Pump plumbing - Straight Pipe Important???

I am wondering how important is it to have a sufficient length of straight pipe at the feed end of the pump. As I understand it, you want/need/should have 4 to 5 times the diameter of the pipe as the length for straight pipe going to the pump intake port. Doesn't the presence of a pump basket negate the beneficial effect of having, say, 8" of straight pipe feeding the pump?

I never did find a post that resolved this question for me. Seems like the potential beneficial effects of having this straight pipe would not occur with that pump basket in place.

straight is always best, but as you stated with a basket the added benefit I think is minimal; I actually have flex hose attached to the basket, which curls around the pump (one of these days need to swap hoses and get one the right length!)

I'm a BIG fan of TigerFlex, the flexible PVC. When it's too long I just cut it and splice it with a double female Schedule 40 connector. You glue it up just like hard PVC. When I re-plumbed my pump and filter this season (moved it about 15 feet laterally because I extended my deck) I was able to use the excess TF to add to the sections where it was now not long enough. I figure it's temporary...in 5-10 years I'll have to make some changes again! :)

Carl