Len playing for a big, new deal
Center posting career numbers in contract year
LOS ANGELES – Ask Jay Triano about the bamboo, Alex Len was saying. The bamboo?
“He talks about watering the bamboo,” Len said. “When you plant a seed the bamboo chute doesn’t grow right away. It takes a long time. Sometimes a couple of months or a year. But once it starts growing it grows really, really fast, almost a foot a day.”
Triano uses the metaphor to help convince the Suns that their hard work will pay off eventually. That’s certainly the case for Len, who is having a career year as he heads into a summer when he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
“If you choose to bet on yourself like Alex did and play well now you hold the cards for once,” Len’s agent, Michael Lelchitski said.
That wasn’t the situation this past summer when Len, after testing the market as a restricted free agent, resigned himself to signing a one-year, $4.2 million qualifying offer from the Suns. The outcome wasn’t surprising; Len’s play during the 2016-17 season was such a disappointment he lost playing time to Alan Williams and had more games with five rebounds or less (27) than he did with 10 rebounds or more (19).
But a bamboo seed was planted before this season began. The Suns told Len to forget about jump shots and post moves. As Triano said, “We’re not throwing it into him and asking him to score.” Instead, Phoenix wanted Len to focus on rebounding, defense, protecting the rim and diving to the basket off pick-and-rolls.
The seed sprouted quickly.
Len, 24, is averaging career highs in points (9.3), rebounds (9.4), assists (1.3), field goal percentage (53.7), free throw percentage (77.3) and percentage of available rebounds grabbed (22.1). He