Suns coach badly wanted Jayson Tatum

Then the Phoenix Suns coach, Watson had played with or coached some of the best shooters ever: Ray Allen, Kevin Durant, Mike Miller, Damian Lillard and Jason Kapono. Watson had seen them do some incredible things, but he does not recall any workout quite like Jayson Tatum’s pre-draft audition for the Suns. Tatum warmed up with a ballhandling drill, Watson recalled during a phone call Monday afternoon, and then the wing went straight to the corner to shoot 3-pointers. Players normally work their way out to the arc slowly, taking closer shots first. Tatum did not bother. Even without any shots to loosen up, he was already hot. “He drilled 40 straight off the first shot,” Watson said. “Forty straight. So I immediately turned to the owner and the GM. And I said, ‘What else do we need to see?’”