Offseason Developments with Players
While the offseason is about improving, assembling, and developing the roster for the upcoming season, it’s not without its hardships. Guard Brandon Knight tore the ACL in his left knee while playing basketball at home in Florida. Knight had one of his worst seasons in 2016-17, incapable of being the sixth man that Coach Watson envisioned he could be. Instead of redeeming himself this season, Knight will have to wait until 2018-19 before he can take the court in an NBA game.
The Phoenix Suns will also be without forward Jared Dudley to start the season. Dudley had surgery to repair a broken toe at the end of July. He will miss three to four months putting him on the shelf until late November at the earliest. With the team having plenty of young forwards, look for the Suns to take their time with bringing Dudley back on the court.
Rookie Davon Reed underwent knee surgery in August to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee. Reed’s recovery time from the injury is said to be within four to six months. Five days before the start of training camp, Alan Williams tore his meniscus playing a pickup game with the team.
Not all injury news has been negative. Point guard Tyler Ulis, coming off of right ankle surgery in May, missed the Summer League as a result. Rookie second round selection Alec Peters also didn’t participate in the Summer League due to recovering from a right leg stress fracture. The good news is that both players have been seen practicing with the team since late August and appear ready for training camp.
Dragan Bender participated in Eurobasket for his home country of Croatia from late August to early September. Bender did not play a big role for Croatia while coming off the bench, which is due to playing with an experienced squad led by Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric. He averaged 4.3 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, along with 1.2 blocks per contest. Having missed time due to injury last season, it’s encouraging to see Bender getting on the court this summer. Still only 19 years-old, Bender’s time in Summer League and Eurobasket has helped him grow and prepare for this season.
Knight, Dudley, Williams and Reed’s injuries may prove tough for team to cope with once the season starts. The Suns will need to rely on their young players to pick up their play. These young Suns will have every opportunity to prove that they belong to be a part of the team’s future.