1. He Addresses A Huge Area Of Need
The biggest trait Devin Booker brings to the table is (obviously) three-point shooting. In his freshman season at Kentucky, Booker shot 47 percent from the floor and 41.1 percent from three-point range on 3.7 attempts per game. Booker also converted 82.8 percent of his attempts from the free throw line. Simply put, the kid can stroke the ball.
Hornacek on Booker's shot: "It's a heck of a stroke. He gets it up. It's right above his head where it should be." Easier to teach the rest.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) June 26, 2015
The Suns could’ve used some frontcourt depth in the draft, but they also desperately needed to find someone who could space the floor and alleviate some of the defensive pressure on Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. Don’t forget, the Suns were the NBA’s worst three-point shooting team after the trade deadline.
“We were really targeting shooting, and shooters,” McDonough said. “One of the real mysteries for us was why some of the guys who remained on the roster just didn’t shoot the ball as well. Regardless of that, it was something we wanted to address, our three-point shooting in particular, either in the draft or free agency or both, and I think we took the first step toward doing that tonight.”
Booker shot a true shooting percentage of 60% as a freshman shooting guard. Was electric, and Phoenix will be even better if they keep him
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) June 26, 2015
Not only is Booker’s three-point shooting valuable to a team that could use the floor spacing for its penetrating guards, but it’s also a premium value in the NBA as the league continues to dive further and further into the pace-and-space era.
Both McDonough and Hornacek referred to the NBA champion Golden State Warriors as trendsetters, indicating the direction the league is heading in.
“The increase in three-point shooting attempts has skyrocketed, it’s something that almost every team’s looking for, including us,” McDonough said. “But that threat is huge, obviously he’s a terrific shooter, but even if he doesn’t have the ball as much or doesn’t get as many shots as he did at Kentucky, the threat of him will really open up the court for Eric and Brandon and some of the other guys to do some things.”
While praising what Booker brings to the table as a shooter, Hornacek also mentioned that he was not only a fan of the shooting itself, but the shot selection too.
“Usually guys can’t shoot in the 40s from the line if you’re taking bad shots,” he said. “He took shots that were there and, again, I think that’s a sign of a guy knowing how to play.”
There are questions about what this draft selection means for Archie Goodwin, another young shooting guard prospect who will be fighting for developmental minutes, and the writing is almost certainly on the wall for Gerald Green (an unrestricted free agent) and Reggie Bullock.
But at the end of the day, narrowing down the efficacy of the Suns’ 2015 first round draft pick to being “just another guard” would be a mistake. As an 18-year-old sharpshooter with a good head on his shoulders and a lot of potential to build on, Devin Booker could wind up proving a lot of people wrong in the near future.
Next: Phoenix Suns 2015 NBA Draft Grade: Devin Booker