Following his release from the San Antonio Spurs, former lottery pick Jeremy Sochan has chosen a new team — and it won't be the Phoenix Suns.
Sochan, the former No. 9 overall pick of the 2022 NBA draft who was named to the 2023 All-Rookie team, has reportedly opted to join the New York Knicks after he clears waivers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reports that Sochan had “10 interested suitors” after being released by the Spurs on Wednesday, Feb. 11. It stands to reason that the Suns were among those reported 10 potential suitors, provided they were linked to Sochan in trade discussions prior to this year’s deadline, according to reporting from HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.
The Suns were rumored to be interested in finding an upgrade and/or depth at the power forward position ahead of the trade deadline, but ultimately only made a money-saving move to trade away Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis in exchange for Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony — the latter of whom is expected to be waived.
In effect, a possible solution to Phoenix’s lack of depth at the power forward spot will instead head to the Eastern Conference to reinforce a Knicks roster hoping to come out of the East against contenders like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics.
Jeremy Sochan stats
Sochan fell out of favor in San Antonio this season after three straight seasons of logging at least 25 minutes per game with the Spurs.
In 28 games played with Wemby and Co. this season, Sochan averaged just 12.8 minutes per contest. In those minutes, he averaged 4.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.4 steals per game — all career lows.
That production is a far cry from Sochan's past seasons, including his sophomore year in the league when he started 73 out of 74 games played and averaged 11.6 points (career high), 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game (also a career high).
Last season, Sochan made a career-best 53.5% of his field goals and limited his 3-point looks (1.7 attempts from deep per game) to average 11.4 points to go with a career-high 6.5 rebounds per game.
A versatile and capable perimeter defender for his size, the 6-foot-8 Sochan should make the biggest impact on that end of the floor for the Knicks. The biggest wart on Sochan's resume to this point in his career is he doesn't spread the floor — sporting a career 28.7% shooting percentage from 3-point range, a figure that's been even worse at 25.7% this season.
Don't expect Sochan to knock down many outside shots, but if he embraces a role as an energy guy off the bench in New York who impacts the game through defense and rebounding, he could prove a great midseason change of scenery pickup for NY.