John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 says the Phoenix Suns want a combo guard for this roster. These are four primary options the Suns should target.
*Note – I heard Gambo make this comment seemingly in passing while driving and was unable to note the time, which I subsequently put off looking up and over time have thus even forgotten the day he said this. That said, he did make that statement, and thus deserves the credit for the idea that this list originated from.
A few years back Arizona State University’s basketball program nicknamed itself “Guard U” for their plethora of talented guards on their roster. If ASU could have used that moniker for even a short period of time, then the Phoenix Suns should have one for themselves for their historical wealth of talented point guards throughout their 50+ years of history.
At least that was the case until Eric Bledsoe passive-aggressively demanded out of Phoenix, and is now two wins away from the NBA Finals.
Since that ridiculous tweet, the Phoenix Suns have not had a viable point guard on the roster (which is three games short of two years) something that has not only made winning nearly impossible, but made the professional lives of the influx of young players on the roster much more difficult.
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Just imagine if Shawn Marion didn’t have Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, or Steve Nash for the first eight and a half years of his career? Or if Amar’e Stoudemire didn’t have Starbury or Nash for his own first eight?
Is it possible that either one of them blunder around and although potentially still reaching their full potential athletically, never put up the stats that they ultimately put up with fantastic point guards to give them the ball?
*Before you scoff at the notion that Stephon Marbury was “fantastic,” do not forget that while in Phoenix he averaged 8.1, 8.1, and 8.3 assists per game. Bledsoe never averaged more than 6.3 and Goran Dragic only averaged above 5.9 once, and that was his first season back with the Suns when he averaged 7.4.
Who was the last Phoenix Suns player to average at least 8 assists a game?
You guessed it, Steve Nash, when he averaged 20.7 – in 2011-12.
But John Gambadoro said that the Suns didn’t just want a pure passer, but a scorer as well (a combo guard) – something that at least recently only Dragic could have been associated with such a stylistic definition, although not to the degree of two of his predecessors in Nash and Starbury.
Those kinds of point guards do not grow on trees and often come very expensively, the cost (and often age) being some of the reasons why Phoenix shouldn’t be and isn’t interested in players like Mike Conley, Chris Paul, and Kyle Lowry.
However, there are potentially four point guard who either do or can fit that definition, all of whom either are or can be available this offseason – and all of whom are very likely at the top of the Phoenix Suns’ wish list of ‘combo’ guards.
Lonzo Ball
He has been mentioned in connection to the Phoenix Suns a thousand times since he left UCLA, a point guard that many fans have wanted on this roster because of his innate passing ability.
Averaging 7.2 assists his rookie season, that stat dropped to 5.4 last year, although at no fault of his own, due mainly to the offense being built around LeBron James and the struggles that went along with dealing with his presence on the court.
There is no doubt that adding a player of Lonzo Ball‘s capacity on the Suns’ current roster would help open up fastbreak opportunities for the number of slashers on the roster (if Josh Jackson is retained, he would receive the opportunities that Shawn Marion once had as a slasher with his great point guards, but has not had to date in his career).
Deandre Ayton too would be benefited in the half court game as Lonzo will more aptly be able to get the young center the ball in the right positions and situations, something that plagued him throughout his rookie year.
Obviously Devin Booker would benefit the most as he would not have to play on the ball the entire game, potentially taking some of the wear and tear off of his body that seemed to cause him to break down a little bit the last two years.
Now, Gambo said that the Suns wanted a ‘combo guard’ which implies someone who can shoot, the biggest flaw in Ball’s game to date. His awkward shot worked for him in college, however it has not converted to the NBA quite as well as the Lakers had hoped.
Although his shooting statistics rose last season from his rookie year, they are still a paltry 40.6% from the field, 32.9% from 3, 48.2% from 2, and a measly 41.7% from the free throw line – when Shaquille O’Neal averaged comparable free throw statistics, at least he was averaging 70% from within the arc as he was dunking the ball the majority of the time.
Those kinds of shooting numbers are incredibly troubling and not the sign of a true combo guard.
If the Phoenix Suns managed to acquire Ball, there would have to be a full deconstruction of his shot by shooting coaches in the hopes that over the next couple of years they can get his shooting percentages up to at least tolerable numbers.
It is truly his shooting that makes him the number four player on this list, however, his age (he’ll be 22 at the start of the season) and contract (he’s still under a rookie contract for two more years), still should make him a very interesting target to fill this roster hole.
Ricky Rubio
Whereas Ricky Rubio was once in the camp of awful shooting point guards like Lonzo Ball, he has, over time, managed to pull his meager shooting statistics out of the dumps somewhat, however, save for the 2017-18 season, he has never really had any shooting statistics that were anything to write home about.
As his 3-point shot was never his strong suit, over the first four years of his career, Rubio averaged a mere 20.6% of his field goal attempts from beyond the arc of which he averaged only 31.4%.
Over his last four seasons, Rubio has shot 32.7% of his field goal attempts from the 3-point line and beyond, while raising his percentage slightly to 32.5%, at least maintaining that that shot could be a weapon for him for the rest of his career.
At the same time though, his comparable 0-3ft shots (generally layups or dunks) have gone up in average from 46.7% over his first four years, to 53.5%.
None of this is to be mistaken with Rubio being a fantastic scorer. Unfortunately he’s not. However, he is a legitimate and much better passer than any point guard the Suns have had since Nash.
So where Ricky Rubio fails as a scorer (although that is not to say that he cannot score), he succeeds as a passer, averaging 7.7 assists per game in his six seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and 7.2 assists per-36 minutes in his two seasons with the Utah Jazz.
Of the four potential ‘combo guards’ on this list, Rubio might very well be the cheapest of those current NBA players as well, as he is an unrestricted free agent and not only will probably not need to sign a massive contract extension (it will very likely be extremely manageable), but also will not require a trade of any current players, keeping the core intact, and leaving said players to be moved in subsequent trades.
D’Angelo Russell
As much as Phoenix Suns fans want him, D’Angelo Russell is very likely the most difficult player to acquire on this list as he is a restricted free agent and might receive a max extension this offseason from the Brooklyn Nets.
However, there is no denying that there is no better combo guard likely to be connected to the Suns than Russell, not only for his personal connection to Devin Booker, but for his age (23), size (6’5″), and combo-nishness (21.1 points, 7.0 assists per game last year, and 36.9% from 3 last year).
Very good scorer (although not the greatest “shooter” at 41.9% for his career): Check.
Very good passer: Check.
All-Star: Check.
Best friends with Devin Booker: Check.
He really does seem to check off all the boxes that Suns fans at least have in their own desire for the franchise to add a point guard this offseason.
Will it work out? Who knows. It depends on what the Nets offer him in free agency (or are willing to match), and if the Suns want to offer him enough to snag him away.
But if they did land him, there is no doubt that he would be the best fit for a number of reasons, and potentially make the Phoenix Suns a playoff team right away.
Coby White
While most Phoenix Suns fans would prefer that the 6th overall pick is traded in a package to land the team a veteran player or two (there had been rumors of flipping the 6th overall pick for Lonzo Ball), it is unlikely that the pick is moved and that they will make the selection they have been handed.
If that does end up being the case, North Carolina’s Coby White might be the absolute best player the Suns could target as a combo guard this offseason.
Phoenix Suns
His biggest flaw is his age.
Not only is he 19-years-old, but he would also be another in a long line of players the Suns have added to their roster recently out of the draft, potentially prolonging their growth towards a regular playoff team.
However, he is 6’5″ and might continue to grow for the next two years, was a good scorer at North Carolina where he averaged 16.1 points whil also dishing out 4.1 assists his freshman year.
While those stats are not out of this world by any means, still consider his age and lack of long-term collegiate development. If he was able to put up 16 and 4 his freshman year, imagine what he could have averaged as a junior.
Of course, that means that the Suns would still have to wait two years to see what he potentially could have averaged as a junior in college, meaning that for the next two years they have to wait for him to develop.
But if could buck the trend of early entrants into the NBA draft and makes an impact right away, they will have a diamond in the rough.
Coby’s shooting statistics do not compare to Ball’s when he was at UCLA (Ball shot 41.2% from 3 whereas White average 35.3% and Ball shot 55.1% from the field while White averaged 42.3%), but at least White does not have a weird shooting form that might have been the cause of Ball’s slow development, and the saving grace of White’s early entrance into the Association.
The Phoenix Suns should have options at point guard this offseason, and while there is no Steve Nash available to them, there is no shortage of legitimate point guards who are better passers than they have now, and all could be the perfect combo guards that the franchise so desperately needs.