I know he is young. I know he is immature. I know that he is freakishly athletic. But the Phoenix Suns have gone through a situation similar to this before and should not wait until it is too late to make a move involving Marquese Chriss.
There is absolutely nothing more that I want than for Marquese Chriss than to be a dominant power forward for the Phoenix Suns for the next 10 years. To see him average 20 and 10. To see him have his place up in the Ring of Honor. To hopefully see him be an integral part in the franchise’s first NBA Championship victor(ies).
I do not hate Marquese Chriss as a player or a man. I do not know him, but I respect what he has been able to do in such a short period in his life. He has so much life left before him and hopefully tied to that is an extended period of time as a successful player in the NBA.
However, the Suns have gone through this before. They had a young, immature, highly-athletic power forward who fans and the organization alike had high hopes for and believed could be a cornerstone piece for many years to come.
No, Marquese Chriss is not Markieff Morris. Markieff and his brother Marcus are one (two) of a kind and they have their own set of issues.
But so far in Marquese Chriss’ career, there has been very little sign of growth. Handed the starting lineup almost immediately as a rookie, being coddled by his head coach, continuing in the starting role this year even under a new HC, one would expect to have seen at least a semblance of improvement in his game and that his statistics would show an increase in production.
They have not. With both his FG and 3-PT percentage’s down significantly this season over last, his scoring is down as well. While his technical fouls are down, his personal fouls per-36 minutes are still at 5.0 per game. He cannot be counted on in anyway as a go-to scorer, and often takes ridiculous shots that he should have never attempted.
That was an ugly, off-balance, fadeaway hookshot from Chriss five feet from the rim. He should have never taken that shot. #SUNSat50 v #TakeNote #SunsVsJazz
— Valley of the Suns (@ValleyoftheSuns) February 3, 2018
Again, Marquese Chriss is 20-years-old. He still has two years remaining under his rookie contract, and if over that period the light finally does turn on, his value would be incalculable as his salary at that point would not match his production.
Yet so far his salary does not match his production, in the reverse way, and while he has played significant minutes for this most part this season, his lack of 20 point games (he has zero), double-digit rebounding games (he has four), and 3 block games (he has four), is just not enough for a player who has started in 40 of his 46 appearances.
The term bust has been thrown out quite a bit surrounding Chriss, with those statistics (or lack thereof) backing up the argument. But his age and freakish athletic ability still makes him a valuable commodity.
If Phoenix were to attempt to trade him, they should do it now, if possible, and not let another 30+ games of poor showing further drown his value – a value that may have already taken a significant hit based on this suspension alone.
There are two trade options that might make sense for Phoenix if the right deal can be struck, each of which could come to fruition over the next five days leading into the February 8, trade deadline.