Mo Speights may be solid replacement for Len

After a week-long flirtation with the Atlanta Hawks, Marreese Speights is once again free to move about the NBA.

Sources: After week-long talks ended w/ Atlanta backing out of offer to Mo Speights, one of market's best shooting centers available again.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 16, 2017

Outside of their public flirtations with Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap, the Phoenix Suns have never really been in the running for any particular big named free agents – to no one’s surprise. They have essentially sat out the proceedings, sitting back, waiting for any lesser-named players to become available to fill out their roster.

Marreese (Mo) Speights is one of those players who could potentially be a short-term fit for Phoenix while they continue to develop their other young bigs. That is, if the Alex Len contract discussions die on the table.

While it still seems likely that Len will eventually re-sign with Phoenix, if nothing more than his one-year $4.5M qualifying offer, there is obviously the chance that the two sides never actually come to an accord and Len is granted unrestricted free agency.

If this happens, General Manager Ryan McDonough will certainly seek to find a replacement for him in the rotation to at least find a third “break glass in case of emergency” big.

Very few players are still available that would provide the kind of veteran experience and relative small contract that Speights might be should he sign with Phoenix. A short-term two year deal (heck, even a one-year deal if his wish is to re-enter free agency next offseason) would be a totally fair and viable option for both sides. Phoenix would get a third big man – one who would not demand an excessive amount of playing time (he has averaged only 15.3 minutes per game in his nine-year career) and another locker room presence who has Championship experience that would be a voice of success in a locker room full of players who have never even sniffed the post season.

Speights is best known for his offensive game and is a decent shooter. Taking 28.8% of field goal attempts in his career from 16 feet to the three-point line, draining them at a spectacular 43.6% clip. In fact, last season with the Los Angeles Clippers he took 50.5% of all field goal attempts from beyond three-point range, converting on 37.2% of them.

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For those who would see this signing as a potential block in the development of Marquese Chriss or Dragan Bender, it must be kept in mind that the Suns will likely sign Len anyway, and if they do not, they will very likely seek a big man replacement for him. It seems highly unlikely that Speights would be brought in as some sort of anchor at the five, and would only serve the purpose of an additional big off the bench, especially on nights when Bender and Chriss are not playing successfully.

We’ll follow this along and keep fans abreast of any developments. We must first look to see what is the final event with Alex Len, and if Speights remains available, see if Phoenix reaches out to him.

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