National Basketball Association

Offseason development key to any Suns improvement

Published Apr. 22, 2015 3:39 p.m. ET

foxsports

While the personnel staff spends the next few months identifying and targeting candidates for auditions as the next Suns star, those currently on the roster will be busy improving the team from within by improving their own games.

That was a prescribed focus last week from coach Jeff Hornacek, who -- in addition to helping with roster-upgrade decisions -- will oversee a summer of player development in the Suns' quest to respond to a 39-43 record in 2014-15.

With that existing as the first accessible method for climbing the Western Conference ladder, let's look at the team's existing core and examine the potential process for their rise.

We'll attempt to determine how Eric Bledsoe can learn to make better decisions after collapsing the defense, or how the Morris twins and P.J. Tucker might become more efficient at driving the basketball.

Before going into specifics, please note the key to development at any basketball level is acknowledgement of the end goal and willingness to assimilate what is taught.

With several Suns committed to spending a large portion of the summer in Phoenix, these workouts -- and subsequent pick-up games -- can be a strong component in development. Now for the specifics:

Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight: We'll put these playmakers together because they have similar body-lean issues.

Bledsoe, for example, has off-the-dribble balance trouble because he bends at the waist to keep his shoulders low while attempting to generate horizontal velocity. That prevents him from keeping his chest and head up on drives while putting his shoulders far ahead of his hips. This imbalance -- acerbated by changes in pace and direction -- can be reduced by dropping his hips instead of bending too much from the waist to create this torque. Ball-handling challenges that incorporate changing the level of his center of gravity would be a big help.

A balance upgrade also will make Bledsoe better able to pull up for jumpers when defenders go under ball screens. His inability to stop with proper balance (hips too high, shoulders forward) is one reason why he made just 35 percent of his attempts in the 10-to-16-foot range this past season. Balance issues also contributed to Bledsoe ranking 13th among NBA players in bad passes (per NBAminer.com) per game, but -- with teammates and younger members of the basketball support staff on hand -- challenges involving passing decisions can be incorporated.

This type of drill can begin with a dribble move against a live defender, followed by a randomly-deployed encounter with a help defender and varying options for delivering a pass (to a participating coach or teammate) after using his eyes to limit the defender or finishing at the rim.

Knight -- who typically returns to the upright and unstable position after a dribble move -- has some drift issues when shooting off the bounce. He has a tighter handle and splits double-team tactics off ball screens better than Bledsoe, but similar off-season challenges would serve him well. He was 14th in bad passes.

Although body types vary and movement patterns may be difficult to alter after years of repetition, study of the balance and change-of-direction capacity in certain players (Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving) demonstrate what can be accomplished through improved balance.

The Morris twins and P.J. Tucker: Subtle hot mechanics can be in play for all three, and Hornacek obviously has a high level of expertise in that area.

But at this stage, radical technique change requires total commitment and immersion in the process. Usually, a slight alteration is about all that can be initiated; for example, if Markieff Morris put his shooting hand directly behind the ball (at least consistently) when loading his shot, it would help align his elbow and make that 3-point distance (from which he made 31 percent of his attempts) seem easier to reach.

Marcus Morris often fails to finish high (elbow at eyebrow level), sabotaging the arc of his shot and adding to the difficulty of each attempt. But the main point of emphasis for all three Suns listed (and pretty much every player in the league) is removing the negative step when starting a move off of a catch, shot fake or jab fake.

The habit of stepping backward to move forward is at epidemic levels in basketball and is particularly galling when it occurs following a shot fake or otherwise attacking a close out in the corner. With almost every NBA player spotting up behind the 3-point line, this backward (negative) step often places the player's foot out of bounds.

This dreaded maneuver is why Tucker was fifth among NBA players in stepping out of bounds. Marcus does this quite often as well, while Markieff (12th in the league in traveling) regularly moves both feet simultaneously while taking his negative step from a more centralized location, often provoking a whistle from NBA refs who make this call inconsistently.

Keeping the pivot foot still while taking a quick negative step isn't easy; it begs for an automatic traveling call at levels below the NBA.

The negative step could be mitigated by practicing sprints from a starting position that features both feet close to side-by-side alignment rather than staggered (attempt to replicate an offensive-attack stance or on-ball defensive stance) like a football wide receiver.

When moving to actual footwork on a basketball move off of a shot fake, catch, etc., a crossover step -- or step-through move -- helps keep the pivot foot anchored long enough for the player to put his hip between the defender and the ball and legally put the ball on the deck.

But attempting to beat a defender -- going in the direction of the pivot foot -- after taking a negative step with the other foot requires doing so when your first step essentially only gets you back where you started.

Alex Len: The Suns coaching staff includes enough insight on post moves to put Len in good hands in terms of reads, keys and footwork. And the training staff is expert at developing or upgrading the physical capacity for balance, strength and mobility.

So Len has been on the right path.

H e already learned that when making a hard step through with a power dribble across the middle, a reactive drop step to the rim -- instead of an intended jump hook -- can be triggered if the defender's lead foot is even or ahead of that of the post player.

Where Len can improve is through random challenges that heighten his awareness of how and when mid-range shots will be available. The kid has a very nice shooting touch, but converted only 29 percent of his attempts from between 10 and 16 feet because he rarely was prepared to shoot when the ball reached him. He made his task even more difficult by leaning back to avoid defenders who took advantage of his inability to prepare to catch and fire.

Instead of standing on the block and performing rep after rep, it would be beneficial to keep Alex moving into multiple sets of pick and pop, over to pick and roll on the opposite side to diving into a post-up opportunity ... all with shots challenged.

Archie Goodwin and T.J. Warren: We could unleash an entire series on these young prospects, but will keep it short here.

Archie, in addition to finishing higher and not moving the ball in front of his sightline on deep shots, needs to become a much more refined ball-handler.

Some of this improvement could come from doing fewer drills with two balls, a tactic that neglects to address the spatial relationship between the ball, body and the defender. Although dexterity drills are cool and can build confidence (as long as you don't drop your eyes to watch the ball), being able to create angles by faking with your feet actually helps you beat a defender off the dribble. And isn't that the point?

There's a lot to like about Warren, but his jump shot is not included in those assets. Help defenders will always turn their heads in the NBA, but Warren's elite sense of how and when to cut is listed on opposition scouting reports. He'll have to improve as a shooter -- starting with how he holds the ball and releases the shot -- to reach his full potential.

That's not as easy as it may read, but it is easier than it would be for others to develop a lot of the talents he already possesses.

Follow Randy Hill on Twitter