Miles Plumlee — #22
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Ind.
Birthday: Sept. 1, 1988
Height: 6-11
Weight: 255
Position: C
Experience: 1 year
Draft: 2012, 26th overall by Indiana
College: Duke
2013-14 Salary: $1,121,520
Season Outlook: Miles Plumlee seemed like a secondary acquisition for the Suns. The Indiana Pacers also sent a draft pick and Gerald Green the Suns’ way in a trade for Luis Scola, but perhaps Plumlee was a necessity for the trade to pan out in the eyes of Phoenix general manager Ryan McDonough. Surely, McDonough looks smart now, especially considering the void that needed to be filled with rookie center Alex Len recovering from ankle surgery to start the 2013-14 season.
Plumlee impressed during the summer and with assistant coaches Mark West and Kenny Gattison improved his footwork and by way, his confidence. A starter from the season opener thanks to the trade that sent veteran Marcin Gortat to the Washington Wizards, Plumlee will provide an athletic presence in the paint for the Suns’ defense. He was a productive rebounder in college and will also play a role in the pick-and-roll game with Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, who can threatened to toss alley-oops to the athletic big man or take advantage of the defense being sucked into the paint and then find open shooters.
Biography: After playing basketball at Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, the eldest of three basketball playing brothers was the second of three to commit to Duke. It wasn’t always in the plans to stay in state, however. An original commit of Stanford, Plumlee followed his younger brother Mason’s plan to become a Blue Devil after Cardinal coach Trent Johnson left the Pac-12 school. It worked out well. Miles won a national championship under coach Mike Krzyzewski in 2010 and played nine minutes in a championship game against Butler that included future NBA players and Blue Devils Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Lance Thomas and brother Mason, along with Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack of Butler.
Plumlee stayed at Duke and in his senior season had his best statistical year as a Blue Devil, averaging 6.6 points and grabbing 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 61 percent from the floor. He was selected 26th overall in the 2012 draft by the Indiana Pacers but played just 55 minutes as a rookie behind a loaded frontcourt of Roy Hibbert, Ian Mahinmi, David West and Tyler Hansbrough. In the summer of 2013, he was dealt with Gerald Green and a first-round pick to the Suns in exchange for veteran forward Luis Scola.
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