While Nick Calathes is a NBA caliber playmaker, the Phoenix Suns organization shouldn’t even consider him for a roster spot.
It’s no secret that the Phoenix Suns need a franchise playmaker and quality playmakers coming off the bench. There are many avenues to address the need for playmakers, such as the draft, trade market or free agency. Each of these avenues provides the Suns different pools of players to choose from and free agency may be one of the biggest pools. However, one free agent the Suns shouldn’t even think twice about adding is Nick Calathes.
It should be noted that Calathes is planning to attempt a comeback to the NBA this offseason.
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Originally drafted in the second round of the 2009 draft, Calathes didn’t play his first season until the 2013-14 season. Before his NBA debut, Calathes played professional for EuroLeague team Panathinaikos for several seasons. Once Calathes did make his NBA debut, his two seasons were underwhelming and showed regression. His unimpressive NBA stint ended with a 20-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug rules and he has only served seven games of that suspension, so whenever he does come back he’s still suspended 13 games.
Since his last NBA season, Calathes returned to Panathinaikos and has played quite well.
| Season | Club | League(s) | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Panathinaikos | EuroLeague | 14 | 13.7 | .386 | .227 | .545 | .455 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 3.5 | |
| 2010-11 | Panathinaikos | EuroLeague | 22 | 15.5 | .562 | .353 | .625 | .692 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 4.8 | |
| 2011-12 | Panathinaikos | EuroLeague | 23 | 23.6 | .486 | .298 | .582 | .500 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 7.6 | |
| 2012-13 | Lokomotiv-Kuban | EuroCup | 17 | 33.8 | .455 | .275 | .521 | .593 | 5.9 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 12.9 | |
| 2015-16 | Panathinaikos Athens | EuroLeague | 27 | 30.2 | .417 | .329 | .464 | .568 | 4.1 | 6.4 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 9.0 | |
| 2016-17 | Panathinaikos Superfoods | EuroLeague | 33 | 27.2 | .405 | .246 | .491 | .500 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 9.8 | |
| 2017-18 | Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens | EuroLeague | 29 | 28.8 | .478 | .277 | .562 | .573 | 3.9 | 8.3 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 14.0 | |
| 165 | 25.4 | .449 | .281 | .528 | .553 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 9.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/2/2018.
While his point and assist averages were good this past season, his lack of of an outside shot doesn’t have a place in the modern NBA. The Suns don’t need a playmaker that can’t space the floor and that can’t play right away. The suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy should also be a red flag for the Suns front office.
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Calathes didn’t show to be anything beyond a role player in his first stint in the NBA and with his suspension still active, he’s one free agent that the Phoenix Suns shouldn’t be interested in. There are plenty of other playmaking free agents the Suns should turn their attention to instead that could make a much bigger impact than Calathes.