Phoenix Suns Free Agency Value Column: Money Talks
By Gavin Schall
1. Brandan Wright
Far and away, this is the unrestricted free agent the Suns most want to re-sign. Over his last four starts (over the course of the last 15 games), Brandan Wright averaged 16.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.
Despite increased minutes he’s still shooting over 57 percent from the field since March. While that’s not quite on par with the jaw dropping 72 percent he was rocking earlier this season, the mark still puts him amongst the game’s elite finishers.
.@bwright34, especially as a starter, is the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt of the Suns. A pleasant, energetic and entertaining surprise.
— Espo (@Espo) April 8, 2015
Without the benefit of playing with Dirk Nowitzki, Wright has had to figure out how to operate in tight quarters and he’s done just that by adding a push shot to his game.
While he by no means has a complex offensive game, he’s gotten legitimately good at catching around the elbow taking one dribble and using his combination of outrageous length and touch to get off a decent look whenever he wants.
He’s added that little push shot to his game that forces defenders to commit a little harder when he catches the ball away from the rim, something that just didn’t happen early in his career.
Wright’s never going to be a No. 1 option, but diversifying his attack will allow him to continue to have success even without pristine floor spacing and when teams take away the lob.
His defensive rating was (relatively) off the charts over the last five weeks of the season. His rating (which measures points allowed per 100 possessions while a player is on the floor), never went below 105.3 from November to February. For March and April it was a pristine 97.0, with presumed DPOY Draymond Green posting a nearly identical 96.9 mark over the same stretch.
Given that Green’s teammates are dramatically better on defense than Wright’s, it’s fair to wonder if Wright was the better defender over that stretch.
Wright’s rim protection is almost on par with Alex Len‘s, and Wright still has the quickness to survive for short stretches on switches.
“I brought a lot of shot blocking to the table, I think guys knew that I was behind them and funneled the defense to me,” he said. “We made some strides, we took a lot of criticism this year, but I think we did get a lot better in that area.”
With Len being prone to foul trouble and getting hurt, having an insurance policy like Wright long-term is a game-changer and makes the sophomore big expendable in a potential blockbuster deal.
Wright’s 20.4 PER ranks 34th in the league and he’s the only player that high to play less than 25 minutes a game. With the impending cap rise, it’s going to be hard to overpay him especially considering he’s still just 27 without heavy minutes on his career odometer. He should only become more effective when the guard play and spacing around him inevitably (read hopefully) improves.
The question is does Wright want to be in Phoenix? If he’s to be taken at his exit day interview word he’s definitely considering the possibility.
“Definitely you know my family loves it here, nice weather, I like Jeff as a coach,” he said. “The organization is really pushing to make this place a strong place to be, you know obviously a couple of different guys or whatever, but I think it’s going in the right direction.”
Wright knows that he’s wanted back by the Suns’ side.
“I think so, I think so,” Wright said while laughing, at the presumably outrageous lengths the Suns brain trust went to make that sentiment clear to him.
Wright will likely want an opportunity to start if he stays in Phoenix. We don’t have a large enough sample size of Len and Wright playing together to guess how it would look on a long-term basis, but its viability would depend entirely on one of the two developing a consistent a consistent 15-footer.
The proverbial iron curtain draped over the Suns’ rim with the twin towers in would certainly be appealing, and make up for shortcomings elsewhere on that end.
Wright going back to Dallas isn’t out of the question, given his obvious comfort there both on and off the court. He definitely didn’t give a definitive no when he was asked during the season. His job would be easier in Dallas, but he’s more likely to get paid in Phoenix.
Ultimately Wright, who was eager to take his daughter to Disney now that the season is over, is looking for long-term security.
“When you’re in the last year of your deal it’s easy to get moved, so hopefully I sign for four or five years and it’s impossible to move me,” Wright said with a laugh.
Phoenix, possessing Wright’s Bird Rights (not intentional, I promise), is the only team that can offer him five years.
The Suns can only hope that’ll be enough.
Next: T.J. Warren: 2014-15 Phoenix Suns Player Grades