They claim it’s not fixed. They claim it’s done with the highest regard for fairness and with the integrity of the sport held in the highest regard. They claim that no one in the back, dark, smoke-filled rooms of the NBA offices in New York City has any influence over the lottery.
And yet, the Phoenix Suns, who have seen other teams surprisingly and unexpectedly jump them time and time again on more occasions that one would care to remember (although we broke it down a while back here) have been screwed again, and General Manager Ryan McDonough will have to look for his next young superstar to pair with Devin Booker elsewhere.
For all fans in the Valley of the Suns, the tension as the lottery team’s logos were unveiled was palpable.
And it started out normal enough:
14. Miami Heat. Check.
13. Denver Nuggets. Check.
12. Detroit Pistons. Check.
11… etc.
But then things went haywire. Philadelphia jumped into the post-commercial break top-3 reveal via the Sacramento Kings (which actually make this even WORSE) pushing the Suns back to 4th and likely out of contention for the three, seemingly sure-fire star selections in point guards Lonzo Ball and Markelle Fultz, and small forward Josh Jackson.
Whether the Suns keep this pick or not will fill the blogosphere and sports talk airwaves for the next month until the draft on June 22. Popular consensus at the moment seems to be that the Suns should look to trade the pick and find the best proven talent available for it. Maybe package Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, and/or others, to acquire that next young stud to play alongside Devin Booker.
To make matters worse with all of this, Suns fans must swallow another bitter horse pill – the Lakers kept their pick (OR WON THE LOTTERY) meaning Luke Walton and Magic Johnson was right – did you notice that Magic represented the Lakers? How conveniently fortuitous. Do you think the NBA would have ever embarrassed one of the league’s 1980’s saviors, especially live on television?
McDonough could also have every intention of keeping the pick. Maybe he sees Jayson Tatum, De’Angelo Fox, or Jonathan Issacs as that perfect piece to build with and whichever he selects, that player will surprise the league as Devin Booker already has.
Next: Light at the end of the tunnel: The Suns could still get two top-5 picks
And yet, for the next month all we can do is sulk. With a 19.0% chance of landing the first overall pick, and over 50% odds of remaining in the top-3, the Phoenix Suns slipped to 4th, and we can only blame the NBA for our beloved franchise’s continued aggravatingly slow climb back to championship contention.