6 events that would make this draft day the best ever
By Adam Maynes
Trade back into the top-7
With Deandre Ayton as the first pick, there are still a number of other players that the Suns and their fans are eyeing in the top of the lottery as well, so much so that fans are eager to see if McDonough can pull off a second trade into the top-10 (if not top-7) to acquire a second potential young star.
It seems that if the Suns were to move up to anywhere between 8 and 15, fans would be excited on some level. The pick would likely be a point guard, and the presumption is that that player will eventually (if not immediately) be the starting point guard of the future. If this happens and the Suns potentially solidified both their center and point guard positions in one fell swoop, that will be more than enough to make this draft exciting.
However, the rest of the picks from two through seven each have a much higher perceived ceiling than any of those from 8-15, meaning that the excitement level will ratchet up significantly.
Imagine if the Suns walked away from the draft with Ayton and any one of Bagley, Luka Doncic, Mohamed Bamba, Jaren Jackson Jr., Michael Porter Jr., or Trae Young? Fans would be over the moon.
The selection of a second player at the top of the lottery would hearken back memories of the 2016 draft when Phoenix was able to draft both Dragan Bender (4th overall) and Marquese Chriss (8th overall), two well-thought of players in that draft, although neither expected to be impact players right away. Thus while exciting, it was tempered.
But what the franchise has never done is draft two players in the same draft who appear to each be future stars.
If Ryan McDonough can get back into the top-7, and leave this draft with two future stars to add to a starting lineup that will already consist of Booker and Jackson, that would make this the greatest draft day in franchise history.