Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign

16 May
Football

Report: Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson suspended for PED violation

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson has been suspended six games to begin the 2019 season due to a violation of the NFL’s performance enhancing drug policy, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Peterson has already appealed and decided to drop it, and he will lose $3,882,352 in wages, Schefter added.

The eight-time Pro Bowler did not participate in the team’s late-April voluntary mini-camp. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station reported at the time that Peterson was upset with the organization.

Gambadoro reported Thursday that Peterson was upset the team could not rework his contract knowing he was facing a performance-enhancing drug suspension, according to multiple sources. He knew the suspension was coming and wanted to rework his contract and avoid taking losses. He believed he could have saved $2 million or more, Gambadoro added on Thursday.

Related Links

The Cardinals will open voluntary organized team activities on Sunday, and it is unclear whether he will report.

Last season, Peterson recorded 54 tackles with two interceptions and five passes defensed.

Arizona will enter 2019 with veteran Robert Alford and rookie second-round pick Byron Murphy as the favorites to become starting cornerbacks, though David Amerson and Tramaine Brock are veterans who can also play cornerback or in nickel packages.

With the suspension, Peterson will miss home games against the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons. He will also miss road contests at the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.

Peterson would be able to return in Week 7 for an Oct. 20 away game at the New York Giants.

Last season, Peterson requested a trade before the midseason deadline but later backed off that stance, affirming his commitment to the Cardinals this offseason.

16 May
Football

Cards’ Peterson upset contract couldn’t be reworked before suspension

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson was upset the team could not rework his contract knowing he was facing a performance-enhancing drug suspension, multiple sources told 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.

Peterson was not asking to be traded. He knew the suspension was coming and wanted to rework his contract and avoid taking losses, Gambadoro added. He believed he could have saved $2 million or more.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that the eight-time Pro Bowler will miss the first six games of the 2019 season due to a PED suspension. Peterson has already decided to drop an appeal, and he will lose $3,882,352 in wages, Schefter added.

Regarding Peterson’s discontent, Gambadoro does not believe that the team could have succeeded in changing Peterson’s contract or that the NFL would approve such a move.

Related Links

Peterson would be able to return in Week 7 for an Oct. 20 away game at the New York Giants.

With the Cardinals set to open voluntary organized team activities on Monday, it is unclear whether Peterson will rejoin his team.

Peterson missed voluntary mini-camp in late-April. It was then that Gambadoro reported of the cornerback’s discontent.

“It’s voluntary. I communicated with Patrick and, you know, we know where he’s at, we know what’s going on. Kind of a conversation to keep between ourselves,” Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said at the time.

“I don’t know if it’s disappointing. If he hadn’t communicated, and we didn’t know what was going on, I think that’d be a different matter.”

Before that camp opened, the star cornerback posted four times to his Instagram account and replaced his profile photo of him in a Cardinals uniform with another of Peterson wearing a suit.

Peterson is under contract for two more seasons. He’s making $11.25 million in cash this year and $12.6 million next. For 2019, he’s tied for the fifth-highest total cash salary among NFL cornerbacks, per Spotrac.

Last season, Peterson recorded 54 tackles with two interceptions and five passes defensed.

16 May
Football

Phoenix Rising eliminated from U.S. Open Cup in penalty shootout

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Phoenix Rising FC hosted New Mexico United in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night at Casino Arizona Field.

Rising FC tied New Mexico 2-2 on the night but was eliminated in a penalty shootout by a score of 4-3.

PRFC manager Rick Schantz made two changes to his starting XI from the last match against Rio Grande Valley FC Toros.

Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski got the start in the cup match, as backup goalkeepers starting in cup matches is somewhat of a regularity around the world.

Related Links

Jon Bakero also started in place of Adam Jahn, shifting the formation to a 4-3-3 with Bakero as the false-9.

“It was very good,” Schantz said of the XI’s performance.

“The only thing I was disappointed with is I thought after the first twenty minutes, we started the midfield three, James Musa… they started to drop when we would lose possession instead of stepping forward and that allowed New Mexico a little bit of confidence. They hit it long. They tried to win knock-downs and play really direct on counterattacks. It sucks. I don’t like that kind of game but it wins games.”

New Mexico United was on the front foot the opening 10 minutes of the match.

NMU should’ve scored the opening goal of the game in the fifth minute when former PRFC man Kevaughn Frater was one-on-one with Woszczynski following a Musa turnover. But Woszczynski was up to the task as he was able to make a crucial double-save to keep his side level with New Mexico.

The remainder of the first half belonged to Phoenix, as the club was the more dangerous side with its possession in the final third, creating chances for PRFC’s forwards.

Similar to the beginning of the match, New Mexico was the better side the opening quarter of an hour.

There was a slight tactical change to Schantz’s first-half side.

Forward Junior Flemmings seemed to be playing up top as the main striker, which proved to be a positive change as Rising FC had two great chances in quick succession following NMU’s spell of possession.

The first came after Flemmings dispossessed a New Mexico defender, leaving the Jamaican one-on-one with the NMU goalkeeper, Cody Mizell. But Mizell was able to make one of his 11 saves on the night as he kept Flemmings off the scoresheet.

“Junior likes to go at people and he’s aggressive,” Schantz said. “I thought he did a pretty good job there.”

Moments later, Musa, who had a screamer of a goal last match, almost scored his second in as many games as his left-footed volley from the edge of the box was parried away by Mizell.

Rising finally got its reward in the 65th minute after Amadou Dia was brought down in the box, resulting in Flemmings’ cool finish to give Phoenix a 1-0 lead.

New Mexico would equalize with just 10 minutes remaining in the match on a perfect cross and header at Phoenix’s back post.

Rising FC had a plethora of opportunities to win the game at the death on two headers from A.J. Cochran and Bakero, and a volley from Solomon Asante, but Mizell continued to put on a man of the match performance.

New Mexico took the lead just five minutes into extra time on what looked a lot like your typical hockey deflection goal as Devon Sandoval scored his brace by deflecting a Santi Moar shot just passed Woszczynski.

NMU’s lead didn’t last long, however, as Asante played a ball in for Jahn that was rifled into the back of the net to bring the game level at 2-2 in the 101st minute of the match.

With just minutes remaining in the second half of extra time, the lights at Casino Arizona Field went out, causing a brief delay.

But after 120 minutes of play, the two sides still could not be separated, causing the game to go into a penalty kick shootout.

Both clubs made their first two penalties, but it was Rising defender Dia that missed the first penalty of the shootout.

Woszczynski was able to get his side back on level terms going into the final round of the shootout, but as Cochran stepped up to the spot needing to convert in order to keep PRFC alive, Mizell made his biggest and final save of the game to propel New Mexico United into the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.

This is the second consecutive year in which Rising has been eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup in penalties and puts the team at 0-4 all-time in penalty shootouts.

“We’re fine,” Schantz said.

“Trying to press we got a little bit fatigued. We’re still working on some new things and we still have a lot of work to do, but we did win the ball and I didn’t think we got forward quick enough when we won it. We’re still fine. Mentally, the guys are fine. It’s tough to lose in penalties. It’s just a coin toss.”

Phoenix Rising FC returns to action against Las Vegas Lights FC on Saturday at Casino Arizona Field.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match can be audio streamed on ArizonaSports.com.

16 May
Football

Zack Greinke aces another start but exits early, D-backs win in blowout

PHOENIX — Zack Greinke’s bid for a complete game shutout ended prematurely and abruptly on Wednesday. It wasn’t because his pitch count got too high or because someone got him for a home run.

It was because Greinke, in the middle of an at bat to the opposing pitcher in the eighth inning of a blowout, suddenly needed to call it a day. It was later announced that he exited with abdominal tightness and was scheduled to have an MRI on Friday.

Wednesday was, on the one hand, cause for celebration. Greinke was excellent and continued a run in which he’s pitched like the ace the Diamondbacks need him to be and are paying him to be. But an outing that looked like it would end with a Gatorade shower instead ended with a trip to the trainer’s room.

“It’s not too bad,” Greinke said. “Just didn’t seem like a good idea to try to push it in that situation. Maybe if I did it over again, I’d just throw like a 75 mph fastball to the pitcher and see what happens. But definitely didn’t want to try to throw another pitch hard and take a chance of it pulling more than it did.”

Related Links

Greinke went 7.2 innings on Wednesday, allowing no runs and only four hits on no walks and five strikeouts. He had thrown 95 pitches when he was removed. The D-backs beat the Pirates in a blowout, 11-1.

Lovullo said that Greinke would’ve had to record an out on his next pitch in order to get the opportunity to pitch the ninth in a bid for a complete game. That, he said, is because of Lovullo’s adherence to research that suggests that 100 pitches is a “full workload” and that pitching beyond that starts to become risky to a player’s long-term health.

“It’s possible,” Greinke said when asked about going the distance. “I mean, it was a good score for us so I don’t like pushing myself too much and have it hurt future games. Especially if everything’s going good. If the bullpen’s tired, it’s different. If the bullpen’s feeling good or if they need work then let them finish it in a normal situation. But I got hurt today.”

But more important than whether Greinke could get a complete game shutout is whether he’ll be able to keep pitching in the immediate future. In 2016, an oblique injury kept him out from the end of June to Aug. 9. Greinke said this abdominal issue felt similar to that, but just less severe.

“It seems to be in a little bit different spot and it’s lighter,” he said. “Last time, it was six weeks. Hopefully it’s not even six days, but we’ll see.”

The D-backs will surely be hoping that, too.

After his last start, a seven-inning, one-run performance against the Braves, Greinke stood at his locker and described to media his improvement as the season has gone on: “The first game was really bad and then the next couple were just OK. And I’ve been pitching a lot better since then,” he said.

Indeed he has. Wednesday continued an impressive run that has erased his dismal start to the year. On Opening Day, he allowed seven runs in 3.2 innings. The next two outings, he allowed seven runs in a combined 12.2 innings.

But in a stretch of seven starts going back to April 14, his fourth of the season, Greinke has allowed more than two runs only one time. He has allowed no runs in a start three times, and his ERA in that span is now 1.30.

Greinke’s ERA after three starts this year was 7.16. It is now 2.78 on the season.

“I felt good. I’ve been pitching good for a while now,” Greinke said. “Today, they put a lot of balls in play and [we] made a lot of good plays. I can’t remember who it was that hit it but I thought there was going to be a hit and then [Jarrod] Dyson ran it down easy out in center. And it was a smooth game.”

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST

On the other side, Archer was making his first appearance since April 26. In his return from the IL, the 30-year-old lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on four hits, four walks and five strikeouts. He walked the bases loaded and gave up three runs in the first inning, struck out the side in the second inning, had a 1-2-3 third inning and then allowed four more runs in the fourth before his removal.

It was an up-and-down day for Archer that ended with an ugly stat line. He threw 80 pitches, 33 of which were in the first inning alone.

But as much as Archer scuffled in his first game back, the D-backs were disciplined at the plate, drawing four walks, and clubbed home runs in back-to-back innings in off of different pitchers. That’s without mentioning another round-tripper later, Blake Swihart’s second career inside-the-park home run.

It was a major turnaround from Tuesday night in which Arizona mustered only four hits.

“I thought we swung the bats extremely well,” Lovullo said. “Just really nice approaches all day long. I thought we let Archer pitch himself into some situations. We were patient, we had a good approach. We just had a really nice day offensively and that was set up and paced by Zack.”

This time, the D-backs plated 11. The D-backs have scored 11 or more runs in a game four times this season, and three of those times have been against the Pirates.

EXTRA BASES

–David Peralta left the game early with what was described as right trap tightness.

“We feel like with some therapy in the training room here, he’ll be fine,” Lovullo said.

–Taijuan Walker, who is recovering from a Tommy John surgery he had last year, threw 17 pitches on Wednesday, 10 in the first inning, at Salt River Fields. Seven pitches into the second inning, he was removed with right shoulder soreness. His removal was described as precautionary.

–Carson Kelly pinch-hit for the pitcher and stayed in the game as a double switch, playing third base. It was the first time in his major league career he has played anywhere other than catcher.

“[I did that] to get a different look at something I feel like could potentially pop up during the season,” Lovullo said, “when you get stretched out and kind of put in a situation where you’ve flexed all your players into a game and you tie the game late or something happens injury-wise.”

16 May
Football

D-backs’ Zack Greinke injured amid dominating performance vs. Pirates

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke left in the middle of the seventh inning amid a dominating performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Greinke had thrown 95 pitches and was two outs through the seventh when trainers pulled him off the mound following a pitch. Greinke appeared to be wincing and moving his right arm around, but it was unclear whether the discomfort was in his arm, shoulder or back.

After the game, D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said it was abdominal tightness for Greinke. The right-hander is scheduled to have an MRI on Friday.

“I’m always … optimistic about things and I’m going to obviously hope for the absolute best,” Lovullo said. “And I feel like Zack’s honesty and walking off the mound and the way he did and not pitching through anything was a really, really smart move.”

FOX Sports Arizona’s broadcast also replayed a fourth-inning at-bat where an inside pitch made Greinke tense up; he followed the take of a ball by wincing. Lovullo, though, said after the game it was Greinke’s last pitch and not his at-bat when the pitcher really felt the injury. Greinke confirmed that.

“There wasn’t much pain,” Greinke said. “I just knew something was wrong and didn’t want to take a chance of hurting it more. And hopefully nothing’s hurt.”

He was the second injured key player who left the game against Pittsburgh.

The Diamondbacks also lost outfielder David Peralta in the middle of the game due to a right trap injury.

Greinke was replaced on the mound by Yoshihisa Hirano.

Related Links

Greinke’s day came to an end without a run allowed and with Arizona leading 8-0. He allowed four hits and struck out five batters without a walk. Greinke induced 10 groundouts and four flyouts.

The Pirates’ Josh Bell doubled off Greinke to lead off the fourth inning but never advanced further, and no other Pirate reached second for the remainder of the afternoon.

Arizona’s ace, who now has a 2.78 ERA, is 6-1 on the year.

16 May
Football

D-backs outfielder David Peralta exits game with right trap tightness

The Arizona Diamondbacks found their offense, but suffered a loss to their lineup Wednesday afternoon.

D-backs outfielder David Peralta was pulled from Arizona’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth inning with right trap tightness, the team announced.

It’s not immediately known how Peralta was injured.

This season, Peralta’s batting .324 with 57 hits, six home runs and 28 RBI in 41 games (176 at-bats). He’s scored 25 runs and has a .365 OBP.

Related Links

Entering play Wednesday, Peralta’s in second place among MLB leaders in doubles (16) and hits (57) and 14th in batting average.

He struggled Wednesday before exiting the game, going 0-for-3 with two groundouts and a foul out.

Peralta’s the second D-back to leave the game due to injury as starting pitcher Zack Greinke’s outing was cut short in the eighth inning. The injury was not immediately known.

Luckily for the D-backs, Peralta’s absence wasn’t fully felt, as the team took down the Pirates 11-1.

16 May
Football

Adrian Wilson among promoted Cardinals scouting staffers

The Arizona Cardinals promoted six members of their scouting staff and announced the hires of two more on Wednesday.

The moves include: Quentin Harris, from director of pro scouting to director of player personnel; Dru Grigson, from director of college scouting to assistant director of player personnel; Adrian Wilson, from scout to director of pro scouting; Chris Culmer, from western regional scout to director of college scouting; Josh Scobey, from area scout to western regional scout; and Nathan DiGregorio, from scouting assistant to pro scout.

Arizona also hired Keegan Leyrer as an area scout in the west and Andrew Caskin as scouting assistant.

Leyrer joins the Cardinals and leaves the Cleveland Browns, where he spent the past two years as a college scouting assistant.

Related Links

Caskin enters the office after graduating from William & Mary as a three-time All-Conference tight end in 2017 and attending rookie minicamp with Arizona last year. He played for the Atlanta Legends in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football during the 2019 season.

In addition to the shuffling, Sirius XM NFL Radio host Alex Marvez reported on Wednesday that Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough will take on an “overseer role.”

The team’s website now lists McDonough as senior personnel executive.

16 May
Football

NBA Draft Combine tidbits: Darius Garland pulls out, prospects reach out

It didn’t take long for the NBA Draft Combine to provide some savory draft speculation. Unlike the 1/8-inch win for Kyler Murray in the NFL Draft, it didn’t take a measurement to do it.

Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland, a top-10 projected pick, pulled out of the combine on Wednesday to the surprise of many, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania. That’s naturally led to the assumption he’s received a promise from one team to go high in the lottery.

For the Phoenix Suns, the news is significant in some way.

Phoenix is in dire need of a point guard and has been listed in a majority of early mock drafts — and named by 98.7 FM’s John Gambadoro and Kellan Olson — as a potential landing spot for Garland, who played in five games before injuring his meniscus in his knee. Is it the Suns who promised Garland?

Related Links

It’s hard to imagine any team making that call at this odd point in time without doing due diligence on other prospects or (based on Garland’s hasty exit) without having medically cleared a player coming off a fairly serious knee injury.

The Suns might be the obvious guess for promising Garland, but it’s also worth noting the point guard is signed with Klutch Sports, the same agency that represents Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. The Lakers select fourth overall. If they are interested, then perhaps that would pave a way for the Lakers to move Ball, who reportedly was of interest to Phoenix in trade talks last year.

Garland averaged 16.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists with 3.0 turnovers per game in limited action in 2018-19.

His brief Vanderbilt tenure provided a platform for his shooting abilities, as he hit 54% overall and 45% percent (11-of-23) of his threes.

There is no confirmation or report about Garland’s decision to dip out of Chicago’s combine, and there certainly are questions about why he would be content to leave the combine unless he got a promise in the top-five.

JAY BILAS WILL BE DISAPPOINTED

Don’t expect ESPN’s Jay Bilas to get too excitable — or you to sip too many drinks — over this year’s top prospects on draft day. A number of mid-lottery picks who could be available to Phoenix at No. 6 didn’t show out when it came to wingspan.

Gonzaga big man Brandon Clarke, who played center in college, is 6-foot-8 and 1/4 inches with the exact same wingspan.

It could be concerning against NBA-level athletes considering he’ll be drafted for his defensive efforts. Then again, if he averaged 3.2 blocks and 1.2 steals per game with alligator arms, maybe he more than makes up for the lack of measurables.

Maybe more concerning is Clarke weighing in at 207 pounds. For having just one offensive move in the toolbox — the driving spin — what position is Clarke if he is too small to even handle NBA power forwards?

Also lacking in the wingspan department is North Carolina combo guard Coby White, who is 6-foot-4 and 3/4 inches tall with a 6-foot-5 wingspan.

Then there’s Texas Tech forward Jarrett Culver, who joined Garland and White on Gambadoro’s list of three players to watch for Phoenix. Culver stands 6-foot-6 and 3/4 inches in shoes with a 6-foot-9 1/2-inch wingspan. That’s good news after he was listed as being shorter as a freshman and appearing to hit a growth spurt heading into this year.

But Culver’s defensive upside is, at present, limited by his 194-pound weigh-in.

That might be less concerning because he’s 20 years old when his rookie year will start compared to someone like Clarke, who will turn 23 in September.

MORE LIKE TACKO TALL

It’s hard to say Tacko Fall “won” the combine, but he’s certainly the most unique human being to come through it.

The Central Florida center measured 7-foot-7 in shoes, 289 pounds and with an 8-foot-2 1/4-inch wingspan. His standing reach is 2 inches above the rim.

16 May
Football

Suns face difficult, unpredictable No. 6 spot in 2019 NBA Draft

Let’s start off right away by saying that sucked. The 2019 NBA Draft Lottery was dramatic but not a good time for the Phoenix Suns.

In what we can only foresee from a pre-draft stage, the national consensus is that this is a three-player draft. So, naturally, the Suns went from the third-best odds all the way to the sixth spot.

There are some immediate ramifications to sort through, the first of which should take a gander at the Suns’ need for a point guard and how that changes based on the lottery fallout. Luckily, your friend and mine Kevin Zimmerman ran through some of that and names to keep an eye on with the trade market.

Now let’s focus strictly on the names in this draft and why the specifics of the class add up to an unpredictable five-week leadup.

Related Links

Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and R.J. Barrett, barring some red flags coming up, will all go in the top-five and not be available for the Suns.

The fascinating element of this draft, a bad one, is that it’s going to become the wild west once Barrett and Morant are off the board.

While I am part of a strong contingent that believes Texas Tech wing Jarrett Culver is separated from that muck and right next to Barrett and Morant in a solidified top-4, the post-lottery draft intel at this time says otherwise. He’s lumped in with the likes of Vanderbilt point guard Darius Garland, Virginia forward De’Andre Hunter and North Carolina guard Coby White.

But the separation between that small group and the one below them isn’t significant, at all. Overseas forward Sekou Doumbouya, Duke wing Cam Reddish or USC guard Kevin Porter Jr. are a few guys who could jump into that group based on how stocks rise through the combine, interview and workout stages of the process.

So, while 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro reports Culver, Garland and White are three early names to watch for the Suns, this isn’t a traditional pre-draft outlook where we can safely lock those guys in for the 5-8 range of the draft.

For example, at this stage last year there was a clear divide of Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young, Mohamed Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr. and Michael Porter Jr. rounding out a definitive top-8 after Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic. That, minus Porter’s injury concerns, played out.

But if you look at the next tier, Kevin Knox was selected after both Mikal and Miles Bridges, something just about no one had in mid-May. But Knox was a workout stud and things changed.

That’s the “range” we are in as soon as the Los Angeles Lakers (or whoever picks there) are on the clock at four. Maybe someone like Culver or Garland separates themselves or a name like North Carolina wing Nassir Little or Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura surges up draft boards over the next few weeks. Who knows?!

What we know for the moment is the guys in this “range” and it adds up to another interesting decision for the Suns to make.

If the Suns want to lock in strictly on a player that can contribute with a specific skill set, Culver and Hunter are the two names to spotlight. That seems like the safest bet right now given how much they want to improve next year.

Standing at just under 6-foot-7, Culver’s a secondary ball-handler who sees the floor well enough to make the right reads when his scoring options don’t open. It’s really important to start there with him because he’s not going to be able to create his own shot consistently enough right away.

As you can see in the first video below, some of these passes come out of situations where he was unable to get space.

His best current trait, though, is how he finishes around the rim and having just enough of a reliable handle to get in that area at the moment.

His shot off the dribble, and at a stand-still, is still growing at this stage and the defense is adequate.

But overall, Culver’s got basketball skills and a physical profile teams want on the wing. The Suns don’t have a player like him at the moment given Josh Jackson’s stagnant growth as a slasher and Kelly Oubre Jr.’s tunnel vision when he attacks. He would offer a different type of patient, steady ball-handler option on the wing with upside for more.

Hunter’s a lot more cut and dry. He’s a great defender, offering more bulk than the speed Mikal Bridges gives as a more capable body defending guards.

While the hope that there’s some untapped potential for Hunter as a scorer slammed to a halt in the NCAA Tournament, he 43.8% from deep and 78.3% at the foul line suggest he’s going to be a somewhat reliable shooter. That’s one of those 3-and-D fellas you hear about all the time.

The way to think about Hunter’s defensive value is he’s similar to Toronto’s OG Anunoby in that he provides the type of size you’d hope to put on the likes of Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, etc. Can he stop these guys? Well, no one can. But having a legitimate option to send on primary perimeter scorers on the 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-10 spectrum is valuable as those guys continue to come into the league.

But the problem you have already thought of is assuming Oubre re-signs, Culver or Hunter would be the fifth wing on the depth chart.

Yes, a logical conclusion for the Suns’ offseason is they move Jackson and/or T.J. Warren, but that’s still drafting a guy who will surely play behind Devin Booker, Bridges and Oubre for the foreseeable future if that plays out.

How tempting does the point guard potential of Garland or White allure the Suns sitting at six if one or both are available?

We will have more in-depth pieces on both of those names later on but the main point on Garland and White is their biggest weaknesses are, well, being point guards.

Garland’s floor vision and passing are uninspiring. Similarly, there’s a question of White if he can be a primary ball-handler. At the very minimum, you need to have a real good pitch ready to convince me on both being a lead guard in the future.

And notice “in the future.” Both are only 19 years old, and if they are playing next season, can they be trusted to run the offense off the bench? Do you need to play them with another ball-handler? Probably, right?

That’s the frustrating push-and-shove debate the Suns will have in their draft room for the coming weeks.

They have a need to address at point guard and there will likely be one name there that can fill it, but there’s a serious concern as to how they fit in. There’s also likely going to be one name on the wing that can help them right away, but there has to be a judgment call made by them as to how much that actually means to them.

At what point do they stare at that conundrum long enough, take a quick glance at Gonzaga big Brandon Clarke and say, “Screw it. Not sure if we can play him at the 4 or the 5, but that dude’s a good basketball player.”

Clarke’s an enigma. He weighs under 210 pounds and is only at 6-foot-8 with a worrisome 6-foot-8 wingspan.

He can also do this.

Armed with some nice touch, he can finish just about everything.

Because of his athleticism and smarts, he’s a very well-balanced defensive player. That, and being too small and thin to play as a primary rim protector, makes him more suited as a power forward. Erm, if you can get past him weighing four pounds less than Kyler Murray.

The issue is Clarke can’t shoot right now. In fact, he didn’t even shoot three-pointers in college. He attempted a whopping 15 in his college career.

Hey, maybe he can in the future. Some people are alarmingly confident that he will because he drastically altered his shooting form and put up good numbers from the mid-range last season.

But you have to evaluate him for what he is right now, and that’s a big who needs to play in a specific spot with a specific partner to have his value jump from big man energy off the bench to superstar role player. That’s where the Deandre Ayton propositions of the developing range on his jumper begin, something we will touch on in the future.

For now, that’s where we’re at. Clarke could very well be the Suns’ best option at six but you need to optimize a whole lot for him and there’s not really an opening for him at the moment. Phoenix could also clog up its log jam even further on the wing with Culver/Hunter or take a gamble on a point guard’s upside with Garland/White.

That, along with trade possibilities, makes this quite the first draft for general manager James Jones to tackle.

‹1234›»