Stromile Swift to the Suns

The Suns have signed Stromile Swift for the rest of the season. Because he was waived by the Nets before March 1, he is eligible to play for them in the playoffs. But, will he be able to help them

1.) get to them playoffs, and

2.) win in the playoffs, if they get there?

The Suns are currently 34-26, which would be great if they were in the East, allowing them to compete with Atlanta (also 34-26), Miami (31-28, 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta) and, if they continue their surprising uptick, Detroit (30-29, after their improbable 3 game winning streak) for the 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately for them, they aren't in the top-heavy East. So, instead of fighting for home-court advantage, they're fighting just to get into the playoffs. As of this moment they are 2 games behind Dallas for the 8 seed in the West.

There's plenty of time to make up those two games, and other indicators point out that despite sitting behind Dallas in the standings, they are a slightly better team than the Mavs. Their point differential is +1.9, slightly better than Dallas' +1.6. They rank 9th in John Hollinger's Power Rankings, compared to Dallas' 13th. They are 3rd in the league in offensive efficiency, at 109.6, though they are a dismal 20th in defensive efficiency, at 106.6 (worse than at any point in Mike D'Antoni's tenure). Still, their efficiency differential of +3.0 is pretty good, almost a full point better than Dallas' +2.2. Thus it is no shock that Hollinger's Playoff Odds (as of this moment) give them a 66.6% chance of making the playoffs, projecting them as the 8 seed in the West.

However, as is news to no one, this hasn't exactly been the season the Suns were envisioning at the first of the year. Steve Kerr blew up a good thing, bringing in Terry Porter to challenge gifted enigma Amar'e Stoudamire and to instill a defensive mindset into the team. The slower pace player under Porter's leadership masked that, instead of improving on defense, the Suns actually played worse defense than at any point under Mike D'Antoni. So Porter was fired, essentially for doing exactly what he was asked to do, and (as could have been predicted by anyone outside the Suns' management) alienating the players in the process.

Under Alvin Gentry the Suns are back to their old running ways, but have now lost a tremendous weapon, as Stoudamire is injured and out for the rest of the year. While the loss of Stoudamire forces the Suns to go even smaller and run even more, playing into their strengths, it also calls into question their ability to be more flexible when they can't run their opponent out of the gym. Matt Barnes and Grant Hill may be matchup nightmares at the 4, but they aren't really power forwards. Neither are good rebounders or interior defenders.

Worse than that is the prospect of a playoff team having to give minutes to Louis Amundson (who even in a career year is below average - and he's far and away the best option here) Jared Dudley (an athletic but limited 3 playing out of position at the 4) and rookie Robin Lopez. Given Shaquille O'Neal's size, age, history of injuries, and propensity to pick up fouls, front court depth is an issue for the Suns. Having Barnes and/or Hill line up alongside him, with Amundson, Dudley and Lopez behind him, indicates a real need for more quality size, even for a team that wants to go small and get out and run.

So picking up Swift, a 6'10" athletic forward who could play the center spot for a team like the Suns, meets a need. But how well does it meet that need?

Swift spent the 2007-08 season first with the Memphis Grizzlies and then the New Jersey Nets. Both were bad teams. Very, very bad teams. Yet Swift averaged only 15.7 minutes with the Grizzlies, then only 14.0 minutes with the Nets. This year the Nets have been better, but it hasn't been because of Swift. Before they released him he had played in only 6 games for them, averaging just 10.7 minutes a game, and posting (in an admittedly small sample size) at PER of just 6.76. He had been an average player for most of his career, and just slightly below average the last couple of years (despite not playing a lot for bad teams). But 6.76 is simply wretched.

That said, Swift does still have some NBA skills. First, he is 6'10". That, in and of itself, gives him some value, especially for a size-challenged team like the Suns. Also - and this is what has been tantalizing people for his entire career - he has tremendous athleticism for his size. This is especially useful for a team like the Suns, who want to get out and run. If you can get size that doesn't slow you down, you don't have to sacrifice interior defense in order to crank up the pace.

Despite not being particularly strong, Swift is a good interior defender, with the length to bother shots. He's not a good rebounder, and doesn't have much of an offensive game, but his length and his athleticism could be a helpful addition to the Suns.

Worst case, he gives them a little more depth. Best case, if the Suns continue their running ways and he hasn't slowed down too much after being inactive most of the year, he's finally found a system that will play to his strengths and allow him to live up to the potential the Grizzlies saw in him in 2002 when they drafted him 2nd overall.