Suns' T.J. Warren: Named a starter to open season

Suns coach Earl Watson said Monday that Warren will open the season as the team's starting small forward, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports.

With P.J. Tucker slated to miss the start of the season after requiring surgery on his lower back, Warren will get the first opportunity to start at small forward to begin the season. It was expected that Warren would be in line for an increased role, but it wasn't certain that he'd enter the starting five right away, as Devin Booker was also being considered for duties at the position. However, the Suns' brass determined that they'd prefer to give Booker more run at his natural shooting guard spot to begin the year, resulting in Brandon Knight heading to a high-minute sixth-man role. It's possible coach Earl Watson could move Tucker back into the lineup once he's back to full health -- likely at some point in November -- but it's entirely conceivable that Warren, the more youthful and superior scorer of the two, could play well enough early to hold onto the starting designation long term. Warren is coming off an injury of his own, as he underwent surgery to repair a broken right foot in February. However, he appears to be back to full strength and should build off what had been an impressive 2015-16 campaign prior to the injury, during which he averaged 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists over 22.8 minutes per game. Look for his playing time to climb a little more while Tucker is sidelined.