Suns think Jimmer Fredette would be hard to pass up
Jun 14, 2011, 7:30 PM | Updated: 8:45 pm
If you’re not a fan of Jimmer Fredette you may have to learn to love him in the not too distant future.
The BYU superstar was in town to workout for the Phoenix Suns on Monday and the team’s front office seemed to like what they saw.
“I really don’t question much about his abilities,” Suns general manager Lance Blanks told reporters Tuesday morning. “He’s shown it at the collegiate level. I’ve seen in person. [He’s a] high quality, high character guy. He checks all the positive boxes as an NBA point guard.”
The Suns are obviously not among those in the NBA who think Jimmer’s ball handling skills — or lack thereof — will prevent him from being a distributor at the next level. What about his other deficiency that has concerned people around the league? They don’t seem to worried about that either.
“The quickness he has and strength he has allows him to stay in front of guys in the short spaces,” Suns director of player personnel John Treloar said of Fredette’s defense. “The biggest challenge will be the full-speed 94-foot guys, but in the half court I think he’s going to be able to guard people.”
In a fast-paced and wide open system like the Suns play, a guy who struggles with transition defense and in the open court seems like a risky proposition. Granted, the same could be said for Steve Nash, and he’s the face of the franchise.
If the Suns select Jimmer with the No. 13 pick the team’s front office may have to dust off the speech Cotton Fitzsimmons used when they selected Dan Majerle in the middle of the first round in 1988 because fans most likely won’t be happy.
While the Majerle pick wasn’t popular, it worked out in the long run. That’s probably why if Jimmer is there, it will be tough for Blanks and the Suns’ front office to say no.
“Quite frankly, if he’s there [at No. 13] it’ll be a tough decision because he’s a very good player,” Blanks said.
Arizona Sports’ Craig Grialou contributed to this report
