NBA Draft
The Phoenix Suns Select T.J. Warren at No. 14
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Phoenix Suns entered last season with a rookie head coach in Jeff Hornacek and an eye towards the future. The Suns caught the NBA off-guard and was the surprise team of the season. Phoenix finished with a 48-34 record and just barely missed making the playoffs. The Suns entered the draft armed with the 14th, 18th, and 27th picks.
With the 14th pick, the Suns selected T.J. Warren from North Carolina State. Warren was the ACC Player of the Year and contributed 24.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.8 steals.
With the Suns, Warren joins a team featuring young, talented players, including point guards Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. Warren is an elite scorer, though does not have NBA three-point range at this point. Something that is unique about Warren is that even though he is not an elite athlete, he finished 70 percent of his shots around the rim. Warren is able to do this with a versatile offensive game, featuring a lot of floaters and unorthodox shots.
Shortly after being selected, Warren made it clear that he is looking forward to getting to work in Phoenix.
“Getting drafted by the Suns means a lot” Warren said. “It’s a truly blessed situation. I’m excited to get out there. Looking forward to it.”
When asked about how he would fit with the Suns, Warren said “I think my style of play fits very well. I like to get up in transition for easy baskets, running the floor very hard. Their style of play matches my style of play. So it’s a perfect fit.”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported that the Phoenix Suns promised Warren they would take him with the 14th pick if he was still on the board. The Suns got their man, who should be able to contribute at small forward early on. Warren will be especially productive if he can develop his three-point shot moving forward.
