Damian Lillard and Devin Booker trade buckets in Rip City
To put it nicely, The Phoenix Suns are one of the worst teams in all of the NBA. Sure, they may have a handful of intriguing and promising prospects, but none of the lineups they’ve utilized this year have been cohesive.
While they wallow among the bottom of the barrel in the Western Conference with little success to show from recent lottery picks, Devin Booker has offered them a draft success story they haven’t had in ages. Coming out of Kentucky, Booker projected as an above average shooter and a decent playmaker, but has panned out as so much more.
A player who was never given a chance to be a franchise changer by NBA scouts, is now challenging some of the best guards in the league with his ability to score at will and a surprising proclivity for creating for his teammates.
Just last night, the slippery shooting guard lit up the Portland Trailblazers for 43 points as he not only outscored perennial All-Star candidate Damian Lillard, but outplayed him in nearly every category. He’s becoming a great player right before our very eyes, but if the 27 points he gave up to C.J. McCollum are indication, he has a long way to go before he becomes an elite guard.
Booker can try as he might to put the team on his back, but with a sorry 16-29 record, obviously that plan isn’t going to get the job done. Even on a night like this when he goes off for 43 points, his team still managed to find a way to lose 118-111.
While he’s no LeBron when it comes to elevating the level of play of those around him, when his teammates take advantage of the open opportunities he frees up for them, the Suns look like a decent team.
However, therein lies the problem. His teammates have done virtually nothing to help him move this sputtering franchise in the right direction.
The Sun have certainly hit the jackpot with Booker, but the verdict is still out on the fourth overall pick of this offseason’s draft, Josh Jackson. If you watch tape of Jackson’s abysmal introductory campaign, his struggles on both sides of the ball are alarmingly.
Josh Jackson was and is still a very promising young player, but as it stands, he’s doing more harm than help for his squad. To put it in perspective, the stringy combo forward ranks 309 out of 344 eligible players in efficiency rating, and his -.8 estimated wins added ties him for the 317th least valuable player in all of the league.
Time will only tell what the future holds for the Phoenix Suns, but if they can’t develop talent or provide the veteran mentors necessary for young players to grow, maybe it’s time to look at changing things up a bit in the front office. It’s okay to swing and miss on prospects when the draft isn’t deep, but it’s hard to excuse a team from passing on future superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard in favor of role-players like Markieff Morris and Alex Len.
