Zones have a secret weapon that nobody in the NBA is talking about it

The Phoenix Suns become a drastically different team than the one who was such a disappointment in 2024-25, and every success they succeed in having three players. Devin Booker is the star here, while Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks – the two players who received the franchise in exchange for Kevin Durant – in positions two and three in the valley.

Especially the suitable for Brooks looks great, he will be their defensive quarterback that will enjoy under the skin of opponents and the foil is for the scoring exploits of Booker. It is more difficult to see where Green is going to excel-be skills overlaps considerably with booker but having a 23-year-old explosive scorer with All-Star Potential is never a bad thing.

Nigel Hayes-Davis becomes a secret weapon for sunbathing.

Buried on the team’s depth map is Vooruit Nigel Hayes-Davis, the 30-year-old who will certainly fill the “man on a mission” in Phoenix this season. He is a Euroleague Final Four MVP – and as we recently learned – rejected lucrative offers from outside the NBA to take the minimum of the veteran and to strive for his dream.

So although much will be made of the three rookies that the organization has added – plus the recurring Ryan Dunn and Oso ighodaro – it is Hayes -Davis who will surprise how impactful he will be, especially attacking. Immediately he can take over some of the minutes by Durant and will be an excellent maker of the bank at the forward position for the team.

He is also not here to replace Durant – nobody could ever do that much less a man who has been to Europe for seven years – but that is one of the main reasons why this is really going to work. The expectations in Phoenix have gone far down, and Hayes-Davis does not have to come in and do something different than playing 15 minutes a night, to guide some of the younger boys and take some pictures.

Given what he has achieved in Europe with Fenerbache, you would like him to exceed those modest expectations. If he could offer something completely defensive, that would be a boost because the franchise wants to build their identity around that end of the court. His fit In addition to Brooks, it makes sense in that respect, and he could also act as a perfect foil for both Booker and Green.

It would be a piece to call him a pick-and-pop threat, but Hayes-Davis is expected to do a little offensive. He will also play head coach for the first time in Jordan Ott, who will lean on the veteran when the times will be this season. They will – but if there is a surprise package for the Suns – it is certainly the few well -known Nigel Hayes -Davis.