Arizona Sports Roundtable: Who will be the most impactful Suns rookie this season?
Oct 23, 2016, 9:51 AM | Updated: Oct 26, 2016, 2:03 pm
From left to right, Phoenix Suns second-round draft pick Tyler Ulis and first-round draft picks Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss are introduced to the media as head coach Earl Watson smiles, Friday, June 24, 2016, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
The anticipation is immense. The expectations aren’t as high. Together, it makes for a unique lead-in to a Phoenix Suns season. The Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Empire of the Suns blog is previewing the 2016-17 season by asking our on-air, online and Suns-centric personalities to speak their minds.
In today’s roundtable, we ask: Which of the three rookies will impact Phoenix the most?
Previous editions:
— What’s the Suns’ best-case scenario for 2016-17?
— What’s the worst-case scenario for the Suns?
— Who will be the Suns’ most improved player?
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Kevin Zimmerman: Dragan Bender and Tyler Ulis aren’t physically ready. Based on his nice laying down of Andrew Bogut, Marquese Chriss is — he can make a difference on the boards and with his attitude regardless of whether he knows what he’s doing.
Adam Green: Based on role, I’ll say Marquese Chriss. His athleticism and energy should allow him to see some regular minutes early on, and therefore his impact will be the greatest. Tyler Ulis is the most ready to play, though he is in a very crowded backcourt and may find minutes tough to come by.
Vince Marotta: Chriss again. He looks unfazed by it all, even though he doesn’t have vast experience. Mixing it up with Andrew Bogut in a preseason game against Dallas displayed that. I like what I’ve seen from him so far.
Jon Bloom: Marquese Chriss has convinced me during the preseason that he is ready right now to have an impact on this team. His unique combination of athletic freakishness, a smooth stroke, and a bit of a mean streak has started to resemble a bouncier version of a young Rasheed Wallace. The skillset coupled with the opportunity to get minutes at his position being more readily available than for fellow rooks Bender and Ulis make him the obvious choice.
Doug Franz: Chriss…in a landslide.
John Gambadoro: Has to be Chriss. His athleticism is actually through the roof. He can play different positions and run the floor. Defensively, he should be able to help right away. Offensively, I’m not sure he has many plays drawn up for him but he has the ability to pick up the garbage points around the basket if he runs the floor and has good positioning on rebounds.
Paige Dimakos: Marquese Chriss.
Craig Grialou: Tyler Ulis is the most ready, but finding minutes for him may be difficult. Marquese Chriss is the most raw, but his athleticism and aggressiveness on both ends of the floor will make him a favorite of Earl Watson and force the head coach to keep him on the court as much as possible, or as much as the teenager can handle.
Kellan Olson: Marquese Chriss has already proved this to be the case in the preseason. Dragan Bender is the more well-rounded and better defensive option, but Chriss’ newfound motor puts him around the ball on both ends.
Ron Wolfley: Marquese Chriss: the guy has the athletic ability to compete with veterans in the most athletic league on the planet. But competing with is not producing like NBA veterans. His impact should be on the boards and as a finisher.
