The Phoenix Suns are looking for a shooting guard that can replace Davon Reed and be one of Devin Booker's backups. Phoenix is going to miss Reed following his surgery in August to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee. The 32nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft is out for 4-6 months. Without the rookie, the only other player at the No. 2 position aside from Booker is Elijah Millsap.
According to The Arizona Republic, the Suns worked out four free agent guards in an attempt to address this dilemma. These were Isaiah Canaan, Andre Dawkins, RJ Hunter, and Xavier Silas.
Canaan, who entered the league in 2013, has played for the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Chicago Bulls. Before he headed to Phoenix, the 26-year-old tried his luck in Minnesota. Hunter suited up for the Boston Celtics for 36 games and the Bulls for three games in the past two seasons. Meanwhile, Dawkins and Silas are veterans in the NBA G-League. Last summer, Silas participated in the inaugural season of Big 3. He got drafted by Tri State then traded to the Ball Hogs.
Alternate options
ESPN suggested that if the Suns cannot find a guard they can include on their roster, it is possible for head coach Earl Watson to go with Derrick Jones, Jr. and TJ Warren. The two prospects are originally small forwards, but they appear capable of taking the duties of a shooting guard.
They have the size, athleticism, and mobility that the position demands, though none of them is an offensive juggernaut like Booker.
Booker reacts to ESPN's player ranking
A lot of NBA players, fans, and analysts expressed disappointment with the latest player ranking from ESPN. One of the reasons why many people were upset was because ESPN ranked Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball (No.
63) higher than New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony (No. 64). Anthony already responded to this and several NBA stars aired their thoughts about it also. Joining them was Booker, who shared his sentiment via Twitter. The face of the franchise for the Suns said nobody cares about rankings.
We still care about rankings nowadays?? I thought that was high school
— Devin Booker (@DevinBook) September 13, 2017
Booker made it to No.
60 on this year's list, 14 places down from his ranking in 2016. ESPN mentioned that the reason to this is his defense. There would be no issues for the Suns guard on offense since he averaged 22.1 points per game last season, which was only his second year in the NBA. In March, he even dropped a career-high 70 points in a 130-120 loss to the Boston Celtics.
