EOTS’ No. 31 preview: 3-and-D wings all over late first round of NBA Draft

After running through the potential top choices at No. 16, Empire of the Suns combs through five position groups the Suns could be looking to strengthen at No. 31 in the 2018 NBA Draft.

The most valuable supplementary players in the NBA are versatile, can shoot and defend.

The Boston Celtics built a roster around this idea, and despite losing both Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, very nearly made the NBA Finals.

In a timely turn, the 2018 NBA Draft has a handful of these prospects, specifically in the second half of the first round and the start of round two.

That’s where we find the Suns at No. 31. They have a crowded wing group with last year’s first-round pick Josh Jackson and T.J. Warren at small forward and the combination of Devin Booker and last year’s second-round pick Davon Reed at shooting guard. All four players, though, have yet to prove they can do all three of those skills at the NBA level, making any of these names a possibility to add a select skill to Phoenix’s wing rotation.

One of the winners of the NBA Combine was Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie. He had a 42-inch max vertical and some of the best agility scores at 6-foot-5 and 211 pounds. His 7-foot wingspan projects some positional versatility. For the Yellow Jackets, the 19-year-old sophomore averaged 18.2 points a game and shot 38 percent from 3-point range.

Okogie has the NBA frame at two-guard to be a physical on-ball defender of both guard positions. As his numbers suggest, he has a bit of a scoring punch as well but will need to primary focus on being able to hit open threes consistently.

Jacob Evans III out of Cincinnati is less of the athletic freak and more of the reliable, consistent wing variety. As a junior, he posted only 13.0 points per game and shot 37 percent from deep.

Like Okogie, he likes to play physical and has a bit of pop to his offense. The bread and butter, though, will be how he defends and shoots.

If we are talking about length and physical defense, Melvin Frazier out of Tulane is at the top of the board. With a ginormous wingspan of nearly 7-foot-2, Frazier makes his money by agitating ball-handlers.

He’s got some big-time athleticism and is an improved a three-point shooter from 26.4 percent as a sophomore to 38.5 percent last season. Frazier and Okogie both profile as guards Phoenix could play with Booker and have them serve as the defensive menaces on opposing point guards.

SMU’s Shake Milton is the best shooter and most versatile of the four, which would seemingly make it unlikely he’s available when the Suns pick, even early in the second round. Running some point guard for the Mustangs, Milton averaged 4.5 assists a game the last two seasons and was a career 42.7 three-point shooter on 5.1 attempts a game.

Milton’s off-ball value is high with those shooting numbers and some passing acumen, and at a frame of 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wingspan, you’d hope for him to defend three positions.

Speaking of not looking to be on the board at No. 31, Maryland’s Kevin Huerter did enough good at the NBA Combine that a first-round selection seems likely.

Perhaps the best shooter in the draft, Huerter has a quick trigger that he can pull from nearly any situation. He shot 41.7 percent on 5.5 attempts a game for the Terrapins as a sophomore and his heady passing shows in the 3.4 assists a game on the wing. Defensively, he is the least versatile of the names we’ve listed, but the hope is his instincts are enough for his sharpshooting to stay on the floor.

The group is deep and talented enough that we could very well have not named the player the Suns pick for the specific skill-set in this spot. Miami’s Bruce Brown has the offensive skill to go with an edge defensively, Arizona’s Rawle Alkins has the physical profile and motor to succeed in the NBA and it would be unwise to pick against the defensive perimeter stopper potential of Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo.

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