NBA Preseason, Phoenix Suns: What to make of the wings

The Phoenix Suns are a new look team and a large part of the team's fortunes will rely on a rotating cast of young wing players, Bright Side of the Sun details.

Jared Dudley, Michael Beasley, Shannon Brown and Wesley Johnson range from two years of experience to six and have an average age of just a bit over 25 years.

Johnson comes from the Minnesota Timberwolves via trade and Beasley spurned the T-Wolves for the Suns via free agency. Beasley comes in as the number one scoring option for the Suns, but the question will be whether or not the sometimes inconsistent forward can handle the pressure and put up the numbers.

Michael Beasley is an enigma. He has shown talent in spurts, talent that made him the 2nd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He has to be comfortable with having pressure on him, able to hit those last second shots or be that go to guy when needed to be. It looks like he will be the person with the ball at the end of games for now.

Meanwhile, Bright Side of the Sun says that if Johnson can turn out to be a valuable role player, then the Suns will have gotten the better end of that deal. Johnson averaged 6.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.5 steals a game for the Timberwolves last year in just under 23 minutes a game.

Last year Brown put up the best numbers of his career. He started 19 games, averaged 23.7 minutes, 11.0 points, 1.2 assists and only 1.1 turnovers a game. It looks as though he will begin the season on the bench, but if Dudley struggles and Brown improves upon his 2011-2012 campaign, he could take the starting job as the season progresses.

With just his fourth year with a Sun's jersey on his back, Dudley is currently the most tenured Phoenix Suns player. As Bright Side of the Sun points out, Dudley hasn't done much to prove he can be relied upon on a consistent basis to be an effective starter, but as a bench player he could be more interesting. Last year, Dudley was thrust into a starting role because no one else was available. This year, it is a bit different.

Depth has been added. The Suns finally bolster a lineup of young, talented wings that have potential. They don't have the pressure of trying to give Steve Nash his ring and now they can try to develop a core that is energetic and eager to succeed.

Dudley averaged career highs in minutes and points scored last year with 31.1 minutes, 12. 7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 steals a game.