Phoenix Suns Invite Big Garret Siler To Training Camp

Scott Schroeder at Ridiculous Upside, who is very plugged into the D-league world, reports that the Suns have invited (very) big man Garret Siler to training camp:

Ridiculous Upside - NBA Draft and D-League Coverage
Garret Siler, perennial Summer League standout, will be attending the Phoenix Suns training camp. The 6-foot-11, near 300-pound center played with the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat in Summer League this July after after averaging 14.1 points and 9.3 rebounds with the Shangai Sharks in China's CBA.

Siler confirmed the invitation on his Twitter account and has arrived in Phoenix.

Schroeder is effusive in his praise for the big center and having seen him myself in Vegas Summer League the past two years I have to agree with this assessment:

Soft hands, good hustle, good instincts, rebounded well and he showed decent touch around the basket.

Siler is one of those very big men who looks surprisingly agile and skilled. He is however, very big and not very fast and certainly isn't the kind of athletic guy who can run the floor, provide spacing on offense, and defend on the perimeter like Dwayne Jones.

If a big like Siler is able to win a roster spot it would be a sign of how the new Babby/Blanks/Treloar regime is changing the Suns to be more of a traditional team. That, on it's own, isn't necessarily a bad thing for the Suns headed into the season undersized and facing a rebounding challenge.

From a Draft Express 2009 Portsmouth Invitational review:

DraftExpressProfile: Garret Siler, Stats, Comparisons, and Outlook
Siler is incredibly strong, has great hands, and establishes position in the paint against players of this caliber with the greatest of ease, barely needing to jump in order to dunk the ball because of how long his arms are. Combine those things together, and it becomes pretty obvious why he shoots such a high percentage from the field.

He doesn’t have great footwork or fundamentals in the paint if forced to execute any type of advanced moves, but he manages to get to the free throw line a fair amount regardless, where he shoots a decent 66% despite his awkward mechanics.

Siler is an average rebounder and a poor defender because of his obvious physical limitations—he doesn’t move very well and can barely get off the ground. He’ll grab rebounds in his area thanks to his length and hands, but won’t go get many loose balls himself. No one is going to post him up inside the paint, but he’s completely unable to step out and guard players on the perimeter, rendering him effectively useless defending the pick and roll.