Phoenix Suns center Alex Len was banking on 2017-18 being a big season for him. That hasn’t been the case, though, and he’s venting his frustration about his place in the team’s frontcourt rotation.

Len has not played in two of the team’s last three games and his has cracked the 30-minute mark only once this season. (By comparison, he played 30 or more minutes six times last season.) The team’s recent trade for Greg Monroe has pushed Len further back in a frontcourt rotation that includes veteran Tyson Chandler as well as other young big men like Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender.

Len vented to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic about his lack of playing time of late:

“I want to be out there and I want to compete,” Len said. “I put in the work hoping to show my skills on the court. So when you’re not able to help your team it’s frustrating.”

Interim coach Jay Triano said Len has done nothing to warrant his benching. He simply prefers to have veterans Tyson Chandler and Greg Monroe on the floor.

“It’s been hard to get him playing time,” Triano said. “When you have veteran players in front of you sometimes they’re going to demand the playing time. I have to find ways to get Alex in because he has been good and he’s rebounded the ball for us.”

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Triano talks to Len every day, telling him to stay ready, he said: “Because you don’t know when you’re going to get the chance. The worst thing to happen is you’re not ready and thinking you’re not going to play then you get thrown in and don’t play well.”

Len has heeded that advice, putting in extra work before and after practices. But that doesn’t make things any easier when the games begin.

“We’ve just got too many bigs,” he said.

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