Archie Goodwin: Player Profile
After three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Archie Goodwin has not progressed enough to secure his spot on the team next year.
In his third season in the NBA, the 21-year-old Kentucky product played more minutes than he did during his first two seasons combined. With this added playing time, the production was inconsistent and the growth limited.
Offensively, Archie Goodwin has made little progress since his rookie season, with no indication that his shot is going to improve. He gets to the free throw line more often now, but continues to be a mediocre free throw shooter (.674% in 2015-16).
Here is a break down of his shooting in the NBA, per 100 possessions.
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/1/2016.
As you can see, Archie is an inefficient shooter. His two point percentage this season matched his career total of .474%.
His best skill seems to be his driving ability, but he isn’t even efficient there. According to NBA.com, Goodwin and Ronnie Price were the only Suns’ guards to shoot lower than 46% on drives, with Goodwin finishing at just 39.8%. Goodwin also rarely passes on drives (just 21.2% of drives). Devin Booker and Brandon Knight only pass it marginally more often, but they are better finishers than Goodwin.
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Where Goodwin really struggles is from 3 and at the free throw line. These are the areas that efficient scorers live, and Goodwin is simply horrible. Last season he shot 23.5% from the three point line and 67.4% from the free throw line.
Possessions ending in an Archie Goodwin shot are not good possessions. Where does he bring value then? I’m still not sure, as he does not consistently create offense for his teammates either.
The below table shows the Assist Percentage and Turnover Percentage for the 4 main guards on the Suns roster. Assist Percentage is the percentage of Suns assists the player was responsible for while on the court. Turnover Percentage estimates the number of turnovers a player commits per 100 possessions. More information on both metrics here.
| Player | Age | MP | AST% ▾ | TOV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Bledsoe | 26 | 1059 | 31.8 | 16.2 |
| Brandon Knight | 24 | 1870 | 24.4 | 15.4 |
| Archie Goodwin | 21 | 1114 | 17.2 | 16.5 |
| Devin Booker | 19 | 2108 | 15.8 | 14.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/1/2016.
Not surprisingly, Eric Bledsoe stands out with a near 2:1 ratio between his Assist Percentage and Turnover Percentage. This is a great ratio. He contributes significantly more assists than the other guards, yet he doesn’t commit significantly more turnovers.
Devin Booker is an interesting case. Although his Assist Percentage is the lowest of the group at 15.8%, he also has the lowest Turnover Percentage. He may not be dishing as many assists, but he isn’t turning the ball over either.
These metrics don’t capture the complete picture, but they don’t look good for Goodwin. We know Goodwin isn’t an efficient scorer – and the numbers indicate he isn’t an efficient passer either.
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Archie Goodwin’s splits aren’t much different from Devin Booker, but Booker’s shooting is already significantly better than Goodwin’s.
The final factor that could save Archie Goodwin: defense. Unfortunately for Archie, this might be the worst aspect of his game. Goodwin seems to get credit for his defense, but it is unearned.
Nearly all metrics reflect that Archie Goodwin plays poor defense. NBA.com’s defensive rating lists Goodwin as the worst defensive player on the Suns (minimum 20 games). Defensive Box Plus/Minus says Archie Goodwin is a worse defender than Brandon Knight, and the third worst Suns’ player that played at least 1000 minutes (beating rookie Devin Booker and sharp shooter Mirza Teletovic).
Goodwin may have defensive potential, but he has continued to not show it. Archie Goodwin may play slightly better defense than Booker at this point, but the potential for improvement is much greater for Booker.
The defense by Archie Goodwin is not nearly good enough to call it a strength.
Next: Devin Booker: Player Profile
The emergence of Devin Booker, combined with the stagnant growth of Archie Goodwin, mean that Goodwin’s minutes in Phoenix should be distributed to more deserving players.
With a healthy Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns will already struggle to get Devin Booker enough minutes. There is simply no room for Goodwin, even if his contract is tiny.
The minutes Goodwin would steal from Devin Booker are the biggest cost of keeping Archie Goodwin, and it is a cost too great for the Suns to accept.
Hopefully the Suns can convince another team the potential is still there and get an asset in return. If not, the Suns should cut their losses and move on from Goodwin.