Sun(day) On A Monday: Summer League Awards
By Spencer Hann
Life On Planet Orange
1. Phoenix Suns, fans in preparation of the upcoming season, start channeling your inner Rick James voice. He may not be stepping on the floor for Phoenix but you will have the next best thing in…drum roll please…Mike James!
More from Suns News
- Ranking the Phoenix Suns’ 5 holiday games in 2023-24
- Zion Williamson gets compared to Phoenix Suns legend
- Suns player preview: Bol Bol can be the perfect role player
- Former Suns’ guard shows he is officially done with Phoenix
- NBA insider guarantees Suns’ rival won’t make blockbuster trade
My gosh has he impressed this Summer League. James’ latest play against the Chicago Bulls showcased the balanced and controlled game he commands, finishing with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds. Showing a complete comprehension of the offense to go with a defensive tenacity that is evident every time he has stepped on the floor, the point guard has more than earned himself an invite to training camp.
Ronnie Price was signed to an incredibly affordable one-year, $1 million deal to allow for flexibility if the Suns were to find a diamond in the rough in Summer League. They have found that diamond and more.
What completely wins me over regarding James? A native of Mesa, he would become the local hometown hero, filling the extremely lovable position of the third point guard and likely dwarfing Ish Smith’s popularity when he resided in the same role. Who would have thought that at the start of next season the Suns’ best dunker would be a man by the name of Mike James? Certainly not me. But it’s really starting to look that way.
2. If the Suns Summer League was a novel, my review would be titled “The Book Gets Better And Better.” As in Booker. As in Devin Booker, the leading scorer of Sunday’s affair with 31 points, finishing the game on an 8-of-9 shooting tear.
I really, really wanted Bobby Portis with the Suns’ 13th pick in the draft (and he has shown this Summer League why he might be the steal of the draft), but you can’t argue with the poise and pure shooting that Booker has exhibited, improving every single game.
He never seems out of control with the basketball and always stays within his game, letting the offense come to him and battling on defense. A lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Booker, T.J. Warren and Tyson Chandler looks incredibly potent and a large part of that has to do with the Suns’ 18-year-old rookie.
3. Keeping the conversation guard-oriented, Archie Goodwin has to be feeling the heat. Sonny Weems is waiting in Phoenix, with a rotation spot clearly guaranteed, Devin Booker has shown how hard it will be for the Suns to keep his shooting off the floor and Goodwin is seemingly the odd man out, again.
While he has shown a MUCH improved shooting stroke, the third-year player still looks out of control at times with the basketball and seems intent on bulldozing to the rim every time he has it, which can be a blessing (three-point plays, putting bigs in foul trouble) and a curse (missing open teammates, charging fouls, turnovers).
We have seen a pretty even combination of the good and the bad from Goodwin this summer, which gives Booker and/or Weems a shot to move up on the depth chart and puts a serious emphasis on his training camp performance. The magnitude of this year cannot be overstated for Goodwin, as it will very likely determine whether he is a trade chip for Phoenix or a piece of the equation moving into the future.
Suns Summer League Awards
MVP — Is this really a question? T.J. Warren, step right up. Mr. Consistently Efficient, Warren has shown all the tools and skills to be a starter and a breakout player for the Suns this year. Ignoring his two-point performance yesterday (we’ve seen enough to know that was a blimp on the radar, not a trend), it has become almost a given for Warren to give the Suns 50+ percent shooting and 20 points every time he steps foot on the court.
He may not have the range that is expected out of the new generation of NBA players nowadays, but Warren more than makes up for it with his LETHAL 15-feet-and-in repertoire of moves. Whether Warren starts or not, the second-year small forward should be one of the leaders on the Suns in minutes played.
Most Disappointing — When you’re seven feet tall, started 41 games in the NBA last season and have put on 20+ plus pounds of muscle since you entered the league, you should dominate, I repeat, DOMINATE, the NBA Summer League. In short, Alex Len has not done that at all.
Clearly the addition of Tyson Chandler has made this issue much less of a concern than it otherwise would have been, but still, it needs to be addressed. His finishing around the rim has been suspect, as has his post game against some players that won’t even be in the league in a few months. His jumper has been raved about by Suns coaches but Len has rarely had the time or opportunity to show off any improved range.
Most alarmingly, the center has been unable to stay out of foul trouble, consistently picking up one or two fouls within minutes of each other, leading to a trip to the bench and taking him out of the flow of the game. Of course, he should look better when Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight are penetrating and dishing to him as opposed to Mike James (I still love him!) and Mickey McConnell (he’s damn good too!). How much better? That, is the question of the day.
Who Saw That Coming?! — Mike James. For all the above mentioned reasons and then some. Incredibly athletic. Defensively motivated. Offensively crafty and efficient. Galvanizes his teammates. I really could rave about what he has shown this summer, but Suns fans will become acquainted soon enough. At the beginning of summer James was headed into a battle to make the roster. At the end of summer, thanks to Rick James, Ronnie Price will be headed to training camp and a battle to keep his position on the team.
Training Camp Dark Horse — Josh Harrellson. Phoenix loves their stretch-4s and after struggling to replace that aspect of their offense without Channing Frye last season, the Suns may feel inclined to overstock it this year, leaving an opening for Harrellson to be invited to camp.
Harrellson has shown he can hit the open shot off the pick-and-pop, with a mean, tough screen to go with it — something the Suns’ frontcourt has lacked over the years. The big man’s BIG body may prevent him from playing more than 5-7 minutes a game, but that’s all the Suns would be asking from him anyway with Mirza Teletovic and Markieff Morris chewing up most of the power forward minutes. At the very least, Harrellson could be excellent cheap insurance if an injury to the frontcourt were to occur.
Memory Of The Week
We finally beat the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs! It just came 22 years too late.
Tweet Of The Week
My guy @TonyWarrenJr been putting in work! #withoutsayingnothing
— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) July 19, 2015
*On a side note, Suns vs Spurs for the NBA Summer League Championship tonight on NBATV. It is time to exact their revenge for losing out on LaMarcus Aldridge. How great would it be for Aldridge to be sitting courtside and witness the future of the Spurs run over by the future (and present) of the Suns? Yes, the Spurs may win it all this year, but dammit, good luck beating Phoenix for the Las Vegas Summer League Championship!
Next: Phoenix Suns Summer League Game 6 Recap