In an offseason that continues to get better and better for the Phoenix Suns, Shams Charania of The Athletic is reporting that the organization are expected to sign Bol Bol to round out their roster. The enigmatic big man, a Victor Wembanyama-lite if you will, having been recently let go by the Orlando Magic.
If this deal does happen, and it is looking likely, then the Suns will have provided the kind of backup who couldn’t be more different in playing style or body type to current starting big man Deandre Ayton. Still only 23-years-old, Bol continues to intrigue around the NBA, which is why the Suns are looking at him.
Adding the center to their rotation is not only the right move to make in this moment, but it is one that could pay dividends for years to come.
Easy as it is to forget as a result of playing in a smaller market, but Bol started 33 games for the Magic last season. During a period early in the year when they were decimated by injuries, Bol not only stepped up and delivered, but he was one of their few constants. An unexpectedly consistent performer when he was needed most.
In the 70 contests he appeared in altogether for the Magic, opponents generally didn’t know what to do with him or what to make of his unique skillset. Bol finished the season averaging 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds, but those numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. Fans who actually watched him play know it was at times so much better than that.
The Phoenix Suns are frontrunners to sign Bol Bol, per @ShamsCharania 👀pic.twitter.com/xGbielj17r
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) July 8, 2023
In the month of November for example, when the Magic really were struggling through an awful start to the campaign, Bol averaged 30.3 minutes per night and put up 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. He was spectacular from deep, taking 2.4 shots from beyond the arc, and making an insane 44.4 percent of them.
Yes this was only one month, and it is fair to point out the Magic went 4-11 during that stretch. But really this just serves to highlight what we already know about Bol. If you’re counting on him to be not even one of your top five players, but a starter who plays big minutes, then you are in trouble.
But the Suns need him to be neither, and would be able to give Bol the kind of role that, in theory, he would absolutely excel in. Namely, play about 12 minutes per night and stretch the life out of opponents. In some ways Bol isn’t even backup for Ayton, and he could play alongside him and in place of Durant for a couple of minutes a game.
That is not to compare Bol to Durant in any way of course. But he is such a strange character who is built like an even longer Durant and who can make a shot from deep, that to not use him in this way to give his superstar teammate a break every so often would be foolish. The Suns are strapping in for a long season that they hope ends in June, and Bol can help in November.
There are some drawbacks here, but not enough for the Suns to not make this happen. Bol is horrendous defensively, and the team project at being below average on that end. The makeup of their roster is so top heavy with offensive talent, that they signed Keita Bates-Diop, Chris Eubanks, Eric Gordon and others to try and shore up their defense as much as possible.
https://twitter.com/VincentKeyes1/status/1677775256700997632
Bol is also in no way a threat to Ayton, and so won’t be providing any real competition. He’s not even really competing with Eubanks either, and will just fill in around both of those guys when the team sees fit. New head coach Frank Vogel isn’t known for giving weak defensive bigs much time on the court either, but on the other hand if anybody can help Bol in that area, it is Vogel.
The only other concern is that Bol once played for the contending Denver Nuggets, and they didn’t have a use for him. Neither did a rapidly improving Magic outfit, which has meant Bol has fallen through the cracks in the league. It is still not known what his best situation is, or even his best role on a team.
But if there’s any organization that should give him a chance on very little money, it is the Suns. They made their serious offseason additions early, even getting players like Gordon and Yuta Watanabe that most felt were way beyond them. To add Bol now is bonus territory, a player who opponents may not have to game plan specifically for, but who they will have to keep in mind.
There will never be less asked of Bol on a team, which is why he could pop in Arizona. Give him 10 minutes a night, a few defensive-minded players around him and a star like Durant or Booker, and he could be the Plan Z that they go to from time to time while they keep their actual schemes under wraps for the postseason. What’s not to like about that?