As solid of a prospect as he is, would Ja Morant be the right draft pick for the Phoenix Suns?
As the All-Star break is approaching, most NBA teams are getting ready to enjoy their last few “rest days” before the push to the playoffs starts. As for the Phoenix Suns, fans are looking again at the offseason and the draft.
With the way things are playing out record-wise and with the way the lottery balls look to fall at the moment, it certainly seems like Zion Williamson will go to the New York Knicks and R.J. Barrett will go to the Cleveland Cavaliers. This would put the Suns in a difficult situation with the third pick, where they could draft Cam Reddish or Ja Morant.
I, personally, am not sold on drafting Reddish. For him to be able to shine he needs a playmaker on his team who can dish him the ball. There are often times where you sometimes forget he is even on the court, and as much as that seems like a Suns player, we don’t need another one of those.
This leads me to my next point on why Ja Morant would be the right pick. He’s explosive, with the ability to jump over, around or even through the defender just to get to the rim. He shoots the three at a really good percentage and he has great court awareness, averaging over 10 assists per game.
Yes, I understand he plays for Murray State and most of their games are against smaller and weaker D-1 teams, but anyone putting up 25 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds per game deserves to be noticed. When teams play Murray State they know there is only one guy they have to stop if they need a win and that’s him, yet they can’t stop him.
The Suns desperately need a player who can not only create his own shot but can create shots for teammates. Morant fits the bill and would definitely fill the gaping void currently known as the point guard position in Phoenix.
Obviously if the Basketball Gods bless the Suns with the first or second pick in the draft, I believe Phoenix should select either Zion or R.J. and try to grab an experienced point guard in free agency like Terry Rozier. However, it sadly always seems that the Suns get the short end of the stick.
Yet, even if the lottery balls do not fall in favor of Phoenix, Ja Morant would be a nice consolation prize and may end up being exactly what the Suns need at point guard.