Last year about this time, we started hearing more and more about two prospects in relation to the Suns that hadn't previously been linked to the Suns at all (Markieff Morris and Iman Shumpert). We were all "Who?" But in retrospect, the Suns had fallen in love with both players and both turned out to be solid values at #13 despite little buzz around them.
This year, the loved ones appear to be PG Kendall Marshall and PF/C Arnette Moultrie. Both are talented enough to be picked at #13, but neither has been linked to the Suns until recently. Marshall has a pass-first game and mentality similar to the Suns' incumbent PG while being compared to Andre Miller and Jose Calderon, while Moultrie's game has been compared to Kris Humphries and Jason Thompson. (Interesting that 3 of those 4 are free agents this summer.)
Will the Suns eschew their shot-creating shooting guard need in favor of a new PG or PF/C? What if Jeremy Lamb is still on the board, or Terrence Ross? If Marshall is drafted, is that a goodbye signal from Nash? If Moultrie is drafted, is that a goodbye signal to Channing Frye or Robin Lopez?
I sure hope Paul Coro of azcentral.com doesn't hate me for using his tweets for story ideas so often, but Paul is the only guy reporting new information about the Suns these days and I just don't have the connections like he does. We love you, Paul! And I will ALWAYS give you full credit for breaking news.
Since we'd previously reported that Marshall had posted a local channel's pic of Phoenix weather on Wednesday night, can we guess that Marshall was in Phoenix for at least two more days this week? Sounds like a budding love affair to me.
And who's this Arnette Moultrie character? BSotS hasn't even done a prospect preview on him, which probably guarantees he will be the ultimate pick. I'd better get working on that sucker. Draftexpress.com compares Moultrie favorably to Kris Humphries and Jason Thompson, meaning he's got length and rebounding ability and little in the way of offensive skills.
However, Moultrie has shown some shooting ability and fancies himself a PF rather than a C. In fact, he is so sure he's a PF that he declined to work out at the Chicago pre-draft combine when he learned he was slotted with the centers. Impetulant? Maybe.
So, with Moultrie and Marshall coming back in for their second visits in a week, what does that say about the shooting guards that have been linked to the Suns since the end of the season? Not one of the top 5 SGs (Beal, Waiters, Rivers, Lamb, Ross) have even stepped off a plane into the 100+ degree heat yet and it's only 5 days till the draft!
In fact, Waiters is now firmly ensconced in the top 11, being linked to every team from 6-11. Rivers also believes he's top 10 material, refusing to work out with any team who's top pick is outside #10.
Hmph. BSotS certainly spent a lot of writer's cramping on SGs prospects the last few weeks. And for nothing?
Well, at least Lamb is coming to Phoenix for a visit. He rolled his ankle a week ago and hasn't worked out for anyone since. According to our beloved Suns reporter, he's here today.
Lamb can play some solid defense (what the Suns want, bigtime) but has no leadership qualities of his own, and rarely creates his own offense from scratch (kinda like the rest of the Suns already on the roster).
The same can be said of Terrence Ross, who is clearly projected to be picked at or below the Suns #13, yet has not even touched down in Phoenix yet. Either the Suns have no interest in Ross, or they were waiting for pair him with Lamb. Is Ross here with Lamb today? Will he come to town in the next 3-4 days? Who knows.
What we do know is this: the Suns are considering a PG and a PF/C if they don't like what they see from Lamb and Ross in the next few days.
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