Scott Suggs looks to use D-League Elite Mini Camp to garner NBA contract
Scott Suggs had an accomplished D-League season playing for the Raptors 905. When he spoke to Upside & Motor last September he stated, “I didn’t want to look back and regret not taking one final chance at making the NBA.” Some might say since Suggs did not earn an NBA call up that he should be disappointed, but he achieved a lot this season even without that glorious phone call from The Association.
The 26-year-old wing competed at D-League All-Star weekend in the 3-point shootout (he didn’t win), he was an All-Star replacement selection by the coaches and he earned the Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award for outstanding character on and off the court this season. Oh yeah, he also hit the first bucket in Raptors 905 history! The 905 finished the year 23-27 and while they did not make the playoffs they did win more games than the past two expansion franchises (Delaware and Westchester won 22 games) combined.
Suggs finished the season with averages of 17.9 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 44 percent overall and 42 percent from distance (6.3 attempts). He was one of the elite snipers in the league this season finishing second in 3-pointers made with 132 in his 50 games played. He was especially deadly from the corners for the 905.
League average for corner threes in the D-League this season was right at 39 percent and Suggs combined to knock those attempts down at a 49.7 percent clip. While the long ball was Suggs’ weapon of choice he has the ability to finish around the rim as well as he converted 65 percent of his drives in the restricted area as well.
The veteran guard was the 905’s top scoring threat from the outside and he only improved as the season progressed. In the final month of the season he averaged 21.2 points and 3.7 rebounds, so his stand-out trait is that he can fill it up. Here’s the problem for him — there are a lot of guys who can score out there. A lot of call ups who stick around in the NBA are able to find their niche and of course land in the perfect opportunity where a team finds use for that niche. Suggs can definitely be that player if he can find an opportunity as a 3-and-D type of player. The issue there is that his defense is merely average. He doesn’t hurt his team on that end by any means, but he doesn’t stand out either.
So the question remains, are there teams out there who need 3-point specialists — namely in the short corners — off the bench? According to NBA.com there were seven teams in the league who shot below 34 percent as a team — Philadelphia, Denver, Minnesota, Miami, Boston, Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers. So in a word, yes there is seemingly always going to be a need for a guy like Suggs.
One area he needs to improve upon is protecting against shot blockers. According to the official D-League stats page, he had 18 of his 139 field goal attempts in the paint blocked and even more glaring is that 25 of his jump shots were blocked this past season. Those numbers have to improve. When you watch film, he would benefit greatly from developing a floater in the lane and perhaps adding some weight to use his body for separation on his jump shots. He’s quick but he’s not going to blind you with that quickness either and his athleticism isn’t blowing anyone away either. All that being said he’s plenty crafty with the ball in his hands and 71 percent of his 2-point makes were unassisted showing that he can indeed create for himself.
When you peruse his assisted vs. unassisted makes on 3-pointers the results are vastly different as almost 96 percent of his 3-point makes were assisted. This shows his ability to catch and shoot which explains further his success from the corners this season.
What he needs is an opportunity to showcase his abilities against NBA caliber talent. In previous off-seasons he has played with four separate NBA franchises for summer league, but never received an invite for training camp and preseason action. This weekend Suggs is attending the D-League Elite Mini Camp in Chicago, IL where he will be watched, prodded and scrutinized to the nth degree by NBA scouts and executives. If he plays well and stands out, it could certainly lead to more chances at reaching his ultimate goal of earning an NBA contract.
Longevity in the NBA is about much more than merely talent level. Those players in the 10-15 spot on an NBA roster have to be high character individuals who will push the rotational guys to constantly improve while not creating waves with the coach and management either. This is not to say that Suggs should be shooting for that role, but it helps that he could easily slide in and fill that role while waiting for his opportunity to shine if given center stage.