Garret Siler, perennial Summer League standout, will be attending the Phoenix Suns training camp. The 6-foot-11, near 300-pound center played with the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat in Summer League this July after after averaging 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds with the Shangai Sharks in China's CBA.
Siler will be the sixteenth player on the Suns roster when they open training camp next week. The second-year pro will join Matt Janning, Dwayne Jones and Zabian Dowdell as players without guaranteed contracts going into this season. Basically, if Siler is to earn a spot on the Suns roster, he'll do so at the expense of Jones - a player the Phoenix brass has raved about sign re-signing him earlier in the summer.
Most recently, I wrote about Siler when breaking down the Atlanta Hawks' big men options:
Siler is probably the most obvious player to include on this list since Cunningham suggested there is "some interest" in the 6-foot-11, 300-plus pound big man out of Augusta State. Though Cunningham suggested that "he's got a lot to prove after a bad showing at Summer League," I'd like to counter that THE DUDE MADE 75% OF HIS SHOT ATTEMPTS AND PULLED DOWN 3.8 BOARDS IN JUST 14 MINUTES OF ACTION. I've been driving the Siler bandwagon for awhile, sure, but the kid deserves an opportunity. He has great size, soft hands, scores as efficiently as anyone, runs the court very well for a guy his size and seems to be willing to do whatever it takes to get an opportunity.
If you're someone that's been following my musings on players not quite in the NBA for any length of time, you'll know my favorite player is probably Mr. Siler as first detailed here:
Siler is actually the reason I decided to write this recap, because even though I couldn't keep up on the internets due to the $10/day for internet at my hotel, I know he wasn't gushed about enough. Siler, believe it or not, has Ridiculous Upside©. He's a legitimate 6'11, 300ish pound center. He's a project, definitely, but a project worth paying! Soft hands, good hustle, good instincts, rebounded well and he showed decent touch around the basket. Of course his conditioning could improve, but he's more in shape than Sean May, so that should count for something. I sincerely thought he'd be perfect for the Wolves, as he's impossible to box out and set great screens to get Jonny Flynn open, but according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he's in mini-camp with the Hawks. Well, it seems they could also use a big man to take some heat off of their star player - I like Siler's chances.
Hopefully he makes the most out of this opportunity and, if it doesn't work out, sticks around to play in the D-League - at least until 10-day contracts starting being extended in January.
Loading comments...