Suns GM: Koa Peat’s game ‘kind of resembles’ Aaron Gordon

Phoenix Suns general manager Brian Gregory remembers how excited Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was about landing Koa Peat as a recruit out of Perry High School more than a year ago.

Lloyd raved about not only the player but his toughness and attitude, and that is what Gregory is counting on as Peat enters the NBA with Phoenix.

Peat — the No. 30 overall pick — has good size for a forward, the ability to finish at the rim and versatility on both ends of the floor, but he fell in the draft likely due to his lack of outside shooting.

Gregory expressed confidence Peat will improve while chatting with Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday, pointing to another former Wildcats forward who entered the NBA with a similar flaw: Aaron Gordon.

“Obviously I think it’s one aspect of his overall game that needs to be worked on just like other areas of his game need to be improved on,” Gregory said. “You take a look at some guys that his game kind of resembles, the Aaron Gordons. You look at where he was shooting as a college freshman compared to where he is now in the NBA.

“The one thing I do know about Koa is the work is going to be put in, and the timeframe for where he gets to the point where that improvement occurs is always related to how much work he’s going to put in and the effort that he puts in and the attitude that he has. He’s going to get it done.”

Gordon and Peat had similar body types entering the NBA after one season at Arizona, both at 6-foot-7 with wingspans over 6-foot-11. Peat is heavier (245 pounds) than Gordon was (220 pounds), although Gordon was on another level athletically. He could jump out of the gym.

In terms of the jump shot, Gordon took more 3s in college, making 16 of 45 (35.6%). Peat only shot the ball 20 times from deep and hit seven (35%). He did not shoot well at the combine to alleviate any concerns, but he is working on tweaked mechanics.

Gordon only made 29% of his 3-pointers over his first three seasons in the NBA with the Orlando Magic, but he improved as he got older.

The veteran has shot 36% from deep over the past five years with the Denver Nuggets, playing a key role on a championship team.

“I just have all the faith in the world, not only in the player, but our overall player development piece and the emphasis that we put on that. He’s going to improve in so many areas of the game that I think he puts us in a position where the runway is there for great development,” Gregory said.

Gregory also pointed to Rasheer Fleming’s shooting development in Year 1 as an example.

Gregory said the Suns did extensive work on Peat even without hosting him for a workout. The general manager explained that a scout watched him in fall workouts and he himself drove down to Tucson to watch Peat play on multiple occasions.

The two sides met on Sunday before the draft, as the Suns knew they would not get Peat with the No. 47 pick but had interest in moving up for him.

“Sunday’s meeting was big because we had to make a decision. Would we make some moves to be in a position to draft him?” Gregory said. “That hour we spent with him on Sunday was critical and only confirmed my initial thoughts of what he would be like.”

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