The Phoenix Suns have added four new players to their roster ahead of the regular season, as they recently signed big man Gracin Bakumanya, forwards, Derek Cook Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr., and guard, Shaquille Harrison.
The Phoenix Suns are still a rebuilding team, with young stars Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight as the cornerstones of the franchise. Over the summer, the Suns drafted 18-year-old Dragan Bender, a 7 ft. center from Croatia to add some depth to their frontcourt, and recently, added four more players to their lineup.
The first of the new additions, According to NBA.com, is Gracin Bakumanya, from the Dominican Republic. The 6 ft. 11 19-year-old center went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft, and spent the 2015-2016 playing in France's LNB-A league. He averaged 14.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in 30 games.
Next is Derek Cooke Jr., a 6 ft. 9 forward, who spent the previous season playing for the Suns' D- League team, the Bakersfield Jam, where he averaged 4.8 points and 7.0 rebounds. Cooke was standout from the University of Wyoming, prior to playing in the NBA D-League.
Another forward that was drafted by the Suns, is Derrick Jones Jr. The 19-year-old Jones was a former Southeastern Pennsylvania Player of the Year, and played one season with UNLV, where he was the second leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, and finished the season with a 58% shooting percentage. Jones was not selected in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Shaquille Harrison a 6 ft. 4 point guard, is the 4th player to recently be signed by Phoenix. Harrison played college basketball at the University of Tulsa, where he averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals. He started in all of the 133 games he played in his college career.
The Suns are coming off one of the worst seasons in the history of the franchise, after finishing in 14th in Western Conference and 4th to the last in the entire league. The Suns have not made the NBA playoffs since 2010, the longest in the franchise's history, according to AZ Central. This year, they hope to become a serious playoff contender in the west, as they head to training camp to prepare for the upcoming NBA regular season.
