Stephen’s Research: Phoenix Sun Royce O’Neale.
O’Neale will be a huge asset and improvement to the Suns’ two-way process.
Before Thursday’s trade deadline, the Phoenix Suns made a trade for Royce O’Neale. They gave up almost all of the auxiliary, minimum contracts they had accumulated in free agency, indicating a kind of soft reset and opening the door for competition in the 8th–10th man range.
The Suns were able to acquire both Royce O’Neale and David Roddy as part of a three-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies. Keira Bates-Diop (Nets), Jordan Goodwin (Neta), Yuta Watanabe (Grizzlies), and Chimezie Metu (Grizzlies – waived) are no longer members of the team.
The move itself is a gamble of sorts considering the magnitude of pieces being parted with, but O’Neale (and Roddy) should provide greater consistency on the margins in the styles the Suns will need them to. O’Neale’s new situation should allow him to more fully utilize his strengths and fulfill a variety of roles for the Suns.
Though it’s unclear if the team’s recent defensive performance will hold up, if it does, the Suns will likely need his defense more than I would like, which would reduce the pressure on him and make his inclusion a better match.
In my opinion, O’Neale will bring the following few things:
O’Neale is a more viable three-point shooter, especially in playoff or high-stakes moments than the pieces both traded for him and that preceded him in that slot on the roster.
Additionally, he’s a better piece to play in 0.5 and not let the ball stay in his hands for too long, or to attack closeouts if not shot to beat them.
2.) Inversion screening, movement, and small-to-small screening
O’Neale has quick spatial and positioning processing, which is a non-tangible quality that is essential to maximize play in the fast-paced, wide-open NBA of today, particularly in the offensive process of the Suns.
He offers a lot of what Grayson Allen does, in a non-redundant way, as I’ve indicated a few times, which could give the Suns offense another dimension.
He can playmaker on the short roll and is a competent driver in addition to being a good screener.
He should be able to play alongside Booker and take use of the same reaction advantages that were created above, or he can use his synergy with Durant to manipulate matchups and bring Suns who are considered “Waldo’s” into the game to attack straight.
Defensive Play/Adaptability
His 84 deflections this season would place him third on the Suns, demonstrating the increased physicality and activity he has displayed. This is also consistent with the Suns’ goal to play at a faster pace and transition from attack to defense.
He is in the 72nd percentile for defensive PPP (0.854) and the 96th percentile for time spent defending in the post. He ties for ninth place among players who have defended so well in more than 37 possessions with a PPS of just 0.87, demonstrating his ability at covering ground. In addition, opponents give up 13.5% of the time he is guarding the ball there, ranking fifth out of the 34 players stated before.
He’s not the best in isolation this season, ranking 91st in PPS allowed of 96 players defending as many iso possessions as he has — leaving plenty to be desired. However, a caveat I’ll keep in mind is how much switching the Nets do, some of the most in the league, and the context of help defense relative to Vaughn’s system, in comparison to Vogel’s.
His dexterity and ability to anticipate provide him with activity in his pressure on-ball, which occasionally allows him make up for some of his shortcomings in screen navigation.
Although he isn’t the best at navigating off-ball screens, he can buy himself time in navigation by using his size to top-lock or lock and trail.
He really shines as a helper; picture him as the nail in the help department, able to recover out to shooters, sink into cutters, and cut off middle drives. In addition, he is an excellent communicator and an energetic lowman with size, both of which are desperately needed by this club. He’ll offer greater defensive accountability to support this team’s defensive strategy and balance.
Additionally, he excels at completing his duties ahead of schedule during assistance rotations, and then following up in closeout, recover, and contain circumstances. Is also interested in using peel switches to help defenders stay on the ball and secondary switches to help maintain matchups solid.
I’m a little concerned about how much of a demand will be made on him just for defensive effectiveness at times, but he’ll accomplish the task; it’s just a matter of how much and whether the players surrounding him continue to exert detailed effort as well.
In loose-ball situations, he is also fiercely competitive.
With 30 turnovers, they shoot 43.5% on 216 field goal attempts against guards (36.6% of his time on the floor), 36% on 97 three-point attempts, and 46.8% on 233 field goal attempts against forwards (54.5% of his time on the floor), including 38.7% on 75 three-point attempts, and 43.3% on 30 field goal attempts against centers (8.9% of his time on the floor).
As a wing stopper, at the point of attack, and the previously mentioned helper, O’Neale can switch between multiple roles, which helps Vogel unlock lineups, scheme, and positional diversity.
Due to his positional mobility, which allows him to defend a wide range of player types, he can also provide switch-anchorship.
Creating Plays
His playmaking demands with the Nets will undoubtedly change to some extent due to his usage with the Suns. But in a situation where there is significantly less need for him, those reps ought to work in his favor. They should also aid in the supporting playmaking roles he will be in.
He has the second-highest assist percentage of his career (at 15.1%, 79th percentile) and the third-highest usage rate (15.1%) of any Net this season. This comes after he set a career high of 15.6 points in his debut season with the Nets.
The Suns will maximize this dynamic far more when they can draw on it as a complementing skill rather than when he is primarily relied upon to do so. Once more, his ability to digest information quickly and “get off it quick” will be a welcome change from some of the parts that were already in Phoenix and others that are still there. This will help to eliminate catch-and-hold situations, which let defenses reset their shell and positioning.
His skills as a connection off secondary drives, as a screener and popper or short-roller, and as the hub and handler for handoffs in small ball delay plays will all be very beneficial to their process.
My Top Five Wish List Lineups: Booker, Beal, O’Neale, Durant, Nurkic
O’Neale will assist spark activity and provide the main unit’s powerful offensive attack more defensive balancing. In addition, O’Neale contributes more defensive weight alongside Durant, aiding in the efficient flipping of mismatches and giving that group more potent offensive weapons.
O’Neale has also performed admirably this season for a team that has struggled on the defensive glass, in part due to a lack of size in matchups. His defensive rebound percentage of 14.0 is in the 92nd percentile for wings.
That unit’s defensive influence should also seem different because he should be making a lot of the rotations Vogel’s tactics require and acting as a defensive chess piece in that.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with this lineup as a starting point. Functionality-wise, it makes more sense, but at this point, you DO NOT change the starting lineup.
In the future, I could definitely see him being there, giving that unit—where most teams do have size and defensive versatility—balance and size, and giving the reserve units, with Gordon and Allen as the subs, a new scoring punch layer.
This group also seems like a more dependable defensively-minded one to close games with—even more so than the one from the start.
Durant, O’Neale, Allen, Beal, and Booker
The “Death” lineup has had some of the proverbial air leak out, but it still has an offensive rating of 131.5 and a net of +13.20 in 35 minutes.