De'Aaron Fox skipped a pre-draft workout with the Suns in 2017 because they had two point guards already. Both got traded, and Booker stayed. Fox now regrets it, thinking they could have formed a strong backcourt. He also breaks down why rookies struggle: they don't understand defensive fundamentals like rotations and pick-and-roll coverage.
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What's up everybody? It's Draymond Green. Make sure you subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel below so you don't miss any more of this great content going forward.
I told people even with the draft, like I kind of knew where I was going. So Philly had just traded for the first pick after I worked out for them. So they wanted Markelle, Boston, I mean LA, the Lonzo thing, the whole connection, knew he was going there. Knew Boston was gonna take JT. And then next was Phoenix. And Phoenix at the time had just gave, they just gave Brandon Knight like $80 million.
Uh-huh.
Eric Bledsoe was on a crazy deal. So I'm like, I was supposed to have a workout for him. Like, shit, should I work out for them? Like, y'all got 150 Ms going to two point guards. I'm like, I don't wanna do that. So I canceled my workout, fly back to Houston for a little bit, take a little break. 'Cause I was, in LA working out and stuff. And then I had, Sacramento was number 5. So I'm like, that's where I'm going. Like, that's where I wanna go. I know about the history that at the time it had been 11 years. I'm like, I can go there and change something. So like, I knew that's where my destiny lied.
And so you canceled your workout in Phoenix because they had 2 point guards. So I have a question, just a follow-up on that. And looking back on that and knowing how it played out with Brandon Knight in Phoenix, how it played out with Eric Blesso in Phoenix, do you ever look back on that with any regret and say, you know, had I went through with the workout, I probably still could have been the point guard of the future there with a backcourt mate like Devin Booker. Do you ever look back at that or do you kind of just keep it?
I for sure look back at it and like, I probably could have worked 'cause that's the year that Bled had tweeted, "Yo, I don't wanna be here no more." So they traded both of them my rookie year, traded both of them. And even that year I didn't think about it, but like 3, 4 years later, I'm like, that actually, me and Book would have been a nice backcourt. So I've definitely thought about it before, 1000%.
That's absolutely amazing. And just circling back, we were speaking on the draft. You guys drafted Keegan Murray, who has been impressive in Summer League. He's been impressive in preseason. What has been your thoughts of the young fella outta Iowa? And what do you think his potential is?
Man, he's— it's crazy how good he is. But he also has that like Tim Duncan demeanor. Like every day I see him like, yo, what's up, Rook? Oh, he, "What's up, Fox?" I'm like, "Come on, dawg. You gotta like, you gotta gimme something. You just gimme something." But like, he doesn't, he comes in, man. He's the most efficient guy I've ever been around. Like, you look over, if he's just shooting, he's not missing. Then you, we played pickup a little bit before training camp. He doesn't miss. He doesn't have any wasted motion. Like, everything he does is just efficient. Defensively, offensively, grabbing rebounds, boxing out. He kind of really just makes the game look easy. If he had some facial hair, I would've thought bro was like in his 30s, but he 21, 22, I think he just turned 22. And he walks around and like the demeanor is just always calm. And this, he's gonna be really good. Like even this preseason game, we look up, you got 16 and 6. And I thought he just got out there.
Absolutely.
He does everything efficiently. And I think, Like he's gonna show the world what he can do.
That's incredible to hear. And I think for our listeners out there, I think one thing that you should take away from that and really understand is if he had facial hair, I think he was 30 years old because that's saying a lot. And you know, one reason, and you know this well, Fox, one reason guys come in the league and struggle is not necessarily from the offensive end. Most guys can't pick up the defensive end. They can't pick up the rotations. They can't pick up, you know, when a guy should be asking out or, you know, when you're bottom low man or the communication and getting a pick and switch and pick and roll coverages based on who the people are in the, you know, in the pick and roll action.
People don't understand that. Especially when everything is just like, like somebody might not be fast, in terms of like speed, getting up and down the court, but in that half court, everything moving like that. And I think that's for sure where people come in this league and start to struggle.
Absolutely. So that's really saying a lot, you know, and that's, you know, I got high expectations for the young fella. Obviously being a Big Ten guy, watch him against my Spartans quite a bit over the last couple years. So I got high expectations for him in the way he's shooting the ball with the way, the league has turned to guys stepping out and shooting it. Y'all running pin downs for him, different stuff like that. Like for most 4-mans to have to chase a pin down.
