The Phoenix Suns made another under the radar move on Thursday afternoonacquiringReggie Bullockin a three-team trade. In the deal, the Clippers will getAustin Rivers, who will join his dad in LA, and the always busy Boston Celtics receiveChris Douglas-Roberts, a 2017 second round pick andShavlik Randolphfrom the Suns.
A 25th overall selection by Los Angeles during the 2013 draft, Bullock hasn’t seen a lot of playing time on a loaded Clippers roster over the last two seasons.
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The former North Carolina Tar Hill, the second the Suns have acquired in a matter of a week, played in only 43 games during his rookie season and has appeared in 25 games, including two starts this year. Playing just over 10 minutes per contest, Bullock is averaging 2.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 steals.
Having not seen a lot of action on the court, it is pretty much impossible to judge Bullock’s career so far. Suns general managerRyan McDonoughis high on the youngster though.
"“We’ve really liked his ability to shoot the ball with his size on the perimeter and his ability to defend NBA athletes on the wing with size,” McDonough said. “We’re confident that, with more time and repetitions, that he has the potential to be an elite shooter at the NBA level.”"
When he was drafted out of North Carolina, Bullock wascomparedtoDanny Greenof the San Antonio Spurs. Since entering the league, Green has turned into a real good three-point shooter, shooting over 40 percent from there, and he’s one of the better defenders on the Spurs roster.
If the Bullock turns into a player of Green’s caliber, the Suns will be jumping for joy. It’s not every day where you get the chance to get a young role player for a bench cheerleader who won’t be on your roster come next season.
Even if Bullock doesn’t reach Green’s level, making this move was a no-brainer for Phoenix. After theBrandan Wrightmove last week, there was really no point to having Randolph on the roster, who was seldom used even before the trade anyways. Bullock’s upside along is worth the trade.
Now, it remains to be seen how the newest Sun fits on this roster. Suns head coachJeff Hornacekhas shorten his rotation a bit over the last couple of games, which wouldn’t bode well minutes wise for Bullock. It would be hard to see him get minutes overArchie Goodwintoo, since Goodwin has looked real good in the limited minutes he has gotten this year.
Over the coming weeks, we should find out what Bullock’s future with the Suns holds. At the very least, he’s a piece that McDonough and company could use in a bigger trade down the road and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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