Should The Phoenix Suns Re-Sign Brandan Wright?
Pros
At age 27, Brandan Wright is never going to be Dwight Howard. He’s in his prime right now, but he pretty much is what he is at this point: an extremely useful and efficient backup center. And yes, he is a center, because good God I don’t think I can bear to watch one more second of him playing power forward alongside Alex Len.
It took Phoenix longer than expected to figure out how to properly utilize Wright, but once they did, he performed admirably. Wright shot 58 percent from the field and he averaged 7.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his 40 games with the Suns. When Len broke his nose, Wright stepped up his numbers to 12.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game in seven starts.
Wright’s range doesn’t extend past the painted area and he doesn’t really create his own offense. But in the areas of the floor where he’s efficient, he’s really efficient. A quick look at his shot chart from his time with the Suns doesn’t leave any room for doubt:
Of the 207 shots Wright took with the Suns this season, 183 of them either came at the basket or just below the free throw line, where he likes to get off his running floater. He shot 61.7 percent on these shots that constituted nearly 90 percent of his shot selection. Efficiency, thy name is Brandan Wright.
Wright may not create much of his own offense, but he’s a prime alley-oop target who became a deadly option with the second unit once he got accustomed to playing with his new teammates. The Suns don’t run enough pick and roll to turn him back into the monster he was with the Dallas Mavericks, but he’s capable of wreaking havoc on opposing bench units when his teammates are looking for him.
Brandon Wright had the highest plus minus on the mavs the last two seasons and was shooting 75% before he was traded
— Reformed Aragorn (@Un_B_Weavable) January 31, 2015
On the defensive end of the floor, Wright doesn’t always get the block, but he does alter a lot of shots at the rim. Per 48 Minutes, he averaged 2.6 blocks per game with the Suns — not fantastic, but not bad either. He’s not bulky enough to be a starting center, but off the bench he’s a passable rebounder and rim deterrent.
When it comes to backup centers, it doesn’t get much better than a guy who can get buckets and rebounds in an efficient manner, protects the rim, rarely turns the ball over and is a good locker room presence.
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