Offensive thought: Lauri Markkanen, Malik Monk could be NBA Draft sleepers for Suns

Among the Phoenix Suns’ preparations leading into the 2017 NBA Draft, considering a trade down in the order requires knowing what lies later in the lottery.

General manager Ryan McDonough expects to field offers for his No. 4 overall pick. If a potential pick swap is enticing enough, the Suns could go a different direction from the point guard- and wing-heavy crop of players expected to be drafted in the top five picks.

Two darkhorse options for Phoenix at No. 4 and more likely to go in the 5-10 range, Arizona forward Lauri Markkanen and Kentucky shooting guard Malik Monk are highly-skilled specialists that would give the Suns something they desperately need — shooting. The Suns, after all, ranked as the fourth-worst three-point shooting club in 2016-17 by hitting 33.2 percent of their attempts.

Here’s how Markkanen and Monk might fit in Phoenix, and an overview of their strengths and weaknesses.

Markkanen fits the NBA’s space-and-pace offenses

There’s not an offensive talent in the draft more suited to give opposing defenses fits than the 19-year-old Finnish product who spent his single college season in Tucson.

The 7-foot, 230-pound big man played mostly as a power forward for the Wildcats and in Sean Miller’s motion offense averaged 15.6 points per game.

As one of the best big man shooters in college basketball history, he made a living beyond the arc, hitting 42 percent from three-point range as primarily a catch-and-shoot player (94 percent of his threes were assisted, per Hoop-Math.com).

As former UA point guard T.J. McConnell did with his passing upon the beginning of his NBA career, Markkanen’s best skill will surely benefit from the league’s more pick-and-roll heavy offenses.

When Arizona did run pick-and-pops for Markkanen, he showcased his flawless mechanics as a quick-trigger shooter. There’s no wasted motion and little of it at all for Markkanen to get his shots off, and his height should make his ability to launch over defenders translate to the NBA.

The questions about Markkanen begin when looking at his offensive versatility and become more red-flag heavy when delving into his defensive potential.

Offensively, he proved gritty inside when the shot wasn’t falling late in the year, and his 7.2 rebounds per game were another example of his interior presence to go along with his perimeter game.

But where his height helps him on his jumper, his athleticism and lack of length hurt him at the cup on both ends. Markkanen struggled getting shots off inside, and NBA-level defenders will be able to recover from behind if Markkanen uses a pump-fake followed by a few dribbles when he’s run off the three-point line.

Markkanen got to the foul stripe at a decent rate for his usage and shot 70 percent at the rim, although 70 percent of those attempts were assisted.

He looks more like a left-handed player off the bounce, and his pull-up game from the midrange will need to develop. Compared to a young Dirk Nowitzki often, Markkanen should take a few pointers from the German when it comes to creating midrange shots and, especially, creating contact on contested jumpers to draw fouls.

The lack of athletic pop and length appear even more on the defensive end, and that clouds his positional upside as well as viability as a full-bore rotation player.

Markkanen has decent feet and the effort to make due, but he lacked the physical mentality as a big man in the post.

A weak base and upright defensive stance combined to hurt Markkanen, as it allowed opponents to establish position and outmuscle the freshman.

Markkanen’s 0.5 blocks per game showcased the concerns about whether he will ever become a shot-alterer despite being a 7-footer. And on the perimeter, he could even be too slow to stay in front of many NBA fours.

Even at Markkanen’s best, he will surely become a target for opposing offenses who want to force the big man to switch onto guards.

The most positive outlook? Markkanen building his case as a stretch five rather than a stretch four.

Fit in Phoenix: Markkanen would need to build strength and prove he can be a tough interior defender to play alongside versatile power forwards Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender. The development of those two on defense could theoretically cover some of Markkanen’s defensive issues, and it would give Phoenix more versatility when it comes to matching up with opponents. Offensively, it’s easy to see this fit down the road. Markkanen would help space the court and, mostly, become a deadly pick-and-roll partner with both Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker.

Monk is your ‘can never have enough shooters’ pick

Seeing as the Suns already have their shooting guard of the future in Booker, Monk appears to have an outside shot of being their draft target.

But never say never, especially when the team — as guard-heavy as it is — needs shooters. Also, never bet against McDonough selecting a guard out of Kentucky.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Monk is an absolute sniper from three-point range. He took nearly seven longballs per game, hitting 40 percent of them (82 percent were assisted). That made up half of his shot attempts as he averaged 19.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game as a freshman.

Less of an isolation scorer and more of an elite shooter running off screens, Monk also showcased the ability to make quick moves off the catch and as a rangy athlete found great success pulling up or taking it to the rim in transition.

After understanding his three-point range, holes begin appearing in his halfcourt upside.

While Monk is a bouncy athlete, he struggles to take contact and needs to load up on his rim attacking, limiting him at-the-cup scoring in traffic. As good of a shooter as he is, he was only a 38-percent shooter on two-point jumpers, and more limiting inside of the three-point arc were his limited trips to the foul stripe.

Monk lacks advanced ball handling skills and his 2.3-to-2.0 assist-to-turnover ration per game leaves something to be desired as a playmaker. With a thin frame and 6-foot-6 wingspan, that pigeonholes him as a full-time rotation player if he is forced to only defend point guards.

That said, Monk was a willing defender. He has solid lateral agility and can change direction well, but without the length to bother ball handlers, he is susceptible against bigger players who can bully their way through and over him. Like all one-and-done prospects, age and added strength are the assumed fix there.

Is he more than a deadeye shooter? He has much to prove there.

It could take a unique situation for Monk to fit perfectly on a team, but his value as a shooter makes him a low-risk pick in the heart of the lottery.

Fit in Phoenix: Monk could play off the ball in an offense initiated by Booker. Against teams that run out two point guards, he could do the same next to Bledsoe or Tyler Ulis. Monk would play best off an offense that thrives on ball movement, however, and a lot of that is a question mark in Phoenix, where that’s so dependent on the young players’ development in coach Earl Watson’s system. The major problem with Monk on the Suns is the defensive pigeonholing and, more generally, the team’s complete lack of one above-average perimeter defender. And if Monk’s future role is only as the team’s sixth man, it appears unlikely Phoenix goes after him unless McDonough acquires a late lottery pick.

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