Earlier, the Suns made Josh Jackson the newest member of the Phoenix Suns, drafting him with the fourth overall pick. How does he fit with the Suns and just how will he impact the team?
The Suns will select Josh Jackson with the No. 4 pick, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2017
There is no denying it, Josh Jackson is a special talent. Ever since his high school days, he was projected as a fantastic future NBA player. But, Jackson is more than just a raw talent. Coming out of college, he immediately provides something that the Suns desperately need: defense. Jackson is a true defensive stud, capable of guarding the NBA’s best players. Now, Phoenix has the ability to run a new, young defensive stopper out against the LeBron’s, KD’s, and James Harden’s of the world.
No longer will Suns fans have to resign themselves to giving up 30+ points to the opposition’s top players on a nightly basis. Instead, fans can take pride in their young stud and his ability to lock down his man.
The addition of Jackson has even more benefits than simply limiting the scoring outputs of opposing superstars. With Josh Jackson guarding the most offensively skilled opponent, the pressure will be off of Devin Booker defensively. That frees Booker from the majority of his defensive responsibilities, ones that he was already having trouble fulfilling. (In the 2016-2017 season, Booker ranked 308th in the league in Defensive Wins Shared.) With fewer defensive distractions, Devin Booker will have even more freedom to dominate on the offensive end in 2017.
Now that Booker will be free to continue to decimate the opposition offensively, there will be even more opportunities for other Suns players to have a larger offensive impact. One of those players is very likely to be new Sun, Josh Jackson. The Suns are already giddy about his defensive skill, but how does his game project on offense?
Jackson has a decent handle and good length to be able to get to the rim on drives. His jumpshot is still a work in progress, but that is definitely something Earl Watson and the rest of the coaching staff will be working with him on. Once Josh Jackson puts in the work on his jumper, the rest of his offensive game will fall right into place. With a consistent jumpshot, defenses will have to respect him from the outside, which will allow for more scoring opportunities for him and his teammates.
So, in short, Josh Jackson slides right into a vital defensive role for Phoenix, allowing Devin Booker and the rest of the Suns young talent to have additional freedom offensively, which will ultimately lead to opportunities for Jackson himself to develop. It sounds like a perfect fit. And while it is impossible to say for certain, two years from now, we could be looking at the best wing duo since LeBron and Dwayne Wade were playing together in South Beach.
How’s that sound to you Suns fans?