With the 4th overall pick in the FanSided 2017 NBA redraft, the Phoenix Suns selected Bam Adebayo. Here are four ways the Suns would be better off with the versatile big man.
FanSided’s 2017 NBA redraft allows us to use the power of hindsight to figure out who teams should have chosen and there is no other lottery team who wishes they could have their pick back more than the Phoenix Suns
Ok, well, maybe Philadelphia 76ers fans would argue they have some serious buyers’ remorse with Markelle Fultz at #1, but still, at least he is in the league and producing something. Josh Jackson, who the Suns took at #4 overall, is meandering somewhere in the G-league.
In the FanSided redraft, with Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and De’Aaron Fox off the board, the Phoenix Suns selected Bam Adebayo from the University of Kentucky.
Adebayo exploded in productivity in this, his third season in the NBA, averaging 16.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game. He made the All-Star team and won the NBA Skills Challenge the same weekend. But here are four specific ways the Phoenix Suns would be better off with him:
#4: Defense
I’ll dive deeper into his assists in just a minute, but elite passing isn’t the only trait that makes Bam Adebayo a versatile big man. Look at his ability to disrupt passing lanes on defense as well. Bam averaged (is averaging? I don’t know how to handle verb tenses during this whole hiatus thing.) 1.2 steals per game, which ranks him 3rd in the league amongst centers behind only Anthony Davis and Andre Drummond.
Compare that to Deandre Ayton, who ranked 27th in steals per game for centers.
Bam is only 6’9″, so it stands to reason his blocks aren’t up there with the league’s lanky 7-footers, but his 1.3 per game ranks him tied for 17th amongst big men this season.
Adebayo is a basketball utility knife and his under-appreciated defense is the pull-out nail file that you didn’t realize how helpful it was until you needed it. The bottle opener that puts the utility knife in the must-have category, though, is his passing.