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Really, is there any doubt at all that 18-year-old Archie Goodwin, the 29th overall pick that Suns loved so much they spent an extra $800k to move up one spot so they could grab him before someone else may have, will become the best player in the NBA?
No.
It's a given.
Pencil Sharpie him in for his first All-Star game in 2015 and the Hall of Fame in 2038. I mean, did you see his game on Tuesday night?
Of course you did.
His coach, however, is being a bit more cautious than we are. Hornacek said this about Goodwin's development timeline:
"We always talk about these young guys, how far away, he's going to contribute right away for us. In that respect he's now. If you're talking about trying to be an All-Star or something like that, you hope any rookie comes in and maybe five or six years they get to that level."
[emphasis added because Coach Hornacek does not speak in bold font]
I mean, we are talking about a kid who works hard and "wants to be great" and "tries to do what the coaches are asking" and "if he continues to do that he's going to be a GREAT PLAYER IN THIS LEAGUE."
[emphasis added because Coach Hornacek does not speak in all caps font.]
Unfortunately, at least one of his teammates appears to be a bit jealous. P.J. Tucker, who had a decent (but not Goodwinian) little game himself with 18 points on 7-10 shooting, dissed on one of Archie's dunks:
"He was good today. He walked on that last one. I don't know how they didn't call that. It was nasty but he took off from the three-point line with one dribble. I could call that one from the bench! It was nasty though. He played good. I liked it."
Really, PJ? Really?
Let's go to the animated gif and see if Goodwin walked or if he got the (deserved) superstar treatment.
Fortunately, Coach Jeff has his star player's back, "You see (Goodwin's) talent and skill level where you can get him out on the break. He takes one or two dribbles from half court and he's dunking the ball. That's pretty good."
Pretty good? Jeff, you really don't need to be so modest. Archie is humble enough to not let your praise go to his head.
In other boring non-Goodwin news:
-- Hornacek on Arinze Onuaku: "He's done a great job. He takes up space in there. If he gets a fingertip on the ball he gets the rebound...You start looking at his per minute rebounds he's way up there. You need that."
Guys, I know some of you are excited about this guy but to me this is a typical Summer League thing. At best, he might make the roster and be a deep bench guy...and I wouldn't put money on that.
-- Hornacek on Goodwin some more: "He's driven to be one of the best."
-- Hornacek on having "too many" point guards: "If you have three, six-foot point guards maybe that's a problem but when you've got guys with decent size you can play two guys together."
-- P.J. Tucker on why he's still playing: "You get out there and you just want to keep playing. I love playing basketball so once you get out there you just keep it going."
-- P.J. continues: "I feel like I almost owe it to them to try and win."
-- More P.J. on his Summer League future: "I'm leaving it open right now, depending on how I feel. I'm here so I might as well be playing."
- Also, P.J. said: "Just do stuff I don't necessarily do in the season just to get better at my game."
-- Diante Garrett still feels like he's part of the Suns but: "When I'm on the court I know that there's a whole lot of eyes watching so I've got to be ready for it, whoever."