The lineups for the third week of Phoenix Suns draft workouts have easily been the weakest thus far, but that doesn’t mean there’s been no one to keep an eye on.
On Day 11 of Suns pre-draft workouts, the team welcomed potential second round picks Michael Frazier II, Jonathan Holmes and Aaron White, with Ousmane Drame, Phil Greene IV and Cady Lalanne rounding out the group of six.
Among the prospects at US Airways Center on Wednesday, Frazier would be the most likely to wind up with the Suns on draft day. Ranked 39th on ESPN’s Chad Ford’s Big Board, this junior from Florida is projected to be selected from anywhere between the end of the first round and the middle of the second round.
Frazier isn’t a particularly versatile player, but he brings one skill every NBA team needs: perimeter shooting. An excellent jump shooter with impressive range and a silky smooth, quick release, this three-point specialist would be a great option at No. 44 if he’s still on the board — provided the Suns can’t/don’t take Devin Booker at No. 13, of course.
“He’s got beautiful rotation on his shot,” general manager Ryan McDonough said. “He’s a really good-looking shooter, his percentages were great, not only from three but also from the free throw line, and it’s becoming obviously more and more desired in the NBA game — the guy that can spot up and make shots. ”
Phoenix Suns have Micheal Frazier (Florida) in a workout today. Perfect late 1st/early 2nd rd pick for them. Low risk, high value.
— Kris Habbas (@Kris_Habbas) June 10, 2015
At 6’4″, 199 pounds, he’s a bit undersized for an NBA shooting guard, but his college numbers aren’t misleading when it comes to his ability to knock down the three-ball. His sophomore season, Frazier shot 44.7 percent from three-point territory on an absurd 6.8 attempts per game.
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He regressed a tad his junior season, but still made 38 percent of his 5.8 three-point attempts per game. During one midrange shooting drill I saw, he made 18 of 20 shots from just inside the three-point line from a variety of spots during his circuit.
Frazier said his three-point shooting will allow him to help an NBA team right away, but that he’s also taking advantage of these pre-draft workouts to showcase other elements of his game that weren’t always on display with the Gators.
“I feel like not a lot of people got to see my game in college, all that I can do, so that’s why I think these workouts are really helping me,” he said. “The combine really helped me kind of show people that I can do more than just spot-up in the corner and shoot the three-ball. I’m just trying to take full advantage of that with these workouts.”
Frazier said he hasn’t modeled his game after any NBA player in particular, but after working out with him two summers ago, saw a lot of similarities in his game to Bradley Beal, another Florida alum. Frazier has also heard he’s moving up draft boards because of the exposure from the 2015 NBA Draft Combine and pre-draft team workouts.
“I think I’m being able to show more of my abilities to put the ball on the floor and create my own shot and doing more than just shoot the three,” he said. “I think I played very well in the pick-and-roll today, hitting the pocket pass, making that midrange jump shot, finding the open man and things like that that I wasn’t asked to do at Florida.”
McDonough also noted his ability to make plays off the dribble and seemed impressed with this potential second-rounder’s day overall since Frazier was coming off a workout the day before.
“This time of year, guys would like to space them out a little better if they had their choice, but guys who are trying to come in to earn a job don’t necessarily have that luxury,” McDonough said. “So for him to come out and play well on the second day of a back-to-back so to speak, and then to push himself in the three-minute run at the end, he made a very good impression on us.”
Frazier’s partner for the shooting drills, Aaron White, is a 6’9″ power forward from Iowa who’s ranked No. 65 on Ford’s Big Board. He’ll need to bulk up for the next level and seems like a bit of a tweener on paper, but McDonough said his versatility could translate to the next level.
“I think Aaron has some good positional versatility, I think he’s able to play some 3 or some 4,” he said. “He’s a 6’9” guy who can shoot, dribble, pass, think and make some plays. That’s becoming really valuable now days, the floor is spread and the ball gets kind of whipped around and teams close out hard.
“To have a guy who can not only make a spot-up shot but catch and attack off the dribble and make a play at that size is pretty valuable.”
Jonathan Holmes, a 6’9″ forward from Texas, could be another second round option for Phoenix depending on what direction they go with their first rounder. He’s a great rebounder and shot-blocker for his position and has three-point range, but he doesn’t have one trademark skill. He’s ranked 61st on Ford’s Big Board, which has him just outside the last selection of the draft.
Rounding out the group of six were Cady Lalanne (a 6’10” shot-blocking power forward from Massachusetts who is ranked 89th on Ford’s Big Board and is a bit raw offensively), Ousmane Drame (a 6’9″ forward from Quinnipiac who is not on Ford’s Big Board) and Phil Greene IV (a 6’2″ guard from St. John’s who is also not on Ford’s Big Board).
Next: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile