Subscribe
Follow Us
Perhaps no team in the entire NBA had a louder, more active and more disruptive offseason than the Phoenix Suns. The Milwaukee Bucks have an argument, but they did most of their damage at the end of the offseason by trading for Damian Lillard. But the Suns have been throwing fireballs all year long.
It really began in February when they swung a massive deal with the Brooklyn Nets that saw them flip Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson along with a ton of first-round picks in exchange for Kevin Durant. Four months later, the Suns sent Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, several second-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Bradley Beal. Roughly four months after that, the Suns made another big trade and flipped Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the deal that sent Lillard to the Bucks.
The aftermath of a series of blockbuster trades is a roster in short supply of depth. The Ayton trade brought some of that depth back, but before that move, Phoenix was going to make do with a group of players on minimum contracts flanking Durant, Beal and Devin Booker.
The Suns got good value on some of those signings, which included the likes of Bol Bol, Eric Gordon and Keita Bates-Diop, among others. But not all of those guys are going to be in the rotation. Some of them need big preseason performances to earn their spot in Phoenix's rotations. One of those guys is Yuta Watanabe.
Suns player who must have good preseason to solidify rotation spot: Yuta Watanabe
Watanabe has long fit the outline of a possible 3-and-D wing in today's NBA. He has the size at 6'8, 215 pounds to guard multiple positions, and certainly gives his all on that end of the floor—even if it means he's on the short end of the stick of spectacular plays like this.
DUNK OF THE YEAR.
ANTHONY EDWARDS. #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/hmnhFvldF0
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) February 20, 2021
But if a player is 6'8, 215 pounds and tries on defense, that alone can be enough to make them less than a liability. Those trait got Watanabe a spot in Brooklyn's rotation a year ago.
In addition to Watanabe's solid positional size, he's quick enough to hold his own on the perimeter, knows where to be in help defense off the ball and is a willing rebounder. He does little things that impact winning.
Watch Yuta Watanabe on all these plays.
His activity, his fundamentally smart defense, all make him deserving a bigger role in the rotation. pic.twitter.com/wtQcVOxba1
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) January 24, 2021
And on the other end of the floor, Watanabe can really shoot it. For his career, Watanabe has shot 39% from three. Granted, he's only taken 328 career threes in five seasons, but that's still very solid. And he only got better as a shooter last season.
Among all players who took at least two catch-and-shoot threes per game last season, only veteran sharpshooters Luke Kennard and Damion Lee shot better than Watanabe's 45.9%, per NBA.com/stats. Watanabe is going to get a steady dose of those shots playing next to Phoenix's Big 3. He's already shown he can knock those shots down with the Suns during preseason.
.@GraysonJAllen finds @wacchi1013 in the corner off the inbound 👀 pic.twitter.com/aZqfCHDuUF
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 8, 2023
But that isn't all Watanabe can do on offense. It's important for shooters in today's NBA to not only be able to make open shots consistently, but to be able to make plays against a close-out. That could be a side-step three; some players shoot over those contests anyway. But it's best if a player can drive that close-out and be able to get their team a shot at the rim, a skill Watanabe has proven is in his bag.
Yuta Watanabe has done an amazing job of not only hitting corner threes but putting the ball on the floor when the defense closes on him.
This composed drive and dish to Ben show the poise he possesses despite the heat in the game. pic.twitter.com/tkQMkaZWQB
— Jac Manuell (CT & Clowney Obsessed) (@JacManuell) December 17, 2022
Though the Suns were able to get some depth with the Ayton trade, brining back Nassir Little, Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and Keon Johnson, their rotation outside of Beal, Booker, Durant and Nurkic is a big question mark. It seems like anybody on their roster could be in line for 15-25 minutes on any given night.
Yuta Watanabe is one of those players. But if he can deliver a strong preseason, maybe he could soak up that number of minutes each and every night for Phoenix and be a permanent member of their rotation.
