{"id":20213,"date":"2025-06-27T22:33:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T22:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/20213\/"},"modified":"2025-06-27T22:33:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T22:33:10","slug":"suns-get-top-marks-after-trade-for-fleming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/20213\/","title":{"rendered":"Suns get top marks after trade for Fleming"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Suns made three separate trades on Thursday to move up in the second round of the NBA Draft, helping them land St. Joe\u2019s forward Rasheer Fleming<\/a>, a top-20 player on their big board, and Koby Brea<\/a> out of Kentucky.<\/p>\n

But how did NBA analysts grade the second round of the Phoenix Suns\u2019 class?<\/p>\n

Here is a closer look from around the association:<\/p>\n

NBA Draft grades for the Phoenix Suns drafting Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Kevin Pelton<\/a><\/strong>: B (for the first and second round)<\/p>\n

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Active in the second round, Phoenix used future picks to move up to the top pick and No. 41. Teams were competing to take Saint Joseph\u2019s forward Rasheer Fleming, 12th in my stats-only projections. Fleming gives the Suns another quality shot blocker, this time with more range. Though Brea is yet another shooting guard on a team overloaded with them, Phoenix could use his shooting \u2014 he has the highest skill projection as a shooter of any player in my database \u2014 particularly if\u00a0Grayson Allen\u00a0gets traded elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yahoo! Sports\u2019 Kevin O\u2019Connor<\/a><\/strong>: A- for Fleming, A for Brea<\/p>\n

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Fleming is a hustler who drains spot-up jumpers and brings energy on defense, swatting shots and snagging boards. But he has some real warts as a ball-handler with a lack of experience against high-level competition. This matters less for the Suns, since he\u2019ll play in a role in which he just needs to do the simple stuff as a floor spacer rather than worry about shot creation.<\/p>\n

Wow, maybe Brian Gregory and Mat Ishbia know how to draft! Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming,and now Brea all received A grades. Brea drilled 43.4% of his 3s over five college seasons on 4.9 attempts per game; he projects as a shooting specialist who has a clear path to becoming a rotation player because of his highly sought after skill. In order to avoid being a weak link on defense, he\u2019ll need to make improvements to his athleticism, but his shooting is enough to keep him on the floor.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

CBS Sports\u2019 Adam Finkenstein and Kyle Boone<\/a><\/strong>: A- for Fleming, C for Brea<\/p>\n

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Fleming was the highest-rated player on my board entering the second round and Phoenix smartly made a trade with Minnesota to acquire this pick and by extension the right to Fleming. He\u2019s a 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-foot-5 wingspan who shot 39% on 3s last season and should be a tremendous addition to the Suns\u2019 frontcourt.<\/p>\n

I like Koby Brea as a prospect \u2014 he\u2019s one of the draft\u2019s best shooters and was a 96th percentile shooter in catch-and-shoot opportunities last season at Kentucky \u2014 but No. 41 overall is about 15 spots higher than I\u2019d have taken him. There\u2019s some real questions about what value he can add outside of his shooting and I\u2019m skeptical he can hold up defensively given his athletic limitations.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bleacher Report\u2019s Andy Bailey<\/a><\/strong>: B+ for Fleming, B for Brea<\/p>\n

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Fleming does everything you want a rim-running big to do, but he\u2019s also a legitimate long-range shooting threat (39 percent this past season) with a pinch of straight-line driving and flashes of defending in space.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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If he can\u2019t serve as a 5, then his skill set looks rather rudimentary for a modern wing. He isn\u2019t a shot-creator, can be a step slow with his off-ball reads and won\u2019t overpower opponents like he did in the A-10.<\/p>\n

Is this the right range for a specialist? Because Brea doesn\u2019t really project to be anything more. His perimeter shot is sweet, but it\u2019s kind of all he has to offer.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going to pick a specialty for the modern NBA, though, this is the area to master, and Brea may well have done that. He fired up 730 long-range looks across his five-year college career and connected on an absurd 43.4 percent of them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Fansided\u2019s Christopher Kline<\/a><\/strong>: A- for Fleming, A- for Brea<\/p>\n

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Phoenix aggressively maneuvered up the board to acquire the first pick in the second round. That lands them Rasheer Fleming of St. Joe\u2019s, an athletic 3-and-D forward with a gaping 7-foot-5 wingspan and incredible lateral agility. Between him and Khaman Maluach, Phoenix has substantially improved its defensive foundation.<\/p>\n

Phoenix is starved for depth right now. Koby Brea feels like a potential day-one contributor. He was arguably the best shooter in college basketball last season. It\u2019s unclear if Brea\u2019s athleticism will hold up defensively in the NBA, but Brea will bomb 3s with unfettered confidence and render strong off-ball decisions offensively.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

USA Today Sports\u2019 James H. Williams, Cydney Henderson, Lorenzo Reyes, Jeff Zillgitt:<\/a> <\/strong>A- for Fleming, B- for Brea<\/p>\n

Follow @veenstra_david<\/a><\/p>\n

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