Phoenix Suns 2019 offseason plans Part 1: The Draft
By Adam Maynes
Point Guard Plan of Attack
Of the two positions with the largest holes, point guard is most certainly the position of most need.
Add a reasonably good point guard and the offense will hum at a level not seen since the days of Goran Dragic (I was always a fan of Eric Bledsoe‘s, but I have come to realize how inadequate a distributor he really was on offense).
The problem though is that at six there may not only not be a point guard available for James Jones to take (depending on what all happens before Phoenix is on the clock), but the point guard potentially available may take 2-3 years (if ever) before developing into the kind of player that can be counted on to lead a team to the playoffs.
If Phoenix was still in the heart of their rebuilding mode – let’s say that this was 2017 – then the selection of a point guard, to pair up with second year shooting guard Devin Booker, first year Head Coach Earl Watson, and a full losing season before the (unknown at the time) opportunity to select Deandre Ayton, and the selection of a 19-year-old point guard might have seemed like the most appropriate move to make.
Yet now, with Devin Booker entering his first full season under a max contract, a new Head Coach in Monty Williams with a much higher level of credibility as a coach than Watson ever had, and second year should be Rookie of the Year center, plus expectations to end the losing, and pinning the future of the franchise on a 19-year-old who may never develop is not an acceptable plan of action.
Phoenix could select a point guard then sign a veteran free agent to carry the load right now, but they still need to acquire a power forward, and with dwindling cap space, they may be forced to make a move of desperation, a real Josh Childress/Hakim Warrick-type signing that is nothing more than cheap lipstick on a poor little pig.