Suns Draft Koa Peat at #30 in 2026 NBA Draft

[Cheesebeef]

I loved Marion but he was not a superstar. Koa has the inside game already and it will only get better. I believe in the kid . He will become a good three point shooter I have no doubt.

I never said Marion was a superstar. I said he was an All-Star level player. You’re saying Peat will be BETTER than an All-Star, which inevitably makes him project to a superstar if you think he’ll be better than Marion’s All-Star. I have no idea how you’re coming to that conclusion.

 

[SunsTzu]

I loved Marion but he was not a superstar. Koa has the inside game already and it will only get better. I believe in the kid . He will become a good three point shooter I have no doubt.

He can develop a 3pt shot and still not be as good as Marion.

 

[Goldfield]

Come on, man. I’m not even that big of a Shawn Marion honk, but this statement bewilders me. Marion was a consistent 20/10 guy in his prime who made 4 All-Star teams and was even good enough to make multiple ALL-NBA teams. And you think Koa will not only be as good as Marion, but BETTER?

A resume better than Marion’s would make Koa one of the league’s superstars. That doesn’t seem very realistic.

He was a 20/10 guys as a SF he was truly unique

 

[Mainstreet]

Here's a question for you guys. We did not draft Haliburton when he fell in the first round. Koa Peat, he fell and 29 other teams passed on him, but we got him. Is Peat our Haliburton?

Why not go for the home run? Is Koa Peat our Steve Nash. LOL

 

[Mainstreet]

I think that Peat is a skilled young F, he is more athletic than you think at first sight (although the comparisons to Shawn Marion are too optimistic) but I still have doubts about the smoothness of his transition into the NBA game.

We know Peat will always make up for any deficiencies with effort. And effort counts for a lot.

 

[Goldfield]

KOA is looking solid. Fun to add him to the rest of the roster. The best part is we don’t depend on the rookie and second years guys to be starters yet. They can be good backups until they deserve to start.

 

[Adrian]

If he can rebound with regularity against the big boys that would be great.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Koa is going to become our Chuck Norris.

Koa does do pushups. He pushes the earth down.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

I never said Marion was a superstar. I said he was an All-Star level player. You’re saying Peat will be BETTER than an All-Star, which inevitably makes him project to a superstar if you think he’ll be better than Marion’s All-Star. I have no idea how you’re coming to that conclusion.

technically all suns are stars

 

[Mainstreet]

Yeah but some of us were really high on Dunn too at one time so we'll just have to wait and see. I think his floor is higher than Dunn's and he clearly has a coveted NBA skill but he's probably going to be a foul magnet for a while so that might limit his minutes.

On the plus side, Peat fills a position of need.

 

[hcsilla]

Peat is of a different type from Marion's. References for him should be the likes of Aaron Gordon, Randle, Harris, Anunoby, Miles Bridges who can make plays from the PF position as rookie. He has the tools to be the best of these group.

This is also a way too optimistic forecast.

All the above listed players are either more athletic than Pea or much better shooters (than he ever will be) or in most of the cases both.

But I wish that you guys will be proven right.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

This is also a way too optimistic forecast.

All the above listed players are either more athletic than Pea or much better shooters (than he ever will be) or in most of the cases both.

But I wish that you guys will be proven right.

I mean Gordon and Harris used to both be crap from three and they developed. You being so certain that Koa can't develop that (despite having a solid looking middy) is weird to me.

 

[hcsilla]

Both Harris and Gordon were significantly better/more legit 3P-shooters in college than Peat.

Yes,having a solid looking middy and broken 3P-shot (I know that he changed it before the draft, but it is still a fact, it's broken)

 

[JCSunsfan]

Saw some things I liked from Peat in this game. His handle is much better than I thought. He does pretty well in the open court. He also has the ability to post up and just bang his shoulder into players like Barkley did. That is not a dimension we have with any other player on this team, except maybe Bridges.

This guy is quite encouraging, especially considering where we drafted him.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Both Harris and Gordon were significantly better/more legit 3P-shooters in college than Peat.

Yes,having a solid looking middy and broken 3P-shot (I know that he changed it before the draft, but it is still a fact, it's broken)

Is it "broken" or did he simply recently change it and therefor it is a work in progress? Also, Koa shot 5% better than Harris in college and roughly the same as Gordon, just on fewer attempts.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

barkley... amare... koa

 

[Raindog]

Maybe Peat shows enough promise that they let Bridges walk after this year. Best case scenario for him is that duplicates what Bridges can do but without the off court baggage.

On the other hand, if the Suns are committed to Bridges longer term (as has been rumored), that's it for Peat. He would be road blocked here, and there's no reason the Suns would carry him as a long term project, nor would it serve Peat himself in any way to wait around for four more years to get his chance.

 

[leclerc]

Koa averaged about 1/2 3pt shot per game in college. I don't think it is broken. Don't know if he even has the range or if he just played on the inside. Guess we will find out.

Shooting can be learned after college but it will take time. He also needs to work on FTs. Only 63% or something there. Work on your shooting young man, but don't pattern it after Shawn Marion!

 

[JCSunsfan]

Is it "broken" or did he simply recently change it and therefor it is a work in progress? Also, Koa shot 5% better than Harris in college and roughly the same as Gordon, just on fewer attempts.

Yeah. I am not sure what’s going on with his shot. I think he tried to change it just before draft workouts which was a bad idea. He didn’t shoot threes that badly in college. He didn’t shoot many though.

 

[BooksOrangePlanet]

my confessed love for koa peat is on record - i love his desire but he quickly found out how hard it is to rebound in the summer league - much less the nba

at 19 years of age you can tell he's used to dominating physically - imposing his will at will - the acrobatic soft touch after contact is going to come in so clutch for phx

i'll say it again - i think he gets (non garbage) minutes sooner than later - like before the all star break especially if injuries come into play

it's a tricky slope - if you develop you're not playing your best players but if you don't develop rasheer fleming ends up watching the playoffs - maluach played because williams was out but that doesn't mean maluach was ready

we want to avoid the play-in while preparing peat for the playoffs

 

[Carolinacacti]

I never said Marion was a superstar. I said he was an All-Star level player. You’re saying Peat will be BETTER than an All-Star, which inevitably makes him project to a superstar if you think he’ll be better than Marion’s All-Star. I have no idea how you’re coming to that conclusion.

Marion played three years in college. First year with the Suns 25 min 10 pts a game. I will go out on a limb here and say In year 4 Koa will be a starter and scoring 20 a game. The next 8 years Marion only averaged over 20 two times. Now he got rebounds and steals and was awesome. Koa might not get 11 boards a game playing next to Man Man but I see no reason why Koa can't surpass Marions stats

 

[Yuma]

Not saying he's going to be as good as Barkley. Peat's back down turn around J resembles Barkley's. Just saying the way Peat does it, it looks like how Barkley used to do it.

 

[Goldfield]

Maybe Peat shows enough promise that they let Bridges walk after this year. Best case scenario for him is that duplicates what Bridges can do but without the off court baggage.

On the other hand, if the Suns are committed to Bridges longer term (as has been rumored), that's it for Peat. He would be road blocked here, and there's no reason the Suns would carry him as a long term project, nor would it serve Peat himself in any way to wait around for four more years to get his chance.

Your in fantasy land with Bridges it’s been 4 years time to move on.

Also there is no road block you need backups and that’s all Koa is at this point.

 

[Goldfield]

I don't see Koa beating out Miles for the 4 spot for a year or two but if something falls through with Bridges, I don't see any other power forward on our roster that I'd start over Koa. Too bad they can't be on the court at the same time but, outside shooting notwithstanding, their games are probably too similar to share much court time.

Fleming but I think he can play 4 or 3

 

[AzStevenCal]

Fleming but I think he can play 4 or 3

Yeah but I think I made that comment after our first summer game, Fleming has played much better since then. I'd still prefer Koa at that position but I'm salivating over the long term potential of our front line. And I can't remember ever feeling like that as a Suns fan.