The Phoenix 4: McDonough’s Top Options at the Fourth Pick

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Josh Jackson SF

Coming out of high school, Josh Jackson was one of the most highly touted recruits in the nation. College coaches coveted his unique combination of skill and athleticism. Unsurprisingly, Jackson’s athleticism has led him to become an elite defender, an ability that will certainly translate to the NBA. Offensively, Josh Jackson is much more raw. For most of the 2016-17 season he struggled with his perimeter jumpshot, shooting just 27% from distance through all of Kansas’ non-conference play.

To combat this, Head Coach Bill Self opted to use Jackson as undersized power forward – something he would later prove to excel at – allowing him to take advantage of larger and slower big men on drives to the basket and focus less on his jumper. While his offensive game has definitely shown signs of improvement, Josh Jackson still has a ways to go before he will be truly effective weapon on offense.

So, how would he fit for the Suns? It seems most likely that Earl Watson would choose to have Jackson start the 2017 season coming off the bench until his offensive game develops. Josh Jackson can easily slide into the Suns rotation right out of the gate as a defensive stopper and maybe even a 10-14 point per game player.