Free agency preview: Would Suns want Jabari Parker after his ACL injuries?

Jabari Parker entered the NBA at the height of the hybrid forward craze.

The No. 2 pick in 2014 by the Milwaukee Bucks is a built 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, an oversized scoring forward who can be compared to peak Carmelo Anthony when creating his own shot without much trouble. But two torn ACLs to the same knee over his four-year rookie contract complicate his future ahead and what he could be paid as a restricted free agent this offseason.

A Phoenix Suns team in need of a starting power forward probably would indulge in at least one conversation about Parker this offseason. After the Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon, there’s no player with higher upside if general manager Ryan McDonough would like another starting-caliber offensive weapon to join a core led by Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton.

Parker is 38 games back from his second left ACL tear suffered in February 2017, and any team’s thoughts of signing him begin with risk assessment.

Debating that can end there without much medical insight, but here’s what we do know.

Parker has been a career 49 percent shooter and has never dipped below his 48 percent last year. Over the pieces of the past two seasons in which he’s played half of the available regular season games, the Duke product shot 37 percent from three-point range, a huge improvement from his first two seasons in which he couldn’t hit better than 26 percent from deep.

In 51 games of 2016-17 before the most recent knee issue, Parker averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 34 minutes a night.

All of that is to say Parker is a darn good second-tier scorer, a decent-enough rebounder and on the Suns would be an upgrade from a player like T.J. Warren — who by the way has four years left on his Phoenix deal. Unlike Warren, Parker can create his own opportunities from the midrange and from deep, is a better passer and a bigger body.

But the similarities with Warren are why the Suns probably would pump the brakes on signing him.

Parker, though bigger than Warren, is far from a plus defender and not once in his career has his offense made up for his lack of defense from a net ratings perspective. Blame that on playing with a relatively young Milwaukee team, a team lacking a third reliable player beyond Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.

Why hasn’t Parker solidified himself as that player? Injury is the answer to part of that question, but his defensive question-marks account for a large portion of it as well.

The question for Phoenix or any other interested team is whether there’s a value deal available for Parker.

Barring big trades, Milwaukee will need to exceed the salary cap to retain the restricted free agent, so a large front-loaded contract just might push them out of matching an offer.

That said, the Suns — or anybody else — using that tactic would likely not want a long-term deal, or at least include team options after a year or two in the case injuries crop up with Parker in the future.

From Phoenix’s perspective, the wide-angle perspective is this: Even if Parker is on a manageable contract thanks to his injuries, is that putting Dragan Bender’s and Marquese Chriss’ development in a no-win, no-trade situation, all while eating up at least (very conservatively) $8 million in cap space and leading to even more of a logjam for Josh Jackson, Mikal Bridges, Warren and others?

Probably.

Then again, if the Suns think the 23-year-old still has potential as a solid No. 3 option, you never know.

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