Free agency preview: Power forward market dry for Suns, NBA

The most difficult player to find in the NBA right now is a two-way stretch four, and when I say that, I’m not asking for much.

Shoot threes at an above average rate and be a respectable defender.

Take a gander at the NBA’s leading scorers at power forward and you can make the case for, well, Al Horford? Nikola Mirotic? Serge Ibaka?

It has quickly become the most shallow position in the league, and the draft backs that up. This year’s class had only Michael Porter Jr. and Kevin Knox selected in the lottery while last year had just Jonathan Isaac and Lauri Markkanen.

As it turns out, that’s the specific player McDonough said he wants at the introduction of the team’s selections in the 2018 NBA Draft.

We already covered two of the more pricey restricted options in the Magic’s Aaron Gordon and the Bucks’ Jabari Parker. Here’s a look at a couple more names.

Trevor Ariza (unrestricted)

Ariza is the one small forward we will cover in this group. P.J. Tucker handled the power forward duties for the Rockets a bit this past season, but Ariza is in that three-four spectrum of today’s NBA forward.

In his 14 year career, Ariza has proven himself to be the perfect complement on the wing.

After four years with the Rockets, Ariza shot around 36 percent from 3-point range on over six attempts a game. He is a certified “great” shooter on that volume of attempts.

Ariza has plenty of postseason experience from his time in Orlando, Los Angeles and Houston, something the Suns will value in a signing.

At 32 years old, Ariza is not the versatile defender he once was, but he’s a solid two-position marker and has veteran savvy on that end.

If the Suns were to spend eight digits on anyone in this list, it should be Ariza, but a deal beyond two years would be foolish. If he’s anything, it should be a stop-gap wing while Phoenix slowly brings along Mikal Bridges and doesn’t see T.J. Warren in a crucial role for the team. Then again, why trade up for Bridges and sign Warren to that extension if that’s the case?

Derrick Favors (unrestricted)

How much do the Suns need their power forward to shoot?

That’s the question they may have to ask for Favors.

Favors isn’t going to fill it up but he’s good at what he does. He shot 69.1 percent around the rim, an elite number, while averaging 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for Utah in 2017-18.

For a dude who weighs 260, Favors can move on both ends.

The problem is he’s more of a power forward than center and spacing for Deandre Ayton should be the priority at the four spot.

Unfortunately, Favors doesn’t project as someone the Suns could get as a backup center price-wise — he took 0.8 threes per game and hit 22 percent last season — or else he would be a great addition.

Julius Randle (restricted)

After the former seventh pick overall in 2014 had two underwhelming seasons, Randle posted a breakout contract year, averaging 16.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Randle is a power forward, no doubt. He’s also not a stretch four. And not even in a way where he has a reliable deep-two jumper. Randle attempted only 75 shots beyond the midrange area.

When he works hard, Randle is a solid two-way player who works on the glass and gets to the free-throw line. Despite being undersized around the rim, Randle shot 61.3 percent there last season for the Lakers.

The issue is Randle’s work rate has always been inconsistent defensively, meaning any real value he brought on that end to mitigate his lack of range offensively is a risk.

Plus, he’s restricted, the Lakers probably want to keep him and other teams will be going after him.

Randle is a good player, but where he struggles as a defender and shooter is not the type of player the Suns should be bidding against other teams for.

Luc Mbah a Moute (unrestricted)

Let’s go quick on Mbah a Moute.

The 31-year-old is a better defender than Ariza and has developed into an average shooter on over two attempts a game. He shot 48 percent for the Rockets last year and hit 36 percent from deep.

He’s the most logical signing from a defense and shooting perspective, but isn’t his role exactly what the Suns would want Mikal Bridges to do?

Ersan Ilyasova (unrestricted)

A career 36.6 percent three-point shooter, Ilyasova is one of the league’s true stretch-fours and has some scoring punch as well.

He can cause absolute fits on the offensive glass, like he did in the playoffs, averaging 2.6 offensive rebounds on only 23.3 minutes per game.

While he is active, the 31-year-old is a big defensive liability moving his feet.

Ilyasova would be a Troy Daniels-type addition for Phoenix, which doesn’t make much sense for them unless they truly are that desperate for a veteran at power forward.

Doug McDermott (unrestricted)

McDermott is the more logical choice if we are going the route of strictly shooting.

A sound scorer in his own right, McDermott is a career 40.3 percent three-point shooter in the NBA on 724 total attempts. Per Basketball Reference, McDermott ranks third in three-point percentage among active forwards who have at least 500 career attempts.

He’s an elite shooter, and that matters. McDermott plays hard and isn’t a complete zero defensively, but his athleticism limits his versatility, which is what brings the most value at forward.

The Suns wouldn’t do better for a shooter at power forward in terms of affordability than McDermott.

Kyle Anderson (restricted)

Anderson has very unsurprisingly carved out a nice niche in San Antonio as a smart, heady forward who never does too much. He’s an excellent passer, has some scoring feel and works hard on the glass.

His defense has been the biggest plus of his developmental outcome thus far. When Anderson left the floor for the Spurs, the defensive rating jumped from 101.4 to 103.5. That type of stuff just doesn’t happen if “SloMo” was a liability defensively like he was supposed to be out of the draft.

The issue, once again like it was with Favors, is spacing. Anderson has attempted 145 career three-pointers, just 57 last year, and has hit 33.8 percent of them in his career.

If the Suns envision a bench lineup in which Anderson’s spacing limitations wouldn’t hamper them, he’s a solid target. That’s a big if, though.

Nemanja Bjelica (restricted)

Bjelica has totaled 18.9 minutes per game for the Minnesota Timberwolves in his three-year career. Known as a floor spacer, the 30-year-old has shot 37.1 percent from deep on 2.5 attempts per game in the NBA.

He can attack closeouts and do a decent job on the glass, but like Ilyasova and McDermott, there isn’t much else to his game.

Channing Frye (unrestricted)

There’s not much else he is going to do well at 35 years old besides shoot, but Frye is still one of the best shooting bigs in the NBA.

As a solid vet on a cheap deal, he’s a name to keep in mind.

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