Counterpoint: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson? The Phoenix Suns should avoid him at all costs

The Phoenix Suns might have a weaker small forward group next offseason, but “tweener” Rondae Hollis-Jefferson should not be a target.

There is a strong (and unfortunate) chance that the Phoenix Suns will lose Kelly Oubre in restricted free agency.

It seems that General Manager James Jones is in talks with teams around the league for both T.J. Warren and Josh Jackson potentially thinning out that group even more.

The roster doesn’t have a power forward (and hasn’t had a competent one since…dare I say…Amar’e Stoudemire?), and management needs to not only find one as a starter but a backup as well.

And then news broke on June 17, that the Brooklyn Nets have declined former University of Arizona Wildcat Rondae Hollis-Jefferson‘s qualifying offer making him an unrestricted free agent.

Some Phoenix Suns fans (mainly those who are in some way connected to the city of Tucson) immediately thought “bring him home!”

This should absolutely not be the case.

The name of the game is to put the ball in the basket as many times as possible.

The NBA has is a league of shooters. Teams like the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, are all full of competent shooters, especially from the outside – I will not get into the obvious analytics of why.

Last season, the Phoenix Suns (who owned the second worst record in the NBA), shot the worst of any time in the league from 3 at a dismal 32.9%!

This is a team that for years led the league in outside shooting, and they are now the worst there is!

And some fans are clamoring for Phoenix to sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson?? A 6’7″ SF/PF who shot a laughable 18.4% last season and is only a modicum better for his career at 22.3%!

I am sorry for all of the exclamation points, but I just cannot conceive of a strong enough reason for a team like the Phoenix Suns, who need to desperately do anything they possibly can to become better from the outside, to waste a roster spot on a player who clanks 3’s almost five times more often than he makes them.

Honestly: the Suns might as well sign me – at least they’d get some media attention for it (for better or worse).

Oh, I get that he plays defense.

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Then re-sign Kelly Oubre at all cost and trade T.J. Warren for a second round draft pick.

If nothing else, the trio of Oubre, Jackson, and Bridges can all play solid defense, and if Jackson’s 3-point shot finally comes around, then they’ll be fine at that position.

Yeah, Hollis-Jefferson get’s fouled a lot – especially when compared to Deandre Ayton and Dragan Bender – but Bender is probably never playing another game with the Phoenix Suns no matter what and one has to assume that Monty Williams‘ coaching will show Ayton how to better put himself in a position to collect fouls more often, getting him to the line at a much more acceptable clip than his meager 3.1 times per-36min his rookie year.

And give me a break anyway: it’s not like Hollis Jefferson was shooting at a Steve Nash-like clip from the free throw line. He is a career 73.9% free throw shooter. That’s okay, but nothing more.

The worst of it too is that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a “tweener.”

If he could shoot 3’s at a very good rate he’d actually be darned good small forward. But since he can’t, nope.

Admittedly, he plays bigger than he is and grabs an impressive 9.0 boards per-36min for his career, but at 6’7″ 217lbs, he gives up a lot of height and size to the league’s bigger power forwards, and while he has quickness to stay in front of them, he has never averaged above 0.9 blocks per-36min so his defense is obviously limited too in that regard.

Sorry, University of Arizona Wildcats fans: there is no way that the Phoenix Suns should waste a roster spot on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. If the guy could shoot, the Nets would have never let him go for free, and because he can’t shoot worth a lick, the Suns should pay him not attention, and move on.