Valley of the Suns
Fansided

Phoenix Suns Must Learn From Stephen Curry – Draft The Talent

By Scott Hanna-Riggs

Mar 19, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Providence Friars guard Kris Dunn (3) loses control of the ball in front of North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) and guard Marcus Paige (5) in the second half during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2016; Raleigh, NC, USA; Providence Friars guard Kris Dunn (3) loses control of the ball in front of North Carolina Tar Heels guard Joel Berry II (2) and guard Marcus Paige (5) in the second half during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

With the NBA draft lottery complete, and the 1st round draft order set, the Phoenix Suns will be planning out who they want at each pick.

Players are also scouting out which teams may draft them. In a practice I absolutely despise, once again a player appears to be trying to control which team drafts him. Kris Dunn is reportedly trying to avoid a team with an established point guard – such as the Boston Celtics at #3, or the Phoenix Suns at #4.

Dunn did not take a physical at the combine, meaning teams can only get his medical records if he shares them. If he doesn’t want to come to the Suns, he could easily withhold those records. What does this have to do with Stephen Curry?

Discussing the 2009 draft, Dell Curry, Steph’s dad, told Paul Coro that “we told Minnesota that Steph didn’t want to go there”.

More from Suns News

Quick break for a Suns-centered review of the 2009 draft and ensuing events:

The Golden State Warriors eventually backed out of a trade with the Phoenix Suns that would have been for the 7th overall pick. It isn’t fair to say the Warriors backed out of an Amar’e Stoudemire for Stephen Curry trade – in reality the sides agreed to an Amar’e Stoudemire for Jordan Hill trade. Neither side expected Curry to be there at number 7.

If the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Stephen Curry instead of Spaniard Ricky Rubio (5th overall, .368 career FG%) and Jonny Flynn (6th overall, out of the league since 2011-12), the Suns would have ended up with Jordan Hill.

Amar’e Stoudemire went on to have his last great season with the Suns in 2009-10, before leaving for the New York Knicks. He showed the Suns a little love on his way out, as he technically left on a sign-and-trade, which netted the Suns a $16.5 million trade exception and a top-55 protected 2nd round pick. As is common with protected picks, the protection killed all the value, and no pick was ever conveyed to the Suns. The $16.5 million trade exception was used to trade for Josh Childress and make a separate trade for Hakim Warrick.

A note on that top-55 protected 2nd round pick. That was the Knicks way of saying, “fine, we’ll throw you a bone – as long as your prized forward we’re taking from you turns us into a top-5 team in the league”. There are only 60 picks in the draft. This pick was never going to be sent to the Suns. Given that the Suns had no leverage, it still isn’t a bad deal.

More from Valley of the Suns

Back to the main point: the Minnesota Timberwolves should have understood the trade market and taken Stephen Curry, even if they didn’t expect him to ever play for the team. I know hindsight is 20/20, but Curry was clearly a unique talent, while Flynn and Rubio didnt bring much variety or upside. Had they drafted Curry, they could have immediately called the Warriors, the Suns, and the rest of the NBA to start a bidding war.

Teams do not need to draft with the expectation that the player will be happy from day 1. This is a job, and they are getting paid millions of dollars. If Kris Dunn really was  part of the Suns franchise, he would almost certainly come to love the city of Phoenix, as so many players have in the past.

That is why smart GM’s draft the best available player. Great GM’s know that they will be able to convince the player to embrace the team and the city. Good GM’s know they can trade that player immediately for a later pick and additional assets. Bad GM’s pass on the talent to draft Jonny Flynn (cheap shot, I know. My bad.).

More suns: Lakers Luck and the Brandon Knight Trade

If the Suns ultimately evaluate Kris Dunn as the best prospect available at #4, they must take him. Unless the Suns pull off a mega-deal that moves Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the fit for Dunn is obviously limited. The trade market, however, would not be limited for Dunn.

The Sacramento Kings would be a great team to target in a trade of Kris Dunn. They live in the lottery, so their future firsts are like golden tickets. Just avoid the protections.

Home/Suns News