Valley of the Suns
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The 5 worst Draft Lottery results for the Phoenix Suns

By Tim Holstad

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a video board displaying all thirty draft picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; A general view of a video board displaying all thirty draft picks in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight reacts in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The 76ers defeated the Suns 111-104. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight reacts in the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The 76ers defeated the Suns 111-104. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

The Lakers Get the 1st Pick and the Suns Get the 5th Pick

This is the worst thing that could happen to this franchise right now. Not only do the Suns fall all the way down to the fifth pick and are faced with the scenario from the previous slide, but the Lakers also get the top pick in the draft and immediately jump-start their rebuild. The debate becomes whether they take Fultz, who most people think is the number one pick, or Ball, the hometown kid who wants to play for L.A. Phoenix could look to trade the fifth pick if either of these final two scenarios occurs, but teams won’t give up nearly as much for the fifth pick as they even would for the fourth or third. The Suns probably couldn’t get another superstar player with the fifth pick as trade bait either. There’s actually a good chance they couldn’t get a superstar with whatever player they picked if they kept the pick.

More from Valley of the Suns

This scenario would probably stir up even more calls of the lottery being fixed in the Valley of the Suns, and even around the league. Regardless of the legitimacy of that argument, the Lakers getting the first pick would be a devastating blow for the Suns and a huge acquisition for their most hated rivals. The Lakers could trade away D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle to get a better young piece, perhaps Paul George from the Pacers. And they’d get a better young PG than Russell, in either Fultz or Ball. The Suns would lose out on getting a second star-level player to pair with Booker, and while their young core would be good, it wouldn’t be great. It definitely wouldn’t be like the Thunder’s core had been or the Warriors core currently is. It would be more like the Wizards, the Blazers, and the Jazz. Good, but not great, and great wins championships in this league right now – not good.

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