Since the Suns selected him 32nd overall in this year’s NBA Draft, there has been nothing but positive buzz around rookie Davon Reed.
Reed, a 6’6” shooting guard, was labelled by many as a reach when the Suns selected him early in the second round. But although those wannabe talent evaluators said that he simply wasn’t good enough, it wasn’t the first time Davon Reed had been told he wasn’t good enough.
Out of high school, Reed was a three-star recruit. None of college basketball’s top schools came knocking. He didn’t have offers from Kentucky, Duke, or UNC. Instead, he received and accepted an offer from the University of Miami, a school not as well-known for their basketball program as they are for other sports.
Head Coach Jim Larranaga made Davon Reed his second recruit of the 2013 offseason. Despite playing big minutes in his freshman and sophomore seasons, it took until his junior year for Reed to make himself a permanent fixture in Coach Larranaga’s starting lineup. Finally, by his senior year, Reed was playing big minutes and his numbers exploded. His scoring went up 26% and his assist numbers doubled.
Despite an improved stat line, Reed still wasn’t getting much hype from NBA scouts and evaluators. Very little changed at the NBA Combine where he posted relatively average numbers which did not separate himself from the field.
The Suns were among the handful of NBA teams that worked him out before the draft, but there was still very little buzz around Davon Reed. Then on draft night, in a surprise move, Davon Reed was picked by Phoenix with the second pick of the second round.
The pick left many Suns fans baffled, but after a string of very solid performances in the Summer League, Phoenix fans are becoming more and more impressed. He showed off his fantastic three-point shot, a smooth pull-up jumper, some creative finishes around the basket, terrific on-ball defense, and great athleticism.
With the start of the regular season still a ways away, how does Davon Reed figure to fit in with the Suns? While there is clearly no spot open for Reed in Earl Watson’s starting lineup, there almost certainly will be minutes for him off the bench. Reed can be the Suns bench stopper. He will fit right in Coach Watson’s second unit, playing alongside Tyler Ulis, Jackson/Warren, Dragan Bender, and Alan Williams. With Reed’s on ball defense, he will be able to cover for the diminutive Ulis, while still providing a spark on the offensive end. Picture Davon Reed going at guys like Jamal Crawford, Nick Young, Lou Williams, or even Andre Iguodola.
In Davon Reed, the Suns filled a big defensive need while at the same time adding even more young talent to this already young squad. Who knows? Ryan McDonough may have drafted the NBA’s next second round stud.