Phoenix Suns 2018 offseason plans Part 1: The Draft
By Adam Maynes
Could they make any other draft day trades?
I don’t know how this could happen, but I have long held the dream that if the Phoenix Suns landed the first overall pick, that they drafted DeAndre Ayton, and then traded back into the top-3 to select Luka Doncic.
Who the heck knows the odds of such a heist taking place, and they would likely have to trade with the team holding the second overall spot, making such a deal extraordinarily lucrative – even if that team doesn’t value Doncic that highly.
But, Phoenix does own a number of picks, and if McDonough believed that he had the pieces in a core that was pretty much set for the future already and was willing to sacrifice future first round picks to pull of such a deal, could he at least attempt to entice them?
Obviously in this scenerio the first overall pick is off the table because McDonough would use it to select Ayton. But they do have Miami’s pick (likely 16th overall), Milwaukee’s future first (which potentially could come active next season), Miami’s unprotected first round pick in 2021, as well as their own pick in 2019.
Throw in Marquese Chriss and the team with the second pick could get four first round picks over the next four seasons, and a former lottery pick to give the Suns the chance to draft Luka Doncic.
Imagine at that point a 2018-19 starting lineup of:
PG – Luka Doncic
SG – Devin Booker
SF – Josh Jackson
PF – Dragan Bender
C – DeAndre Ayton
If that lineup doesn’t make your mouth water like one of Pavlov’s dogs to a juicy steak, I do not know what will.
Now, presuming that such a deal is either impossible (let’s be honest, it’s a pipe dream) or too rich for McDonough’s blood, the Suns still have other opportunities to mess around in this draft because of their rights to Miami’s pick.
If that one does land at 16, it’s not bad, but it’s also nothing too special. Granted they have the first selection in the second round (which I recently said should be spent on Duke resident pain-in-the-butt Grayson Allen) which could also be an enticing piece in a trade, but even combined the two don’t make a whole lot of ripples in the minds of general managers.
Should McDonough package those two up with a player, say Marquese Chriss or Troy Daniels, then maybe he can move back into the top-10, probably no higher than seven or eight. Still a place to grab a point guard in either Collin Sexton or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Granted Phoenix loses out on the opportunity to continue to develop Chriss as well as the chance to draft a backcourt enforcer in the second round, but to be able to potentially select that point guard of the future in this draft would be an exciting prospect.
That being said, while I speculated in my Allen post that if McDonough coveted the Duke guard that he could use his two second round picks to move up into the mid-20’s to guarantee drafting him, they could do that for absolutely anybody they might fancy.
Whether it’s a project in guard Anfernee Simons, or college point guards Aaron Holiday, Shake Milton, or Jalen Brunson, (or any number of other players at any position who might warrant moving up to acquire), McDonough could put together a simple package to make such a move possible.
Next: Check out Valley of the Suns Live! the first Postseason Podcast!
I don’t really see a scenario where the Suns trade back, per se, although if McDonough does make a selection with both of his first round picks then I could see him actively attempting to move both of his second round picks for future compensation if they are not included in a deal for an already established NBA player.
Either way, the fact that Phoenix does have four draft picks this summer, it is very likely that McDonough will attempt to make at least some kind of a move to help relieve himself of the necessity of adding so many rookies to the roster on an already crazy-young roster.
The excitment-level will definiltiy be there this June as we get closer and closer to knowing where exactly the Suns will draft, who they might be targeting, and who they will likely trade with to move on from at least one, if not more, of their four draft picks.