-Diop

Josh Okogie appeared in 72 games for the Suns last season. He averaged 7.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 39.1% from the field, 33.5% from beyond the arc, and 72.4% from the free-throw line.

Many people around the NBA believe Okogie is the Suns’ best defender. Since Phoenix lost Chris Paul and Bismack Biyombo this offseason, Okogie’s responsibilities on defense will increase in 2023-24.

Okogie started only 26 games last season. Expect him to start all 82 in 2023-24 as long as he stays healthy and plays well on both sides of the floor.

Power Forwards

Starter: Kevin Durant

Reserves: Yuta Watanabe, Bol Bol

Kevin Durant played for the Nets and Suns last season. He averaged 29.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 47 games while shooting 56.0% from the field, 40.4% from beyond the arc, and 91.9% from the free-throw line.

Durant has career averages of 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Nets and Suns. He’s a 13-time All-Star, four-time scoring champion, one-time regular-season MVP, two-time champion, and two-time Finals MVP. Durant will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day.

Several pundits think Durant needs to win a championship without the Warriors since he joined the 73-9 Dubs squad and won two rings playing alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. It will be intriguing to see if KD can win it all in 2024.

Centers

Starter: Deandre Ayton

Reserves: Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu

Deandre Ayton averaged 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists last season while shooting 58.9% from the field and 76.0% from the free-throw line. He recorded 36 double-doubles and helped Phoenix win 45 games in the regular season.

However, Ayton’s level of play dropped in the 2023 playoffs. The center averaged 13.4 points and 9.7 rebounds in 10 games versus the Clippers and Nuggets. Ayton put up 10.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in the Nuggets series and didn’t register a positive plus-minus rating in any game.

As mentioned above, the Suns lost to the Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals in six games. Ayton didn’t play in Game 6 due to a rib contusion he suffered in Game 5.

According to Zach Lowe of ESPN, there is no viable trade right now turning Ayton into the kinds of players (or picks) that would maintain or boost the Suns’ NBA title odds. It will be fascinating to see if Ayton lasts the entire 2023-24 season in Phoenix.

Ayton tried to leave the Suns last offseason by signing a four-year, $132.9 million offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers in restricted free agency. However, Phoenix matched Indiana’s offer sheet.