Five reasons Suns fans are ECSTATIC about the Draft

Offense

Josh Jackson’s greatest weakness is his offensive game. He is not a solid outside shooter, although his college stats from beyond the college arc (37.8% in 90 attempts) are nothing to sneer at, his shooting stroke has been criticized as being terribly inconsistent. Watch any highlight reels that include multiple mid-range to outside shot sand there is no arguing that he needs to spend the majority of this summer focusing on finding a store that works, and nailing it five hundred times a day.

However, his high energy on defense is also carried over on offense and Jackson is an extremely exciting player above the rim. Comparable to Shawn Marion, in lineups with he and Marquese Chriss (and possibly Derrick Jones Jr.) the Suns will undoubtedly fly down the court looking to sky towards the rim, potentially leading the league as the newest Lob City.

Davon Reed, on the other hand, is an exceptional outside shooter. In four years at Miami of Florida, Reed shot a mind-blowing 39.7% from beyond the arc, with many of his shots coming from NBA three-point range. Unlike Jackson’s 90 attempts, Reed attempted 512 in four years nailing 202 of them, including a staggering 45.7% his sophomore season.

Overall Reed only shot 43.0% from the field in his college career, although his combined sophomore and junior seasons were a combined 46.5%. Interestingly Reed’s points and assists per game rose each season in college, as well as his free throw percentage which culminated at 83.3% last season.

Although he was a small conference college student, forward Alec Peters, the Suns’ 54th pick overall, averaged 17.5 points per game in his career, including 23.0 his senior season – the same year he won conference Player of the Year. Nailing 45.2% of his three’s his sophomore and junior seasons on 174-385 shooting, Peters’ outside shot suffered a bit his senior year slumping to 36.3%. However his career-long field goal percentage was 52.9% with Valparaiso, and his free throw shooting was 84.6% including 88.7% last season in 194 attempts.

Should all three of these players make the team in 2017-18 (obviously only Jackson is the sure thing), then each will have the opportunity to become productive players on the offensive end that will help to stretch the floor and potentially provide more open looks for Devon Booker and the other shooters on the roster.