Ranking every Phoenix Suns asset based on tradability

5. 2018 first round pick

(Trade Value: B+)

There will be low expectations on the Suns next season as there were this past one, and should a team have any interest in looking for a high draft pick from the Suns for a star, asking for Phoenix’s 2018 first round pick is about as sure a bet that it’ll be high in the lottery as any team will get. If Ryan McDonough does go searching for a star in a trade but has no intention of trading this season’s pick, than offering up next season’s could be nearly as enticing.

Moreover for Phoenix, if they do trade their 2018 pick for any reason, they have every assurance in the world that they will still have at least one other first round pick next year because they still have possession of Miami’s first round pick. That pick is far more volatile because of the year that the Heat ended up having in 2016-17 and so does not carry with it the same near-solid guarantee that it’ll be high in the lottery. However, teams often just want a  first round pick, regardless of it’s position in the draft because it means that they are at least getting one of the top thirty best talents entering the league in any given year. And since first round picks are held in somewhat of a premium, it is further trade bait for established players.