Post#1014 » by AaronB » Fri Mar 22, 2024 7:00 pm
There was a recent thread locked (and rightfully so) that included Suggs as part of a trade.
Here is the problem in assessing Sugg's trade value.
Rookie year:
One of the worst players in the NBA, he had historically bad shooting. He was nagged by an ankle injury that limited his quickness, and he had bad handles.
Second year:
Off-season ankle surgery limited all off-season activities other than simple rehab. Pre allstar break, a little better shooting, but still not a very good player. Post allstar break, started shooting 38%+ from 3, defense became near all defense team level.
Third year:
Shooting 40%+ from 3 on a good number of attempts. Defense now elite.
Post Allstar break, the numbers are off the charts:
Of the qualified players since the all-star break (10 games 25 minutes/game):
#2 in NETRTG in the NBA (between Brown and Tatum)
#1 in DEFRTG in NBA
#2 in EFG% in NBA
#3 in TS% in NBA
Shooting 47% from 3
Team record with him playing: 12-1
Conclusion:
The problem with including Suggs in any trade is that no one can tell if this is a new normal (probably not, but Magic fans hope) or a blip.
He has a history of improving during the season and carrying over that improvement. However, that is a sample size of 1.
Clearly, the arc of improvement is almost unbelievable and no Magic fan should have expected it after the first year.
Trading him before seeing where he levels off would not be very smart.