Phoenix Suns: Grading Each Free Agency Move Thus Far
By Karan Jain
Phoenix Suns Free Agency Move: Signing JaVale McGee
After retaining their point guards from last season, the Suns next looked to address the center spot during free agency by adding JaVale McGee to their roster—who ironically played his last minutes of the 2021 season against Phoenix.
McGee for the most part struggled vs the Suns and played only minimally during their Western Conference Semifinals series. It came as the second-straight year where McGee played as an essential non-factor during the postseason.
Lacking much credibility as a player at this point, the Suns signed McGee with one clear thing in mind: size against bigger teams. During the NBA Finals and at times against the Los Angeles Lakers weeks before, it became clear that Phoenix lacked the size outside Ayton required to properly protect the rim.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis both enjoyed great spurts due to this, giving way to great concern for the Suns. Although McGee does not possess enough quickness to stay between the basket and Antetokounmpo or Davis, his rim protection, thanks to his height, poises to still make something of a difference.
Block Activity x Defensive Rebounding Success
— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) April 13, 2021
Blocks are good, but for many players they come at the expense of success on the defensive glass.
But not for Gobert, McGee, & Robert Williams. Giannis also stands out.
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He also comes to Phoenix as a lob threat at all times, thanks again to his stature beside his absurd vertical leap.