As the NBA offseason plows ahead we’re taking some time to pause and assess the work each team is doing, building for the present and future. Today, we’re looking at the Phoenix Suns.
After two seasons of straddling the line between rebuild and playoff contention, things finally collapsed on the Phoenix Suns last season. Their first round pick Devin Booker looked like a gem and a position at the top of the lottery gave them they chance to go all in on remaking the roster.
Inputs: Dragan Bender (PF, NBA Draft pick No. 4); Marquese Chriss (PF, NBA Draft pick No. 8); Tyler Ulis (PG, NBA Draft pick No. 34); Jared Dudley (PF, signed for three years, $30 million); Leandro Barbosa (SG, signed for two years, $8 million)
Outputs: Mirza Teletovic (PF, signed with the Milwaukee Bucks); Jon Leuer (PF, signed with the Detroit Pistons); Ronnie Price (PG, unsigned); Chase Budinger (SF, unsigned)
Retained: None
Pending: None
No team swung as hard for the fences in the NBA Draft as the Suns. Dragan Bender fell into their laps at No. 4 and the snatched him up. Bender is a seven-footer with the shooting touch, ball skills and athleticism to eventually play some small forward. He is just 19-years old but projects as a special talent because of his size and versatility. He may not be ready to contribute much this season as he builds up his strength and experience but he should be a foundational piece for the future.
The Suns also traded the No. 13 and No. 28 picks to the Sacramento Kings to move up to No. 8 and take Marquese Chriss, another 19-year old oozing potential. Chriss is a bouncy and energetic power forward who plays above the rim. A monster filling the lane in transition, Chriss also has potential as a shot-blocker and flashed both three-point range and an exciting face-up game in his one year at the University of Washington. Like Bender, his rookie season is likely to be messy and inconsistent but his potential is undeniable.
At the beginning of the second round, the Suns took Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis. A mature and savvy facilitator, Ulis likely would have been a lottery pick if he wasn’t 5-9. Despite lacking a few inches, Ulis was one of the most polished players at NBA Summer League and could be ready to soak up some backup point guard minutes right off the bat.
Around these three rookies, the Suns signed two familiar veterans — Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley. Barbosa has played well the past two seasons for the Golden State Warriors and should be helpful as fourth or fifth guard. Dudley’s shooting at power forward will be extremely important with both Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic gone.
3 Big Questions
To really dig deep on Phoenix’s offseason, I’m leaning on friends with some Suns expertise. Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) is the assistant editor for FanSided’s Hoops Habit. Bryan Gibberman (@Gibberman10) is a contributor to FanSided’s Hardwood Paroxysm and covers the Suns for Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Scott Hanna-Riggs (@ScottHannaRiggs) is co-editor of FanSided’s Valley of the Suns.
Gerald, Bryan, and Scott were nice enough to help out by answering three big questions about Phoenix’s offseason.
Who should the Suns expect more from this season, Dragan Bender or Marquese Chriss?
Gerald Bourguet: Probably Dragan Bender, if only because of his (limited) professional experience playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv. Make no mistake about it though, these 18- and 19-year-olds will have plenty of adjustments to make at the next level. More than likely, the 2015-16 season will play out the way things did in Summer League, with Bender looking like the more confident, poised player despite Chriss actually putting up the better numbers.
In Las Vegas, Bender wasn’t afraid to let it fly, made crisp, precise passes and handled the ball well, but averaged only 8.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game on putrid .275/.265/.500 shooting splits. Those are low numbers for a seven-footer with overseas experience, and though his jumper looked decent enough, it rarely fell.
Chriss, on the other hand, played the part of 19-year-old rookie adjusting to the next level (Jake Layman posterization, anyone?), but somehow averaged 10.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per game on 33.3 percent shooting — albeit in a smaller three-game sample size.
The addition of Jared Dudley means neither one of these green stretch-4s will be thrown into the fire, but both will take their lumps nonetheless. Given his experience, higher draft position and confidence in Vegas, I’d say the Suns expect more from Bender.
Bryan Gibberman: I have to be honest — the answer to this for me is I don’t have a clue. Watching both in Summer League neither of them looked particularly ready.
Players have come in at their age and contributed before, but this is a different situation. General manager Ryan McDonough has brought up how Bender was barely able to enter his name in the draft because he’s so young and Chriss picked up basketball later than most. The game is a little fast for them right now, and unless they get more comfortable through training camp and the preseason, it’s hard to see them making much of a positive impact.
My guess is early in the season real minutes are limited as the Suns try to see if they can compete for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Jared Dudley and P.J. Tucker are both capable of playing the four, plus head coach Earl Watson used Tyson Chandler and Alex Len together at those positions. It’s possible those four could combine for 35-40 mins at the power forward spot in some fashion.
Scott Hanna-Riggs: Marquese Chriss will be able to contribute immediately due to his athleticism, and should contribute more than Dragan Bender in terms of raw numbers, in particular rebounds. Much like he did in college, he will likely struggle with fouls and knock himself out of some games with his mental errors.
Dragan Bender should have more difficulty adjusting to the NBA grind. Last season was Bender’s first season playing against the senior professional teams, and he logged around 500 minutes over 38 games. Chriss played nearly 850 minutes at the University of Washington, and should hold up better.
A big wildcard will be Bender’s ability to slide to the small forward position defensively. If he proves capable of guarding players on the wing, the Suns could run both of these forwards at the same time. If this happens, Suns fans should be seriously excited about the young duo.
While the higher upside belongs to Bender, especially if he truly can shoot the three, Chriss’ rebounding should translate to the NBA quicker than Bender’s game.
Tyler Ulis will be this season.
Gerald Bourguet: “An enjoyable backup point guard who might wind up being Phoenix’s most impressive rookie.” Summer League is Summer League, but there’s no question Ulis looked like the most NBA-ready prospect of all Suns players not named Devin Booker.
Though he struggled with Tyus Jones in a putrid semifinal performance (11 points, four turnovers, 5-of-21 shooting), he still finished the tournament with averages of 14.5 points, 6.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game, not to mention an assist-to-turnover ratio of 38-11 and a clutch overtime game-winner against the Nuggets from Fremont Street.
If Ulis were four or five inches taller, he probably would’ve been a lottery selection. Other than Kris Dunn, there wasn’t a more complete point guard in the draft, and since the Suns haven’t re-signed Ronnie Price or brought in another backup point guard, as of right now Ulis is their first floor general off the bench.
That’s not as high an honor on a team that will stagger Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight’s minutes, but if he can overcome his innate physical disadvantages, Ulis has a decent chance of being Phoenix’s most NBA-ready rookie in 2016-17.
Bryan Gibberman: A fascinating player I’m looking forward to watch. If he was 6-3, I’m pretty convinced his skills would have made him a top five pick and one of the best point guards in the NBA. But unfortunately he isn’t, and his stature is going to bring about some level of limitations no matter how much you wish it didn’t.
Saying that, I think he can become an excellent guard off the bench. Unlike the two rookies above, Summer League wasn’t too fast for Ulis. He controlled the tempo, was a step ahead on the defensive end, understood how to create space (I haven’t asked him yet, but I’d bet money he studies Chris Paul tape running pick-and-roll), and was capable of creating the necessary passing angles.
The dude can play.
Scott Hanna-Riggs: Tyler Ulis will be the reason the Phoenix Suns trade Archie Goodwin this season. Goodwin is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, and his contract is a bargain at just over $2 million next season. The Suns won’t get a bounty for Goodwin, but he will be worth an asset to a cap strapped team.
With Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker, and Brandon Knight the Suns already have depth at guard. Moving Goodwin frees up more minutes for the other guards.
The Suns will be able to trade away Goodwin once they are confident Ulis, the former SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, can establish himself as the fourth or fifth guard for the Suns.
John Jenkins will also be competing for a roster spot, and he has shown a far superior outside shot compared to Goodwin. Jenkins is a 36.3 percent three-point shooter, while Goodwin is a 22.7 percent shooter for his career.
Once Ulis got guaranteed years from the Suns, Goodwin’s days were numbered in Phoenix.
Admit it, having Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley back in Phoenix brings some much needed balance to the universe.
Gerald Bourguet: Oh absolutely. The best part is that these moves bringing back two fan favorites from an era of Suns basketball when Phoenix was still good aren’t just to appease a distant fan base; they actually serve a purpose too.
Jared Dudley was never a superstar during his time in the Valley, but the fans always appreciated his defensive versatility, unrelenting hustle, unwavering support for the organization and competitive fire. Basically, he was P.J. Tucker before there was P.J. Tucker, only if P.J. Tucker had played for Steve Nash’s Suns teams.
Now Dudley returns to Phoenix with a wealth of mentoring knowledge from his time with the young Bucks and Wizards; he returns with the experience of playing the stretch-4 position; and he returns with a passion for a franchise he wants to help restore to prominence.
Dudley saves Bender and Chriss from being thrown into the fire from day one and will help the younger guys in the locker room develop the kind of good habits that Dudley developed during his time playing for a team that made it to the Western Conference Finals.
As for fellow fan favorite Barbosa, his fit on a roster filled with guards is unclear at this point, but he can play a similar mentoring role and, like Dudley, shot the ball very well from three-point range last season.
These moves don’t get the Suns back to the playoffs, but they’re more than just nostalgia-driven PR stunts. With a fledgling youth movement slowly but surely underway in Phoenix, Dudley and Barbosa represent the kind of feel-good signings that will help restore the image of the organization and help it build toward a brighter future.
Gibberman: I’m not one for nostalgia. Having Dudley back I’m behind because it’s logical from a roster construction perspective. His willingness to take a lesser role once it becomes needed is necessary to the composition of the locker room. If Barbosa takes away minutes from either of Ulis or Archie Goodwin, it doesn’t make sense. That’s taking the veteran in the rotation to compete for the eighth seed concept too far.
Goodwin’s in the final season of his rookie deal, the right move organizationally is to make him a rotation member or trade him somewhere he can play. It’s time to let him fail or flourish on the court in real action. I’d also just rather see Ulis play even though he’s a rookie.
Hanna-Riggs: The Suns embracing the culture and the history of the franchise is always a great move. Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa are connections to the winning tradition of the Phoenix Suns.
Bringing back former players is something the Suns have failed at in recent years. The biggest error on the Suns part was letting Steve Nash end up working for the Golden State Warriors instead of the Suns. Nash was the soul of the Seven Seconds or Less Suns, yet he is working for the Suns’ regional and divisional rival in the Warriors.
Back to what the Suns did right. Jared Dudley is a fun signing simply because he is so excited to be back on the Phoenix Suns. For all the heat the Suns front office takes, and the times Suns’ owner Robert Sarver talks too much about millennials, it is great to have a player excited again to play for Phoenix.
The contracts for both players are also reasonable as well, positive moves overall, although Barbosa may struggle to get minutes and produce. Phoenix can be a premier destination in the NBA. Building the right culture will develop young players and attract veterans in free agency. Dudley and Barbosa are moves in the right direction.
The three youths
By the average age of their roster, the Phoenix Suns didn’t get significantly younger this offseason, mostly because their two new 19-year olds (Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss) were offset by the additions of Jared Dudley and LeAndro Barbosa. However, with second-year star-in-waiting Devin Booker, the Suns will have three players aged 20 or younger on the roster this season. That’s an extreme and extremely rare concentration of youth.
Going back to 1979-80, the beginning of the three-pointer era, just 11 NBA teams have begun a season with three or more players, aged 20 or younger, on the roster. The Phoenix Suns will be the 12th.
Two of those teams were from last season — the Minnesota Timberwolves as the lone team in the set with four players that young, the Milwaukee Bucks with three. Other notables were the 2011-12 Utah Jazz and the 2009-10 Oklahoma City Thunder. There is no direct line from the accumulation of youth to the championship contention. The Portland Trail Blazers are on this short list for both the 2004-05 and 2005-05 seasons — Sebastian Telfair, Travis Outlaw, Ha-Seung Jin, Martell Webster, not the players who carried them back to relevance.
Still, championship content is about giving yourself as many chances as possible to be good and catch some lucky breaks. The Suns may not be very good this season, but when this roster does peak they could be good for quite awhile.
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