7-footer Bol Bol has chance to prove he's more than just a unique talent with Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns' latest signing is a truly unique and intriguing talent.
At 7-foot-2, Bol Bol can handle the ball, score, knock down 3s, and is talented, but he’s been more of a side show in the NBA than anything else.
Bol played sparingly in his first three NBA seasons with the Denver Nuggets.
He then had a career year in Orlando last season, but the Magic were in rebuilding mode with head coach Jamahl Mosley, who was in his second NBA season.
Bol gave the Suns the business in an Orlando home win with 13 points, going 3-of-3 from 3, a career-high 15 boards, but the Magic suffered through a fourth straight losing season, missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
Bol, the son of former NBA center Manute Bol, now is with the Suns on a one-year deal that could be considered a crossroads season for him.
He’s only 24 years old, but this is his third NBA team in five seasons.
More importantly, Bol is with a team that has championship aspirations led by three superstars in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, a talented big in Deandre Ayton and a new head coach in Frank Vogel.
“Bol brings unique skills and abilities to our forward and center positions, which further enhances our depth and versatility,” said Suns president of basketball operations and general manager, James Jones, in a team news release Wednesday. “His continued growth and development will help make us a more complete team.”
He not only could play a key role in helping the Suns win a title, but do so for a franchise that has a new owner in billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia, who is more than willing to spend.
If Bol becomes a rotation player who contributes, say, 10 to 12 points, six to eight rebounds, blocks a couple of shots and hits 35% from 3 — and the Suns win big — that’ll entice the Suns — and several more NBA teams — to sign him to a lucrative long-term deal in the future.
Bol will be an unrestricted free agent after this 2023-24 season.
If he remains a sideshow who plays only half of the games and doesn’t contribute on a consistent basis, Bol likely will find himself on a fourth team on another veteran minimum contract.
See, veteran minimums are basically show-and-prove deals.
Play well now, get paid later.
Bol is talented enough to do the first part, but he’s got to establish himself as someone the Suns must play.
Force their hand if you will.
Then the Suns must find a role for him. That’s the most intriguing part of this whole thing.
Looking at the roster, here’s a projected depth chart:
PG – Devin Booker, Jordan Goodwin.
SG – Bradley Beal, Eric Gordon, Damion Lee.
SF – Kevin Durant, Josh Okogie, Yuta Watanabe, Toumani Camara.
PF – Keita Bates-Diop, Bol Bol, Ish Wainright.
C – Deandre Ayton, Drew Eubanks, Chimezie Metu.
Now, guys play multiple positions.
Durant can slide to the four or five in a small lineup. Gordon can play a backup point guard.
Got Bol here at the four, but he can clearly work at the five.
Better yet, could Bol start alongside Ayton where the two are interchangeable at the four or five?
That would be a tall, long and athletic starting five with him out there.
Bates-Diop has all the makings of starting four for the Suns. Good size at 6-8, 230. Can shoot it from deep. Bates-Diop made a career-best 39.4% of his 3s last season with the San Antonio Spurs.
He needs to rebound the ball better as he averaged just 3.7 boards last season, but Bates-Diop can defend, score in transition and space the floor.
Bol knows all this, but he needs to go in thinking the four position is open and that it’s his for the taking.
Have his catch-and-shoot game ready. Have his hands ready to catch a pass from Booker, Durant or Beal and deliver around the basket. Being able to switch and guard a smaller defender on the perimeter.
At the same time, Bol can also show he’s ready to start at center if Ayton doesn’t bring it. Run the floor. Be a better presence defensively than Ayton.
Bol has to hold his own guarding some of the league’s better centers. He can’t be a liability on defense, especially under the defensive-minded Vogel.
This is an ideal situation for him.
Bol has a chance to play a key role for a championship team – and set himself up for a multiyear deal with some significant cash stacked on top of it.
First things first.
Show the Suns his skill set can work in their system, play with energy and focus, approaching this season as if it is his last go with a contender.
Come up short here and Bol probably will end up signing a one-year deal with another team having to do what he needed to do in Phoenix to stick with them or land somewhere on a multiyear deal.
Time to see if this unique and intriguing player can not only fit in with a winning team, but be a difference maker with one that wins a championship.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How 7-footer Bol Bol can fit in, help Phoenix Suns win NBA title
