Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
You would think that Archie Goodwin would be willing to let his game speak for itself. He had plenty of doubters coming into this year’s NBA Draft. His combine performances left a lot to be desired, specifically from his shooting stroke. His lack of improvement under Kentucky head coach John Calipari raised a lot of red flags. He wasn’t supposed to go in the first round, but he did anyway. In the draft, you just need one team to fall in love with you, and the Phoenix Suns took that risk at No.29.
Goodwin impressed everyone with his play at the NBA Summer League with his 13.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game average. He already started his journey to silencing his critics when he was picked in the 1st round. He’s got a guaranteed contract and a promise of playing time right away from new Phoenix head coach Jeff Hornacek. He’s also fresh off of being named MVP of the NBA’s Rookie Transition Program. Now he’s taking it a step further by saying he wants to give every team that passed on him “hell”. Here is a quote from his interview with SLAM Magazine:
“It would have been great to have been drafted where I thought I should have been. Now every team that didn’t pick me, I’ve got to give them hell.”
Archie Goodwin obviously feels like he is better than most of the people he was drafted behind. Unlike the majority of the NBA personnel, he was surprised to see how far he slid down the draft boards. He’s now being called a possible “steal” from the draft and the immediate future in Phoenix. At Kentucky, he only made 27 percent from the 3-point line. Since being drafted, he has been diligently revamping his jump shot. He made eight three-pointers in the NBA Summer League, shooting 57 percent.
I would like to see Goodwin silencing the haters more on the basketball court than in a press conference. Fellow Kentucky Wildcat Nerlens Noel also took a tumble on draft night. Noel was projected as the No.1 pick but slid all the way down to No.6 before the slide came to a halt. After answering a question with “Can’t wait to get down to New Orleans and block shots with Anthony Davis”, a reporter informed him he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Noel wanted to wear No.5 with the 76ers as a jab to the teams that passed on him in the draft. I like Noel’s approach more because he is going to prove his worth on the court and not with verbal jabs at the rest of the league. Noel is not burning bridges before he builds them, and Goodwin needs to learn how to acquire that skill.
At 18, Archie Goodwin was the youngest player selected in this year’s NBA Draft. While his game is constantly evolving into a grown man’s game, his verbal attacks against the league are somewhat childish. I understand he wants to exact revenge on the 28 teams that decided he was not the best option for their team. Just do it on the court and not so much in the microphone, rook.
Brian Lewis is an NBA Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can add him to your network on Google for more of his work.
