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22 for 22: Are the Suns finally going to find C DaRon Holmes II?

Examining potential trade deals for Jusuf Nurkic with the 22nd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft revealed that the Phoenix Suns must acquire a 3-point shooter or a lob threat at center this summer.

Dayton big DaRon Holmes II might be their best choice in the draft, trade market, or free agency for a combination of both skill sets. Out of the few prospects we will examine in-depth, he is the first who could be selected at No. 22.

Holmes spent three years as a player with the Flyers after graduating from Goodyear’s Millennium High School as a unanimous top-50 prospect. For the final two seasons, he was among the best big men in college basketball. He put up 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game on average as a junior.

The soon-to-be 22-year-old is a bucket-getter who inspires others by making offense for himself. Holmes was almost nine times a night in the foul line. According to Hoop-Math, he tried over half of his shots at the rim, where he shot 74% of his shots. Of those baskets, only 56.6% were assisted.

The NBA prospects you get in the last 20 years are Zach Edey this year, 2009 Blake Griffin, 2008 Tyler Hansbrough, 2005 Leon Powe, and Ike Diogu’s last two Arizona State seasons in 2004 and 2005 (!), according to Stathead. This is based on Holmes’ free-throw rate of.724 and adds qualifiers with a.7 threshold who score at least 20 points per game. Given how outstanding Holmes was this season, forget about the NBA products those guys were and focus more on the fact that they are among the greatest collegiate big men of the past 20 years.

Holmes is ranked 45th by ESPN, 30th by The Ringer, and 26th by The Athletic, which is a little more supportive of Holmes. According to ESPN, Holmes “canceled several workouts” recently, indicating that a team in the first selection may have given him a guarantee.

The main challenge for Holmes will be to overcome the Atlantic 10’s dearth of elite competitors. Despite having a 7-foot-1 wingspan and using lengthy strides and arms, he is not very explosive when taking his first step or leaping. The handle needs to be improved. It’s quite predictable, and if it doesn’t work, he will frequently be forced into turnovers—limitations that he already demonstrated in college.

Holmes drives with confidence, which is an important skill for contemporary bigs to have, keeping that in mind. Since he is both agile and inflexible, it is crucial to avoid making the process of molding his function more difficult. The short-term vision is right here: Make the pick-and-pop three defenders work harder before Holmes takes two consecutive dribbles.

Not everyone has to try and be Naz Reid now with the hesis followed by crossovers. Reid’s teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns, was almost strictly using line drives when attacking the basket in the postseason to tremendous success.

Holmes’s considerable improvement as a 3-point shooter over the previous season allows him to develop that threat. In his first two years with Dayton, he only took 26 of them; this year, he made 38.6% of his 86 attempts. Although it looks excellent and he makes the shot with confidence, his free-throw percentage of 71.3% should have been somewhat higher to encourage greater belief that the jumper is genuine.

Despite being a little short for a 5 at 6-foot-10, he showed off this offensive game in the NCAA Tournament versus Arizona, more than hanging with elite athletes and size.