Phoenix Suns Draft Preview: Who Is Arnett Moultrie?

Mississippi State big man Arnett Moultrie visited the Phoenix Suns on Sunday for the second time in a week. Clearly, he impressed the Phoenix brass with his skills amongst last Saturday's big man group that included lottery talents John Henson, Tyler Zeller, Meyers Leonard and Perry Jones.

So who the heck is Arnett Moultrie?

Let's hear it from Mike Schmitz, who writes for valleyofthesuns.com and does pre-draft scouting videos for Draftexpress.com:

"Moultrie has the skills of a guard yet the size of a big man. He's one of the most unique players in the draft in that he's a freak athlete with good skills and has yet to scratch the surface of his potential even after transferring from UTEP and making the rounds in the collegiate circuit.

"The difference between Moultrie and (Perry) Jones is that he has a good motor and crashes the glass hard. He can also stretch it to three-point range where he's steadily improving. He's been slotted in the mid-teens and the Suns could get a steal if Moultrie's skills translate as planned to the NBA."

Kris Habbas, who writes for SBNation AZ and nbadraftinsider.com, adds this about Moultrie: "Moultrie is the steal of the draft at this point to me."

At the moment, Moultrie is under heavy consideration in Detroit at #9, so he may be gone by the time the Suns pick. He has visited several other teams in the top 10 as well and just like with the Suns, he has impressed in workouts thanks to his unique physical skills and unbridled self-confidence.

Moultrie can rebound the heck out of the ball, on both the offensive end and the defensive end. Let's hear it from Moultrie's coach in Schmitz's scouting video, referring to the big man who led the SEC in rebounding this past year: "One thing you can hang your hat on is that he's an NBA rebounder today. You don't lead this league in rebounding (at 10.5, beating out Anthony Davis among others) if that's something you can't do."

What does Moultrie himself think he can provide as a rookie? "Right away, just being a big man, running the floor, rebounding the basketball and bringing the energy I have every night."

Great, so he's a freak athlete who can rebound. But can he score? The Suns need a scorer down on the blocks.

Offensively, Moultrie is very versatile but not great in any one area. Can score on isolations (post ups, face up and drive or shoot) and shoot mid to long range. The biggest percentage of his scoring comes on cuts to the basket at more than 20% of shots - which he makes more than 81% of the time. Very good scoring at the rim; can score with either hand and in traffic. "He's the whole package," says his coach.

Defensively, aside from rebounding? For his part, Moultrie has great confidence in himself on the defensive end: "I'm a good defender. I'm a smart defender. I can guard three positions, three through five."

On film, he is a very good on-the-ball defender - allowing only 16% shooting in those situations. But his help defense is nonexistent - which won't show up in workouts. There are also some questions on his consistency (on/off switch) and general basketball IQ. And for some reason, he has never averaged more than one block per game despite his length and agility.

But the biggest potential concern? Character. He is already on his second NBA agent, on his second college team, and his body language is really bad when he's ignored on the court (walking around, head hung, stops fighting for ball). Even threw his last team under the bus during 5-game losing streak, admitting he hadn't said anything to them before unloading on them in the media. Immaturity? Sure. But certain to go away when making millions a year? Not likely.

Kris Habbas has a more forgiving take on Moultrie's character questions, based on facts more than conjecture: "He was not highly recruited so started at Texas El-Paso. He had to try and co-exist with Renardo Sidney and an incompetent head coach. I agree he has some maturity to go through as does any 21 year old. He will be 22 in the first month or so of the season and the team he lands on will determine his development. If he lands on an incompetent team he will struggle.

"Falling in the draft will be a blessing in disguise for Moultrie's career."

Moultrie has as much talent as any big man after Anthony Davis in this draft, yet he's rated only in the teens by guys who talk to GMs on a daily basis. He is a boom (Jermaine O'Neal, Kris Humphries) or bust (Jason Thompson) player in the true sense of the word.

"I'm definitely the sleeper of the draft," Moultrie said in a recent interview. "But that's fine, they can sleep on me. I've been a sleeper all my life."

Take some time to watch this incredible scouting report on Moultrie, which contributed to much of this story today:

And then watch his draft combine interview, explaining how he did not throw his teammates under any buses:

Boom or bust, with this guy. Boom or bust.