Suns go big with Jarrett Allen plus Kornet, Meeks in pre-NBA Draft workout

PHOENIX — On the surface, the Phoenix Suns appear set at the center position.

Of the three big men on the roster, Tyson Chandler is two years into a four-year, $52 million dollar contract plus Alex Len, 23, and Alan Williams, 24, are young and still developing.

A closer look, however, reveals Chandler about to enter his 17th NBA season. He’ll be 35 in October. Len and Williams, meanwhile, are due to become restricted free agents.

So to some extent, it makes sense that the Suns would take a hard look at the center position leading up to the draft, which they did on Tuesday by working out Texas’ Jarrett Allen, Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet and North Carolina’s Kennedy Meeks.

Of the three, Allen, listed at 6-foot-10, is the only projected first-round talent with many expecting him, at best, to be a late-lottery pick. Of course, the Suns draft much higher. They sit at No.4 overall, which begged the question, why did the Suns and Allen cross paths?

“My agent set it up,” Allen said. “He has my best interest in mind, hopefully, so I just did what he said.”

The Suns may be just doing their due diligence, should they trade down or look to trade back into the first round, or perhaps the team was doing the agent a favor.

Phoenix was Allen’s first pre-draft workout, which was a solo one on the practice court at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Allen, who just turned 19, averaged 13.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during his freshman season that saw him claim All-Big 12 Conference Third Team and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team accolades.

Scouts like his length — his 7-5 ¼ wingspan was the eighth-longest measured at the combine — which makes him an ideal rim protector, and he showed great touch near the basket with 56.6 percent shooting from the field.

“Developing big,” assistant GM Pat Connelly said. “Kind of an old-style big who plays close to the rim, but shot it surprisingly well when we did some of the shooting drills with him, which he didn’t really get a chance to show that often at Texas. Interesting young kid.”

Both Kornet and Meeks are hopeful they’ll hear their name called on June 22.

Both are four-year college players. Kornet leaves Vanderbilt as the school’s all-time leader in blocks, while Meeks just helped North Carolina win its sixth national title last month in Glendale.

The two were part of a six-player group workout that also included Michigan guard Zak Irvin, Kansas State forward Wesley Iwundu, SMU forward Semi Ojeleye and Florida forward Devin Robinson.

For the 7-foot Kornet, working out for the Suns was a bit of a homecoming of sorts. He grew up in Phoenix before he and his family moved to Texas when he was in the sixth grade. The Suns were his favorite team.

The Suns were also his fourth workout and second in as many days, having just arrived from Boston.

“There was definitely times where I started to get into a little bit of a rhythm,” Kornet said, referring to his shooting though he admitted his legs “were feeling it a little bit today. I thought throughout the workout I still shot the ball pretty well. It was just fun to be able to compete.”

Kornet’s shooting may make him attractive to teams.

At Vanderbilt, Kornet hit 32 percent of his 3s. His 150 makes from beyond the arc are the most in NCAA history by a seven-footer.

Kornet also showed an ability to defend past the paint.

“Just the way the floor is spaced now, it’s kind of more important than ever to be able to be mobile and guard pick-and-rolls … have some ability to move laterally and guard on the perimeter is very important,” he said. “Something that fits well with me is offensively, there’s so much more freedom, I’d say now, to kind of play on the outside.

“I feel like I can move the ball and get some good motion on the perimeter, that’s kind of what I’m used to. Teams have realized the value and having all that space to open up the paint. I think that’s something I do well.”

Meeks is still working on his outside shot. He said he’s comfortable shooting the NBA 3-pointer. He only attempted, and missed, two threes in college.

“It depends,” Meeks answered when asked what head coach Roy Williams might’ve done if he saw his starting center shooting threes. “If it went in, he wouldn’t say anything, but if I missed it I would probably come out (of the game) for the next couple of possessions and then be put back in.”

The 6-foot-10 Meeks is a big body — he weighs “about 270” but wants to be 255, “a lean 255,” he said — with a 7-foot-1 wingspan. Rebounding is his strength as evidenced by the number he grabbed, 24, at the Final Four.

Still, in the NBA, centers need to be able to shoot the ball, or at least be a threat in order to pull defenders out of the lane. That’s how the game is played these days, and what many college centers are now learning firsthand.

“When I was playing, it was if you’re 6-10 or 6-11 and you shot a three, it was kind of sacrilegious,” Connelly said, before pointing to players like Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who have helped change the view of the position.

“You do see more centers that traditionally would’ve kind of been just inside and if they got outside the paint they were getting yelled at. They come in for workouts — like Jarrett didn’t shoot a ton of threes at Texas, but he shot them today and his shot was OK. You can see he’s worked on it.”

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