If you’re a Phoenix Suns fan and you supported the team through the center rotation that brought the franchise during the Kevin Durant/Bradley Beal era, we have a medal here with your name on it. But seriously, some of the greats picked to replace Deandre Ayton were bad.
Drew Eubanks’ slide has continued since leaving Phoenix.
While Jusuf Nurkic is often portrayed as the big man the Suns pinned their hopes on and who helped make it all go so wrong, Drew Eubanks has it much easier. This is despite Nurkic looking like a center worth trading for with the Utah Jazz this season.
Drew Eubanks should never touch an NBA floor again
— Optimistic Kings fan (@KingsOptimist) November 27, 2025
Granted, Eubanks was only supposed to be a backup, and the franchise was stuck in the second platform and he was all they could afford, but look at the options they have at their disposal now. Mark Williams is clearly the huge upgrade here, but even Nick Richards is better.
Rookie Khaman Maluach will be there soon, while Suns fans would rather have the undersized Oso Ighodaro over Eubanks. Since leaving The Valley, the 28-year-old has been on three teams, which should tell you everything you need to know about the journey he has taken.
A stint with the Utah Jazz didn’t bring much joy before the LA Clippers got him. The funny parallel is that Los Angeles appears to be a step behind the Suns when it comes to trying out talent, having also taken a chance on Beal and Chris Paul. None of them succeeded.
That made the recent meeting between the Suns and the Sacramento Kings in the Emirates NBA Cup all the more interesting. It was the Suns who took the win, with Eubanks finishing with a game score of minus 12. The second-worst mark on the team, although he did start.
That was more of a necessity than anything else, as star Domantas Sabonis had suffered a meniscus injury. That 22-game stretch for Eubanks in the 2021-2022 season, during which he averaged 14.5 points in less than 30 minutes per game, has never felt so far away.
He also doesn’t shoot threes in an era when almost everyone does. Those who can’t or won’t do that can usually dominate inside, but for all the battles Eubanks brings, being a beast in the paint isn’t on the scouting report either.
The design to get the best out of him has to be just right, and ironically, this current version of the Suns would have had more use for him. Head coach Jordan Ott has devised a defensive scheme that would have allowed Eubanks to play more like a four. Instead, he continues to slide out of the NBA altogether.
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