Jordan Goodwin
PG – 6’3 200 lbs
Will be 25 years old
Entering his third year in the league
Quick Rundown
Last year in the midst of another terrible, injury-ridden, bad bad not good year for the ‘zards, Jordan Goodwin played the majority of the year, barely ever saw the starting lineup, and danced his hour upon the stage in our league. The M Night Shamalayan twist of Goodwin’s career is getting traded to the Suns, who are about as deep as a tide pool.
Raw Stats
GP – 62
GS – 7
Mins – 17.8
FG% - 44.8
3PT% - 32.2
FT% - 76.8
PTS – 6.6
AST – 2.6
TO – 0.9
Deeper Breakdown
As we see it now, the Suns have five players on their roster, four of them have exorbitant wages, and two of them get hurt every year. This is the number one team to keep an eye on for our league. I suspect they’ll bring back their other role players and fill out their roster with ring-chasing vets, but a young talent who never turns the ball over like Goodwin could have a lasting impact on the coaching staff.
The Suns are now coached by Frank Vogel, last seen being incorrectly blamed for the Laker’s demise, but prominently remembered for leading them to the chip in the Bubble. They won that chip partly because LeBron and AD got a nice rest due to covid, partly because AD turned into Ray Allen, and mostly because Vogel had that team dialed all the way in on defense. They played big, they played hard, and when they needed it they busted out AD at the five. They only lost 19 games that year. Looking at that roster and comparing it to the Sun’s roster of today, you’ll see pretty much no similarities.
PG - KCP PG - Devin Booker
SG - Danny Green SG - Bradley Beal
SF - LeBron SF - Josh Okogie
PF - AD PF - KD
C - Javale McGee/Dwight Howard C - DeAndre Ayton
There’s an entirely separate essay on that Laker’s roster, with Kuzma, Bald Jesus, Playoff Rondo, and Markieff Morris pulling a good deal of weight on the bench, but we’re here to talk about the Suns. Yes, I’m aware this roster’s gonna look a lot different come October, but three of those starters are fully locked in (and frankly I think Okogie showed enough last season to be in there too) so the questions that really matter come from the bench.
Vogel proved with their championship run that he didn’t need an out-and-out point guard with the starters. LeBron was the PG of that team, he just needed guards who could defend and hit open shots. The makeup of that team was pretty straightforward. In Phoenix it’ll be a bit more complicated considering the defensive abilities in the roster. Supposing they kick Ayton to the curb, they’ll need to re-sign Jock Landale and hopefully bring in somebody else who can defend the rim. Assuming they do that, simply because it has to be done, what they’ll need from their bench is simple: switchable defenders who can keep the ball moving and hit enough shots while the big dogs rest.
Upside
At 6’3 200, Goodwin’s got the basis of a good point of attack defender. Unlocking that will be the key to granting him serious playing time. We know he can take care of the ball and he’s comfortable playing in the shadow of/absence of Beal. If he can ingratiate himself to Vogel and his staff with effort and defense, he can very quickly become one of the most important backup point guards in the league.
Downside
Matt Ishbia hasn’t done anything so far to make me believe he’s done spending money, so when they re-sign Cam Payne and go get some vet to hold it down in the backcourt, Goodwin will fall by the wayside. But even if it’s not all blue skies for Goodwin, Beal and KD will get hurt this season and that will make Goodwin a prime free agent for several weeks. Either way, keep your eye on Goodwin.
No comments:
Post a Comment