The Phoenix Suns have a solid young core in place but where does Tyler Ulis fit?
It’s bright future for the Phoenix Suns right now. They have a great duo in point guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight along with Devin Booker, who is looking like a future superstar. In the draft, they added first round picks, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss into the mix this offseason.
Alex Len is a good rim protector and free agent additions Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa will help bring leadership to the team. But there is one player whose impact on the team is up in the air. That is point guard Tyler Ulis.
Ulis, who played his college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats last year, was selected in the second round by Phoenix. He was projected as a late lottery-first round pick so it was pretty surprising to see him fall that far. But he certainly showed his potential in Summer League in Las Vegas this past week.
Running the point guard spot, Ulis was very impressive not only scoring the basketball but in also running the offense. He averaged 14.5 points and 6.3 per game in SL. That was good enough for third highest in the tournament.
Valley of the Suns
Ulis also had a 3.45 assist-to-turnover ratio, a very impressive number for any point guard let alone a rookie. His size was a big knock on him coming into the draft and the SL. Many teams wondered how the 5’9″ Ulis would match up against bigger guards. He made up for that lack of size by averaging 2.8 steals per game, including recording six of them in one game against the Boston Celtics.
Ulis showed that he can make an impact on the NBA level with his play this summer. He may not be starting material but he proved to the Suns coaching staff that he is worthy for some minutes.
The Suns will likely use Ulis in a backup point guard role. Phoenix is right now loaded with all sorts of guards on their roster. Knight and Bledsoe will likely play next to each other in a two point-guard system, something we saw last year with Goran Dragic and Bledsoe in similar roles for Phoenix. That leaves Barbosa, Booker, Ulis, Archie Goodwin and John Jenkins to fight for minutes.
Both Barbosa and Booker are going to get minutes regardless. Barbosa will because of his speed in transition and his three-point shooting, something that proved worthy for the Golden State Warriors last year. Booker is a future star and needs time on the court to develop.
There is no way the Suns reduce his minutes. That leaves Ulis to fight with Goodwin and Jenkins for guard minutes. The latter two are shooting guards, which gives Ulis an advantage in a way since he can only play point guard. Ulis’s playmaking skills also stand out since Goodwin and Jenkins are not really playmakers when they have the ball in their hands.
If Ulis can limit his turnovers and keep the ball moving on offense, he can be successful in running the point. He will get his points in the league regardless but he needs to show that he can do more than just score the basketball.
His size might not be in his favor but Tyler Ulis really impressed in Summer League. If not for Devin Booker’s explosion, Ulis may have been the best Suns Summer League player. With the Suns likely to go guard heavy in many of their lineups, look for Earl Watson to use Ulis in a backup role — a role he is best suited for.