Asking for O'Piñons on these junipers

[Desert O'Piñon]

I'll start with this one. A $4 rescue from the clearance rack. I don't remember the cultivar, but the new growth gets a nice yellow color. It's been in the ground for about 3 years now. It's healthy and vigorous, and it seems to be ready for work. Is it worth trying? I planted it over a stone before I had a clue, thinking I could do RoR. But it seems a better candidate now for a neagari styling of the roots.
If it could be an actual bonsai, where do I go from here?
1. How do I bring new buds closer to the frame of the tree? (I assume from what I've read here that it would be through my pruning technique?)
2. What is my best bet for developing the roots?
3. What's right with this tree?
4. What's wrong with it?

I know ya'll won't disappoint. Hit me with the good, the bad, and the Uggly. The tree has no name yet, anyway.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

It will be going into a nursery pot in a couple weeks for development as I determine next steps. It will be in a mix of DE and perlite.

 

[Shibui]

To get buds on bare sections of junipers you can graft shoots exactly where you want them. Or you can prune the branches, cross fingers and wait. Most healthy junipers respond to pruning by developing lots of new shoots back along the branches - mostly in crotches where branches grow from the main trunk or from the main branch. Occasionally we can get buds along bare branches. Then it just takes time. Encourage the shoots in desirable places, discourage the longer ones by pruning harder and more often. Just make sure the new shoots don't get left too long or they'll end up just like the old ones.
Both methods seem to take 4-5 years to achieve good results. Maybe a bit quicker if your tree is growing well in the ground? maybe slower if conditions are not quite optimum.

Your assessment of the nebari agrees with mine. It's definitely not classic spreading roots but then, junipers don't grow naturally in lovely fertile soils so wild trees more often have roots wherever they can grow so I'm happy to work with odd roots on juniper. This is a great example of small tangled roots on a potted tree becoming big tangled roots after a few years in the ground. At this stage you either have to work with what you have or start over.

I've tried to make some assessment of the trunk and branches but finding great difficulty as evergreen foliage blocks the view of most branches making it difficult to work out where branches start and go to in which directions. Photos taken from different elevations don't help.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I will try to get some better shots tomorrow. I'm still learning how to get the most helpful pictures.
Thanks for your reply, @Shibui. I appreciate your input. I'm still unfamiliar with backbudding, especially in conifers.

My plan for digging is not to bare-root it, but to work it into an inorganic mix over the next two or three years. Does this sound right?

 

[Shibui]

I routinely shake off as much of the field soil as I can without damaging the roots when I dig so there's no need for a slow transition. Having said that, I lost 2 out of 3 large juniper transplants this year. I suspect they dried out a bit too much before establishing new roots. Maybe I just got a bit too complaisant this year after years of good results