1/18/2024 0 Comments Phoenix suns rosterThis man put in WORK to go from a 12% shooter to 57%. Compare the first shot he ever took to last night. The dude is simply gigantic with those long arms, given how well he moves his feet.īoth of these Yuta Watanabe videos are slowed down 50%. Really proud of him.”īates-Diop by no means set the world on fire but 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game with good defense was a breakthrough. “From the beginning, it didn’t look like that but he’s worked on his skills, his confidence, his aggressiveness, everything. “He’s carving out an NBA career,” Popovich said. Head coach Gregg Popovich was asked about Bates-Diop toward the end of the season. It never really clicked for the 27-year-old until last year. He spent one-and-a-half years with the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of a brief stay in Denver before playing for the San Antonio Spurs the last three seasons. Bates-Diop, however, slipped in the draft down to 48th overall, which sort of indicated the direction his NBA career was heading before it started. The guy out of these six has the highest chance to be a big factor come April and beyond is Bates-Diop.īates-Diop was the Big Ten Player of the Year in his junior year at Ohio State, and given his physical profile as a forward (6-foot-8, 7-foot-3 wingspan), received a fair share of hype as a potential first-round pick. They all could have waited for paydays to emerge but decided to take the best basketball opportunity. Again, it feels like he could have taken more money elsewhere, so a credit to the Suns’ ecosystem on that front.Īll four newcomers are coming off their best NBA seasons, something to consider when factoring in the Suns signing them all to the minimum somehow. He already proved last year that spotty appearances will not phase the approach or change his effectiveness. If the offensive spacing just isn’t good enough from the athletic defenders, Lee comes in and will punish any defense that helps off of him. What he will do is grant Vogel some wiggle room in that aforementioned vision of what the Suns’ supporting cast becomes. Lee shot 0-for-5 in a Game 2 loss to the Nuggets but was still a net positive thanks in large part to his hustle that included six rebounds and a pair of assists. Could have pulled up as the "shooter" needing 1 but makes the right basketball play to keep it moving. Baseline to corner, Okogie screens and Mann has to stay. Lee plays extremely hard and is smart, which both go a long way for a shooter that has his own gravity. In the playoffs, he proved (through a strangely inconsistent role) that he can impact games beyond knocking down shots. The 30-year-old finished third in 3-point percentage (44.5%) among players with at least 200 attempts and made timely shots in the fourth quarter all year. Lee was the lone vet to immediately return, and he always made sense to. It’s easy to forget he’s turning 25 later this summer and can still grow more as a player for Phoenix. There had to be some teams out there willing to pay him more, but Okogie ultimately chose a safe landing spot where he will compete for a sizable role. Still, this is a guy who was legitimately good on a great team whenever he got the chance to be in the regular season and was just coming off taking the minimum last offseason. Okogie’s improvements with shooting and decision-making didn’t carry over as well, so that led to him falling out of the rotation altogether. Denver started games in the second round with Nikola Jokic defending Okogie and would go to it in crunch time, throwing a wrench in the ways Phoenix wanted to attack. Okogie’s shortcomings, however, came to the surface in the postseason. He showed a good feel for 0.5 situations as a cutter and passer while also serving as the resident maniac on the offensive glass. Okogie provided terrific defense, especially at the point of attack, tremendously helping Phoenix fill the Mikal Bridges-sized hole on that end. In those last 26 games in a big role, he averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 37.3% from 3 on 4.5 attempts a night. After the trade deadline, Okogie was third in total minutes for the Suns, and with good reason. A glut of absences beginning in December gave him the opportunity for legitimate playing time and he ran with it from there. Okogie, one of two returnees to recap, was the biggest surprise of the day. Let’s break down all six signings before returning back to the overall picture. If the Suns use a traditional spot on him, they emptied the shelves. If Camara is on a two-way contract, which is possible for a guy who was the 52nd pick in this year’s draft, Phoenix has one roster spot left. Josh Okogie, Phoenix Suns agree to terms on new deal
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