It is no secret that the Phoenix Suns are lacking in large wing players who can both create their own shot and do an above average job at closing down opponents.
Enter Rasheer Fleming.
The rookie showing in a couple of spots last season, including in a playoff series versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, that he can knock down 3-pointers at a reasonable clip, get into some of his own actions with the ball in hand and stick to larger scorers.
Fleming will use Summer League to push for larger role
Despite the franchise going out and getting Miles Bridges, they also lost a pair of wings in Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale who were important to most of head coach Jordan Ott's lineups. Neither were truly great defenders, although Allen deserves some love, which is why Fleming is now so important.
No matter how impressive he is at Summer League, he will not be starting come opening night. The Suns didn't give up a small fortune to acquire Bridges to bring him off the bench, while Dillon Brooks is too important to the starting group.
But having a 21-year-old push Collin Gillespie for sixth man duties with an eye to something bigger would be massive if the Suns want to continue trying to win games. Imagine lineups off the bench featuring that duo, plus Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach.
If the Suns turn Green loose alongside that group, if nothing else they are going to be difficult to score against and will have a streaky shooter in Green leading the way. They are moments when Fleming could attempt some secondary playmaking, and become an outlet for Green if it is not happening for him.
Phoenix also needs young legs to eat up all of the regular season minutes the departed duo are leaving behind, and Fleming is clearly the player for the job.
There may yet be a difficult conversation down the road about Green coming off the bench (or getting traded altogether) if Fleming can hit the ground running. Even if that does not happen, nobody on this roster has close to the player profile that he does, which is exciting for coach Ott and spells the end of the road for Ryan Dunn.
Fleming is everything the former first round pick was supposed to be, but time waits for no player in the NBA and the time would appear to be approaching for Fleming.
There's a reason the front office were cool with giving up two veterans for Bridges, and it is Rasheer Fleming.
Add us as a preferred source on Google