Part 1 Q&A: Playing with Damian Lillard helps Drew Eubanks prepare to work with Phoenix Suns' Big 3
Drew Eubanks doesn’t have to get a new place playing for a new team.
The new Suns big man has lived in Phoenix during the summers as he works out with Vaughn Compton, a player development coach who grew up in Mesa and has his own company, Vaughn Compton Basketball LLC., based in Phoenix.
“I’ve been training with Vaughn the last two summers,” Eubanks said. “I get to stay here, work out with my guy. Got my house out here. My wife’s parents moved out here two to three years ago. We’re already very comfortable out here.”
The Republic talked with Eubanks about joining the Suns, his hometown of Troutdale, Oregon and how playing with Damian Lillard has prepared him for sharing the court with Phoenix’s Big 3 of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in Part 1 of the Q&A.
Eubanks signed a two-year deal for $5 million with a player option with the Suns last month as the Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and a few other NBA teams showed interest in the active 6-10, 246-pound big.
“It was kind of a no-brainer to go with Phoenix when the time came,” Eubanks said. “They’ve been high on me really since I had a pre-draft workout with them back in the day and they’ve always kept in touch with my agent (James Dunleavy of Excel Sports Management) throughout my career.”
Undrafted out of Oregon State in 2018, Eubanks averaged 6.6 points on a 64.1% shooting, 5.4 rebounds and a career-best 1.3 blocks last season in 78 regular-season games (28 starts) with the Blazers.
Eubanks also shot a career-high 38.9% from 3 (7-of-18) in 2022-23. This is after averaging a career-best 14.5 points on 64.6% shooting and 8.5 rebounds in 22 games (all starts) to end the 2021-22 season with the Blazers.
The San Antonio Spurs traded him to the Toronto Raptors right before the trade deadline.
The Raptors later waived Eubanks, who signed multiple 10-day contacts with Portland before agreeing to a deal for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
“Drew brings intensity, toughness and an exceptional combination of skill and athleticism for a player of his size,” Suns president of basketball operations and general manager, James Jones, said last month in a news release.
You’re from Troutdale, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. What was it like growing up there?
“It’s 20 to 25 minutes from downtown. The way I describe it to people, when I say Troutdale in the first place, people think I’m talking about some far off place in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know. It seems like a fishing town or something. Back in the day it was. The way I would describe it is it’s the last bit of civilization before you get to the gorge, before you get to the forests and stuff out there on the Columbia River. It’s really beautiful. I feel like in Troutdale, you’ve got the best of both worlds. You go east and you’ll be in the mountains. You can go hiking, you can go see all the waterfalls. You can be in the gorges. There’s a lot to do out there.”
Eubanks was born in Starkville, Miss., but grew up in Oregon and played college ball at Oregon State.
“You go 20 minutes west, and you’re in downtown Portland. You’ve got city life. There’s stuff to do down that way as well. I think having the best of both worlds, being far enough away from everything growing up. It’s got a small-town vibe, but you’re also really close to a lot of things. My best friends to this day, who I just saw this last weekend when I was at a wedding, they still live in Troutdale. We all represent growing up there proudly and I really enjoyed my time in Portland this past year being able to say I’m from Troutdale and to be able to say that there’s an NBA player who is in the league now from Troutdale. It was cool for all the love and support I got. Even when I went back this weekend, everybody was like, 'Drew, wish you were still here.’ I’ve heard a lot of players probably get that. Being from that area growing up it meant a lot to me.”
What made you decide on Phoenix? You surely had other teams that showed interest.
“I had interest from other teams along the same lines of what Phoenix was offering, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I had an offer from Phoenix right out the gate. They were very high on me. My agent was saying they had the most interest out of anybody. Being able to go play for a contender and to play with guys like KD, Book and Beal, I just couldn’t turn that down. That’s kind of how I got there. I got a little taste of what it’s like playing with a superstar with Dame. I feel like every step in my career so far has prepared me for the next. I’m looking forward to the challenge in Phoenix and bringing some of what I learned playing alongside Dame last year and doing that with KD, Book and Beal.”
What are examples of playing with Damian Lillard is going to help with you playing now with Devin, Kevin and Bradley?
“If I had business cards I had to hand out everybody of the one, two or three things I excel at that, it’d be hustling, blocking shots and setting screens – and finishing at the rim. With Dame, you’ve got to respect him as soon as he comes off a screen. My screens are so effective with Dame, he would come off and be able to shoot wide open 3s. When my guy would step up and try to take his 3 away, they might do a hard double team on Dame, I just flip out of it, get in the pocket. He’s a great passer. He’d hit me and then you just go play four on three on the backend. There was a lot of that last year where I never really played with such a dynamic guard coming off a screen where I just got rep and rep of attacking mismatches and having numbers downhill. I’m a great screen setter. I’ll be able to get Book wide open 3s, I’ll be able to get KD wide open 3s, Beal, all those guys and they want to double one of them, that’s fine. They can kick it to me, I’ll drive, I’ll find the shooter in the corner, find the shooter at the wing or I’ll go finish at the rim. There was a lot of that last year that Nurk (Blazers big Jusuf Nurkic) did well. He was really good at that in years past and last year, too. So I got to learn a lot from him in that regard. Just being able to play off those guys and let them to do their thing and try to make their job as easy as possible.”
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Joining Phoenix Suns 'no-brainer' for energy big man Drew Eubanks
