David Roddy looks to add to Suns depth as youngest player on the roster
Mar 13, 2024, 7:39 AM | Updated: 7:46 am
David Roddy is one of the newest Phoenix Suns players and the youngest at 22 years old.
He’s on the outside looking into a wing rotation where playing time is eaten up by stars or defensive specialists. With all of that considered, Roddy believes he can contribute this season and is more than a developmental player on a long-term deal.
“I know I can add to this team,” Roddy said Tuesday when he joined Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo. “I’m just going to do whatever it takes to help this team. Whether it’s five minutes or 10 minutes, it doesn’t matter.”
As a second-year player out of Colorado State drafted in the first round by Memphis, Roddy was a steady contributor with the Grizzlies for two seasons before getting traded to Phoenix in the three-way trade that shipped out an assortment of wings and also brought Royce O’Neale to the Suns.
With Memphis, Roddy was able to log an average of 20 minutes per game for a season and a half to kick-start his NBA career.
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“Playing in Memphis and all of those minutes, I definitely have a lot of experience playing in close games,” Roddy said.
That experience could prove invaluable if the Suns need a change in the rotation, matchups favor Roddy or Phoenix is bitten by the injury bug.
“We’re playing for a championship now, so I totally understand the situation that I’ve been brought into,” Roddy said.
That means fewer minutes. It’s proven to be the case for Roddy through eight games, though he’s gotten spot time lately thanks to a run of injuries to Devin Booker, Josh Okogie and Eric Gordon.
Over eight games played with the Suns, Roddy is averaging 4.5 minutes per game.
While he’s known as a driver, his most valuable contributions might be on the defensive end.
“On the defensive end, it’s really just … hopefully guard the best player on the floor and just make it tough on them and raise that intensity,” he said.
