Drew Eubanks Signs Two-Year Deal With Phoenix Suns
Center Drew Eubanks has signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns. This news was first reported by Shams Charania of the Athletic.
Free agent center Drew Eubanks has agreed on a two-year deal with the Phoenix Suns, with a player option in second season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Eubanks is represented by agent James Dunleavy of Excel Sports.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2023
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Drew Eubanks has spent the last two seasons coming off the bench for the Trailblazers and intermittently starting for the often-injured Jusuf Nurkic. Eubanks averaged just over 6 points per game and 5 rebounds per game last season on 20 minutes a night.
Eubanks isn’t a home run, but considering the Suns’ cap situation, he could be a very valuable rotation piece. In 22 games starting with Portland in 2022, Eubanks put up career highs of 14.5 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, on 64.6% from the field.
Looking back to their rotation last year, Eubanks is a stronger and more reliable option defensively than Jock Landale, and provides more offensively than Bismack Biyombo. He plays a pretty straightforward role as a roll man, rebounder, and interior presence, but does it well. Eubanks shot 75% on shots inside the restricted area and shot 74% on shots inside 5 feet or less. Among players with 2.5 or more attempts inside 5 feet per game, Eubanks mark ranked 15th best in the NBA last season. Eubanks was also an effective roll man. He averaged 1.24 points per possession as a roll man last season, ranking in the 71st percentile of all qualified NBA players.
Eubanks also posted a defensive field goal percentage of 59% inside six feet. On the season he held offensive players 5% below their average efficiency on shot attempts inside six feet. That mark is actually better than DeAndre Ayton‘s from last season, but worse than Landale’s and significantly worse than Biyombo’s.
With the signing of Eubanks, it’s unlikely that Phoenix will opt to re-sign Landale or Biyombo.
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