With March Madness season ringing in, people will be talking about college basketball legends. The Phoenix Suns are set to sign a former one.
The Phoenix Suns may be bringing March Madness to the NBA, as they are set to meet with and likely sign Jimmer Fredette according to John Gambadoro’s Twitter. He remains a very fascinating player, in a big way due to scoring a ton at Brigham Young eight years ago. In 2011, he scored 98 points over three games in leading the Cougars to the Sweet 16.
Even though that was almost a decade ago, his name continues to carry national relevance from that historic college run. During his senior season, he averaged 28.9 points and led Division I in scoring on his way to winning AP Player of the Year.
He launched deep threes (see 3.4 per game on 39.6% accuracy) and lit up scoreboards, getting himself drafted with the 10th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Phoenix Suns
Unfortunately, the story that is the enigma of Jimmer loses steam from there. After being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings on draft day. He didn’t pan out as the Kings had hoped and went on to bounce around the league with stops on the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks.
In 235 career games, he holds averages of 6 points and 1.4 assists in 13.4 minutes while shooting 38.1% from downtown. The last time he suited up for an NBA team was in March of 2016, 3 years ago.
However, in those 3 years he’s become a star in China for the Shanghai Sharks. In 127 games, he’s shooting 41% from deep, making 4.9 treys per game while lighting it up for 36.8 points along with 6.9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2.1 steals with 3.3 turnovers per game.
The 6-foot-2, 195 pound guard just turned 30 and has been itching for another chance in the NBA. This is that chance and could be a great fit for him. He’s older and his athleticism has declined so his defense still probably won’t be great. However, that sweet shooting stroke remains.
Also, the Suns still need a point guard with Tyler Johnson and De’Anthony Melton filling the position right now. Both have had injury issues and Johnson has missed the last 3 games. While Fredette hasn’t shown the playmaking of a point on a consistent basis, he’s done better at that aspect and has been more effective off the ball as well. His ability to shoot and score would make him and Devin Booker such a fun backcourt combo.
With Fredette on board, the Suns have nothing to lose. They have 17 wins on the season and are playing well of late. Another shooter wouldn’t hurt any thing on their end so why not sign a player that has the history and CBA resume that Jimmer does? Over his last 3 seasons in the CBA, he’s been named to the All-Star team each season and was the CBA International MVP in 2017.
His high-usage style may bring concerns about how it might interfere with the development of the youth. However, it would bring more attention to Phoenix and his demeanor may be great for the young Suns. He plays with desire, passion and fire and that’s contagious. Lately, the team has been playing with plenty of that but he’d supply even more.
Tyler brings that “veteran” mentality and Kelly Oubre brings that “swag”. Could you imagine how much more Jimmer would bring? The Suns might as well see what Nick Young is doing and just re-name the team the Phoenix Swag for the rest of the season. This team would be so much fun and so annoying to opponents at the same time. Fans would love and enjoy every moment of it.
With the franchise not having much to lose at this point and only 10 games remaining, this is a no-risk signing. Why not blow the dust off an old exhilarating video game and have fun to close out the season. They have a short stretch to see if he’s improved at all. If it works, he could be part of the rotation next year, likely at a bargain salary. If it doesn’t, he becomes a free agent after this season.
The Suns may just need some backcourt help, especially if the injury bug keeps biting and Fredette is a solid option to fill a gap at a position of need. He may just end up being a great comeback story.