Roster moves that could make the Phoenix Suns a playoff team in 2021
By Ryan Bawek
Obi Toppin
Toppin is truly a remarkable story. He is a late bloomer that wasn’t highly recruited and opted to attend Mt. Zion Prep School in Maryland out of high school. Then, he grew an incredible six inches and filled out into his current impressive 6’9″, 220 lb. frame.
He is an older NBA draft prospect, a 22-year-old redshirt sophomore, but that sort of physical, mental and emotional maturity, combined with an ability to instantly contribute is exactly the sort of player James Jones is looking for in the NBA Draft (see: Cam Johnson).
Toppin is an AP First-Team All-American and the star player of one of the five best college teams in the nation this season with the Dayton Flyers.
Related Story. The Suns should consider trading their lottery pick. light
Per Sports Reference, Toppin averaged 20 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 blocks on 63 percent shooting from the field, 39 percent shooting from 3-point range and 70 percent shooting from the free-throw line this season.
According to John Hollinger of ESPN, Toppin had the fifth-highest PER (player efficiency rating) in the nation at 33.01.
This NBA Draft Junkies profile does an analytic dive into his offensive strengths.
NBA Draft Room even compared Toppin to (wait for it…) Amar’e Stoudemire!
The Suns are currently slated to have the 10th highest draft odds in the lottery, so there is a good chance that he could be gone by the time they pick. For my money though, in what could possibly be the weakest NBA Draft class since 2000 (please take some time to analyze just how bad that class was… except you Jamal Crawford!), Toppin may be the best player who could come in and fill a need for the Phoenix Suns at the power forward position.