A big second season for Baylor isn’t going to be enough in order to propel Pierre Jackson above the worries about his size, but he might still be a first round pick, with the Phoenix Suns considering using one of their two on the point guard.
Jackson, who is either 5’10 or 5’11, depends on who you believe, averaged 19.8 points and 7.1 assists last season for the Bears, and is considered as one of the more complete and well-rounded point guards in this draft, but like Larkin, being under 6-feet has hurt his draft stock.
At the moment, he’s likely to be a very late first round pick or very early second round pick. A very good shooter, an incredible athlete and a very good and willing passer, Jackson seems like the perfect solution for a team looking to find a speedy backup point guard, as long as they’re looking to glance over his height thing.
Goran Dragic ran the point for the Phoenix Suns last season, with Kendall Marshall not doing such a great job (3 points per game, 14.6 minutes) backing him up. The Suns are either planning on giving Marshall more chances as a point guard while Dragic possibly plays a bit more off the ball, or they’re starting to give up on having Marshall develop into a move valuable point guard for them.
In any case, they worked out quite a few point guards leading up to the draft, according to NBADraftInsider.com: Korie Lucious, Erick Green, Nate Wolters, Ian Clark, Phil Pressey, Matthew Dellavedova, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. McCollum, Shane Larkin, Myck Kabongo, Lorenzo Brown, Isaiah Canaan, Ray McCallum and Brandon Triche.
They do have the number 5 overall pick, and are likely to use it on either a wing player (looking especially at Ben McLemore and Victor Oladipo) or add a big man to their roster, hoping Alex Len is still available, while Anthony Bennett, who is going to try and find a place in the NBA as a stretch 4 who can play as a small forward as well, is also being considered. They do want a point guard, and with a 30th overall pick, Pierre Jackson makes perfect sense.