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Today's peek into potential draft prospects puts the University of Connecticut sophomore swing man Jeremy Lamb front and center.
Over the last few weeks Lamb's name has been at the 13th spot as the draft pick of the Phoenix Suns on lots of mock draft boards, but he's also been as high 8 that I've seen. Truth be told we have no idea what's going to happen after Anthony Davis and since we like Jeremy Lamb as an option to Phoenix and several mocks have him landing in the Valley of the Sun.
"But Eutychus, we just worked out a ton of bigs and Lamb hasn't even been to Phoenix for a predraft workout!?"
You are correct. Somebody on Twitter posed pretty much the same question to Suns beat writer Paul Coro, check out his answer.
@ZeroWolf88 They are definitely considering Lamb but he has an ankle injury and hasn't been working out for teams recently.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) June 17, 2012
Couple that with the news from Alex earlier today that John Treloar dropped some notes on a few prospects which included Jeremy Lamb's name and we can safely assume that the Suns will take a hard look at taking Jeremy if he's still on the board at 13 come next Thursday evening. Let's take a quick look at what he can bring to the table.
Jeremy Lamb
| Season | G | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 41 | 27.8 | 4.4 | 9.1 | .487 | 1.1 | 3.0 | .368 | 1.1 | 1.4 | .797 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 11.1 |
| 2011-12 | 34 | 37.2 | 6.4 | 13.4 | .478 | 2.1 | 6.2 | .336 | 2.9 | 3.6 | .810 | 4.9 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 17.7 |
| Career | 75 | 32.1 | 5.3 | 11.0 | .482 | 1.6 | 4.5 | .348 | 1.9 | 2.4 | .806 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 14.1 |
Strengths
- Length. That word is priceless now in the NBA - at 6' 5" Lamb has a nearly 7' wingspan
- Great hops and explosiveness - just take a look at the featured picture
- Decent speed and moves well without the ball
- Excellent shooter all around
- Natural Scorer - his 'good' NBA projected similitude is a Kevin Martin type - yes please
- Good ball-handling ability
- Great floater - used to avoid charges (much like K-Mart)
- Very solid Defender because of his length and quickness
- Has been in clutch situations and done well (last year when UCONN won the title esp.)
Weaknesses
- Extremely thin for a SG/Swingman - but I know a player currently in the finals who people called skinny...
- Doesn't like contact... so doesn't draw many fouls
- Not the greatest at creating offense for himself
- Pretty much only drives left when attacking the basket - very predictable
- He's knocked for not being a team player - shoots selfishly at times.
Verdict
In general as a future NBA player - I think Lamb could be a valuable weapon for any team. Length, youth and explosiveness is something that is desired around the league by every team and Jeremy possesses those qualities. At 20 years of age I'm positive he'll continue to grow and if he gains more muscle he could be an offensive and defensive force to deal with years.
I think if Jeremy Lamb is still available at 13 for the Phoenix Suns and they take him I would be pleased with the pick. We need young, long athletic talent and the scoring guard/swingman position is a definite NEED for this team moving forward. My ONLY concern with Lamb - is his motor. In interviews that I've seen on Youtube he seems very 'unexcited' - I guess my concern stems from a former PHX draft pick in Earl Clark... who had length, explosiveness yada yada, but the desire and fire just wasn't there. I'll be interested to see if Lamb has the FIIIIIYAA!