Draft talk: Breaking down 5 Phoenix Suns shooting guard options

Tyrese Maxey

Coming out of high school, Tyrese Maxey was a point guard, but with Ashton Hagans solidified at this position at Kentucky, Maxey moved over to the two and tweaked his game. While there was certainly a transition period, for the most part, it worked.

Maxey lit up the college basketball universe in his first-ever collegiate game against Michigan State by scoring 26 points including several clutch baskets late in the game.

He came back to reality after that, and in hindsight, that game may have hurt him some, and he often attempted the more heroic shots (that he made against Michigan State) over more sound selections. Instead of going up strong and drawing a foul, he often tried for some acrobatic finishes around the rim to avoid contact.

Similarly from the outside, he sometimes doesn’t take the extra second to set his feet and shoot, instead electing for an on-the-move jump shot, which led to his low 3-point shooting percentage of 29.2.

He does, however, possess a deadly floater, and is an overall natural scorer, putting up 14 points per game on a loaded team.

The thinking of Maxey is that his natural ability will eventually match up with some growth in maturity and he’ll be able to put it all together to become a solid rotation player in a year or two. The question is, do the Phoenix Suns want to take that risk?