Suns GM praises Koby Brea's outside shooting, gives Mark Pope a shoutout

Koby Brea is joining forces with Devin Booker in the Valley.

It was a busy Thursday for the Phoenix Suns, which included the franchise executing multiple trades for better picks ahead of/during the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Phoenix brass came into the draft with pick Nos. 52 and 59, but identified a couple of targets and moved up in the draft to acquire them. The first was St. Joe’s Rasheer Fleming at No. 31, followed by Brea at No. 41.

“I just thought about the beginning and where it all started,” Brea said of the moment he heard his name called. “Being four years old, not knowing where this game is gonna take me, I just knew that I really loved that orange basketball. Knowing now that I’m here, in the NBA, it’s crazy.”

Feel like I’m dreaming right now!!! Just thanking God and reflecting on everything it took to get here, beyond blessed and grateful. Can’t wait to get to Phoenix 🙏🏼

— Koby Brea (@kobybrea) June 27, 2025

The Suns have a loaded backcourt with the addition of Brea, who will link up with Booker, Bradley Beal (who infamously holds a no-trade clause), Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, and Royce O’Neale in Phoenix. But some attrition will be necessary (and is expected) within that group. A path to playing time could emerge between now and the start of the 2025-26 season. How Brea performs at Summer League could go a long way in helping him crack the rotation.

Draft analysts appear split on what Brea can provide at the next level. Some believe his skills as an outside shooter are too good to pass up, while others believe his lack of athleticism and limited defensive presence will prevent him from sticking. Brea shot 46.5 percent from deep (on six attempts per outing) over his final two college seasons at Dayton and then Kentucky, although that’s his only elite trait right now.

But the opinion on Brea only truly matters to one person: the guy who traded up in the draft to select him. And that would be Suns general manager Brian Gregory, who has been impressed with Brea’s year-over-year development as a shooter, especially his ability to knock down contested looks as a tall 6-foot-7 guard.

“The one thing is he, obviously, he’s proven during his entire career at Dayton and at Kentucky, how good he is shooting the ball,” Gregory said Thursday night. “But every year he’s gotten better and better and added another dimension to the shooting. Where maybe early it was spot-ups, then it became off some pindowns and stagger screen actions, then it came off of actions off the dribble, then it was a little bit of the NBA, with the side-step threes and the stepback threes. So that progression that we were able to evaluate and watch, was a big reason for us taking him. He is an NBA three-point shooter.”

Brea will absolutely need to round out other aspects of his game, particularly on the defensive end, but he showed the ability to take a step forward in that area during his lone season with the Wildcats. To a larger extent, Brea improved his feel as a playmaker while playing under Mark Pope. Brea, who was not considered a legitimate pro prospect after leaving Dayton, became Pope’s first-ever draft pick as a head coach.

“(Koby) has been well-coached,” Gregory, who actually coached at Dayton from 2003-11, added. “I think Coach Pope is one of the best coaches in the country.“

By helping develop Brea — and Amari Williams, who was drafted 46th by the Boston Celtics — into professionals after coming over from mid-majors, it’s hard to argue against Pope’s coaching skills.

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