Some Golden State Warriors fans were left confused after the second-round of the NBA Draft last month, having seen the franchise trade the 41st overall pick to the Phoenix Suns for the 52nd and 59th picks.
The Warriors ultimately drafted Australian forward Alex Toohey at 52 and traded back up to the 56th pick to select Will Richard, but some fans would have preferred for the front office to have kept the initial pick which the Suns used on sharpshooter Koby Brea.
Koby Brea shone for the Suns in his summer league debut
It took just one summer league game for the trade to look even more questionable and for early regret to arise among fans. Brea brought his shooting reputation to Las Vegas straight away, with the 23-year-old exploding early as the Suns recorded an impressive 103-84 victory over the Washington Wizards.
While many were keen to see prized draft pick Khaman Maluach, it was arguably Brea who was more impressive with 12 first-half points and 19 for the game on a scorching 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Those numbers are hardly a flash in the pan either, with the 6’7″ wing entering the draft recognised as arguably the best pure sharpshooter in the entire class. Brea shot 43.5% from 3-point range last season with Kentucky, and was an extraordinary 49.8% from distance on over six attempts per game with Dayton the year before.
Many are already bemoaning the fact Brea isn’t with the Warriors, particularly given the team could do with more elite shooting beyond the veteran duo of Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield.
The warriors really could’ve had Koby Brea, this is really going to haunt them in the future
https://twitter.com/8tozay/status/1943852389108273460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It was a positive first outing for the Suns who have rebuilt their roster and provided an injection of youth, much of which has come from the Kevin Durant trade to the Houston Rockets. Maluach finished his debut game with 14 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots, while second-year forward Ryan Dunn went for 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals on 7-of-12 shooting.
Phoenix also have a familiar face as their starting point guard, with former Warrior summer league and G League guard Yuri Collins going for nine points, four rebounds and six assists in the 19-point win.
The Warriors are currently playing in their first game in Vegas after three at the California Classic, but have endured a nightmare opening in trailing 34-13 after the opening period against the Portland Trail Blazers.
