Phoenix Suns coach: Tyson Chandler’s presence will not stunt Alex Len’s growth

The Phoenix Suns believe they have a franchise cornerstone in center Alex Len, a player who will help anchor the team for the foreseeable future.

The future, though, will have to wait a bit longer.

Though Len played well last season, averaging 6.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in 69 contests — 44 of which he started — the team still went out and made a center their priority in free agency, signing veteran Tyson Chandler to a four-year, $52 million contract.

To his credit, Len is not upset at the team for adding the former All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year. No, the 22-year-old says he is excited to learn as much as he can from a player who has had success in the NBA.

Still, there are some who believe Len, a the fifth overall selection in the 2013 draft out of Maryland, needs playing time more than anything to properly develop into the player he can be.

A guest of Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Wednesday morning, Suns coach Jeff Hornacek addressed that issue.

“I think the biggest concern is minutes, how do you get them both on the court — there’s only 48 minutes from the center spot,” he said. “Can they play together? There might be a few situations where they can play together.”

Len averaged 22 minutes per game last season, while Chandler totaled 30.5 each night for the Dallas Mavericks.

The coach said there may be situations where both Len and Chandler could be on the court together, especially if the younger big man is able to shoot in games the way he has in workouts and practices. The 7-foot-1, 255-pound Len has flashed range all the way out to the 3-point line, and being able to consistently hit open looks from there would certainly help his chances of getting in the floor, with or without Chandler.

Regardless, Hornacek believes bringing Chandler on board, even if it costs Len some minutes, will ultimately be a good thing for his development.

“I think it’s going to actually help him in his growth, because he’s going to learn all the tricks,” the coach said. “When you’re young, you get caught on a lot of things. Tyson will sit there and constantly talk to him; he wants to be that mentor for Alex, and Alex wants to learn from him.

“Alex knows that he can learn a lot of things from him, and all the little pushes and grabs and when to hold and when to do this and do that, I think it will actually — it won’t stunt his growth at all. The minutes will be a little bit, but that’s OK, they’ll both lay it all out there when they’re out there.”