OKC Thunder NBA draft profile: Rookie PG with vet skills -Jalen Suggs

OKC Thunder prospect profile – Jalen Suggs strengths and weaknesses

Strengths:

Part of the reason the Gonzaga Bulldogs came close to the perfect season was the leadership of Jalen Suggs. At 20 years old the youngster plays with a calm demeanor and high I.Q. often displayed by veterans who’ve developed the ability to manage their teams after years of honing their skills.

At 6’4″ he offers good size at his position and his body is already NBA-ready with the strength to take contact and defend. He’s an adept floor general who epitomizes the old-school point guards that ran the offense who prioritized putting their linemates in a position to score rather than taking the primary scoring role.

That’s not to say he isn’t capable of taking on that role if the situation dictates. Rather the combination of his speed, strength, and high I.Q. afford him the option of making that choice.

Suggs toolbox is equipped with excellent dime dishing and most consider him the best leader of the class who could take on a similar role even as a rookie. Think Ja Morant but with muscles and a bit of a gritty side.

The Bulldog was equally successful playing off the ball, rebounds well, and takes after his alma mater nickname when it comes to pressuring the ball to force turnovers.

In fact, aside from his already established leadership traits, his greatest strength is on the defensive end where he can guard several positions and will only improve under the right system and tutelage.

Weaknesses:

He shot 33.7 percent from the perimeter on 3.5 attempts per game so, clearly, his range is an issue and the shot mechanics need to be fine-tuned. His 75.4 percent is decent but needs to be better for a point guard and again highlight the need to get into the lab and work on his shooting form.

With Jalen Green moving ahead of him recently and some of the top teams citing Scottie Barnes as a player they might be more interested in that raises some red flags.

Playing in the easier West Coast Conference contributed to the Bulldogs’ 31-1 record.  Suggs’ overtime 3-point bank shot moved Gonzaga into the final game but they could’ve easily lost to UCLA.  While Jalen was the high scorer in the final match versus Baylor he dished only three assists and that seemed to be based more on the Bear’s defensive choice.

Perhaps that’s playing into the seeming slide or lack of interest from prospective drafting teams. The analysts rave about him for the most part but I’m wondering if some teams aren’t buying the hype.

Something just feels a bit off when it comes to the young guard and the lack of pre-draft buzz. Especially when Cunningham, Green, Mobley, and even Kuminga are still receiving favorable reviews and shout-outs whereas with Suggs it’s sort of — crickets.