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Suns Complete Series Of Trades To Draft First-Round Prospect

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Quenton S Albertie | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 7:32 PM ET

After executing a series of trades that began with the 52nd and 59th overall picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns have managed to acquire the 31st overall pick in a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, per ESPN senior insider Shams Charania. With the No. 31 pick, the Suns are “eyeing” St. John’s junior Rasheer Fleming, a prospect that was widely expected to be taken off the board in the first round.

Suns Complete Series Of Trades To Draft Rasheer Fleming

In 2024-25, Fleming averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game. Highly effective at both ends of the floor, the biggest knock on him may be his overall body of work. To that point, Fleming was spectacular last season, even being named to the All-A-10 First Team. However, he was more efficient than usual.

Suns offseason additions: Fleming, Maluach, Mark Williams, Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks

— NBA University (@NBA_University) June 26, 2025

If the Suns aren’t too concerned, it may be because Fleming’s numbers suggest that he’s just developing in a linear fashion. As a freshman, he converted 29.7 percent of his 3s. As a sophomore, he upped his percentage to 32.4. Last season, he shot his 3s at a 39.0 percent clip with a 44.9 percent 3-point attempt rate.

Rasheer Fleming is a prototype for what NBA teams are looking for in a big man at St. Joe’s, making 44% of his 3s and racking up highlight reel plays galore with dunks, rebounds, steals and blocks thanks to his 7’5 wingspan.. pic.twitter.com/w7QKYFnZas

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) January 14, 2025

So, on the one hand, the jury is still out on how consistent he can be as a floor-spacer. On the other hand, he’s demonstrated that he can and perhaps will steadily improve. In either case, he’s a more natural stretch-big than anyone else in their stable.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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