Suns’ Jackson falls to 11th overall pick in SI.com NBA mock redraft

Suns rookie Josh Jackson’s offensive struggles this season have been well-chronicled. Compared to the rest of his rookie class, it’s set him back.

In an NBA mock redraft by SI.com‘s Chris Johnson and Jeremy Woo, the fourth overall pick in 2017 fell all the way to 11th, where he was scooped up by the Charlotte Hornets.

Some of this certainly falls on the Suns, who have given Jackson a notable share of offensive opportunities right away and seen few positive results. His shot selection is often poor, and the rudimentary nature of his basket-slashing has also been exposed, due in part to the fact he no longer enjoys a physical advantage over most opponents. Admittedly, he was mislabeled as an NBA-ready prospect. Statistically, you’ll find little to like here.

Jackson was hypothetically leapfrogged by Donovan Mitchell, Jonathan Isaac, Dennis Smith Jr., Lauri Markkanen, OG Anunoby, De’Aaron Fox and Kyle Kuzma.

In the mock redraft, the Suns ended up with point guard Markelle Fultz, who went first overall to the 76ers. Fultz has only played in four games this season due to an injured shoulder.

In reality, the Suns are getting some limited production from Jackson, who has taken on the responsibilities of guarding the best opposing wing player whether he’s come off the bench or started.

But on the other end, Jackson is shooting just 38.4 percent from the field and 24.9 percent from three-point range. His free throw percentage is a Shaq-esque 55.4 percent.

On the positive side, Jackson is gaining experience and because of his role ranks 10th among rookies in points per game and fifth in steals.

While the prospect of him ever becoming a real shooter is fuzzy due to weird mechanics and a lack of consistent touch from outside, he’s still a dynamic athlete with some playmaking ability in the open floor.

Another problem Jackson has run into this season has been constant foul trouble. If you are looking for excuses, this could be a growing pain explained by the fact that he is regularly guarding the other teams best player.

Nonetheless, Jackson is fourth among rookies with 2.9 fouls per game, a worrisome trend that plagued Marquese Chriss last season in his rookie year. Chriss also averaged 2.9 fouls per game.

Jackson was drafted many large expectations on offense. However, he was not expected to be as much of a liability at the offensive end as he has been, and his defense was supposed to off-set the scoring inefficiency.

There is time for the Kansas product to improve, but the rest of the draft class is off to a quicker start.

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