Suns Bullock, Goodwin Assigned to Bakersfield

The Suns announced today that second year wings Archie Goodwin and Reggie Bullock will be assigned to the Bakersfield Jam.

This is Reggie Bullock's first assignment to the D-League. The Clippers are among the half of the league that doesn't have a solo affiliation with a D-League franchise and, as such, they never found it a great option to send Bullock down to get in reps.

Goodwin, meanwhile, returns to the D-League after recently being named the MVP of the D-League showcase where, despite some troubles with shooting efficiency, he looked like a dominant player. This is Archie's third assignment to the Jam this season, and for the year with Bakersfield he is averaging 19.5 points on 44% shooting,  5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

With Bullock, it seems likely the Suns are just looking to get the young player minutes, without necessarily focusing on a specific aspect of his game that needs improvement. The Suns are still in a feeling-out period with Bullock, who was acquired by trade from the Clippers on January 15th and has appeared in just one game, for 2.5 minutes since then.

As for Archie, it seems likely that the emphasis for this stint is going to be the same as it has been all season: making smart decisions with the ball, hitting open jumpers and playing observant team defense. While the latter has notably improved this season, the two former points need more work, as we covered in an earlier piece.

If the pattern holds, the Suns will leave Bullock and Goodwin in Bakersfield for the weekend, and recall them after they've had a chance to play in a few games. This has been how McDonoiugh and Hornacek have used the team all season, and there aren't any indications they plan to change that behavior now.