Jalen Lecque may have landed into the best possible place.

Part of the Chris Paul trade that sent him to Oklahoma City, Lecque is with an organization that’s always been about development.

Phoenix had Lecque in the G-League, but the undrafted rookie who essentially came straight out of high school only played five games with the Suns in clean-up duty.

Lecque needs a team to give him quality in-game NBA action to find out if he can play in the league. The guy certainly has the talent.

Crazy hops. Athletic. Confident.

“I’m a dog,” Lecque said going into last season. “At the end of the day, I’m hungry so I just go out and eat.” 

What he lacks right now is experience.

His body hasn’t fully matured either as he just turned 20 in June.

He came to Phoenix as a project. He left in the same spot, but at least got to experience NBA life, learned what it means to be a pro and will bring that to his new opportunity.

The Suns traded Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ty Jerome, Lecque and a future first-round pick Monday to the Thunder for Paul and reserve Abdel Nader.

Rubio has since been traded to Minnesota while Oubre is expected to end up in Golden State via trade after Klay Thompson went down with another season-ending injury.

Jerome may wind up having a solid NBA career. Came to Phoenix from a winning program in Virginia. Fundamentally sound. Understands the game.

Very cerebral, but dealt with injuries last season and had trouble adjusting to the speed of the game.

So that makes Oklahoma City ideal for him because he needs further development, too. However, Jerome doesn’t have Lecque’s upside.

Potential makes Lecque very intriguing.

He could very well develop in a really good NBA player. The Suns moved forward without him as adding Paul puts them in win-now mode.

Oklahoma City will likely give him that chance as it appears to be in rebuild mode.

Along with trading Paul, Rubio and in all likelihood Oubre, the Thunder traded Dennis Schroder to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Thunder center Steven Adams is headed to New Orleans.

So Lecque should certainly get a better opportunity to play for the Thunder than he got with Phoenix.

He can look to another former Suns’ player, De’Anthony Melton, as inspiration to make the most of a new opportunity.

Phoenix got Melton from Houston in a trade before the 2018-19 season. He actually played far more his rookie season than Lecque (50 games, 31 starts) in averaging five points, but was traded last summer in a deal that also sent Josh Jackson to Memphis.

Melton worked on his game, took advantage of his opportunity, improved as a player and contributed as a backup point guard to Rookie of the Year Ja Morant.

The Athletic is now reporting Melton has agreed to a four-year, $35 million deal with the Grizzles.

No one saw that coming when Phoenix traded him to Memphis.

Oklahoma City will likely give Lecque a chance to prove himself. If he makes the most of it, he may solidify himself in the league, too.

More: Report: Phoenix Suns set to sign Jae Crowder to three-year, $30-million deal

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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