Phoenix Suns 2019 offseason plans Part 1: The Draft

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Rui Hachimura Phoenix Suns (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Power Forward Plan of Attack

What then if the Phoenix Suns targeted a power forward?

If the offseason emphasis is on the acquisition of a point guard to guide the offense, then while drafting a point guard might land them someone who is might only be capable of doing so in several years (if he ever even pans out), why not instead focus all available offseason funds on the best available point guard and use the draft to improve power forward?

Truth be told, a good point guard makes his teammates better.

Obviously the Phoenix Suns are a prime example of this most recently when they employed Steve Nash.

Not one single player left the Suns following their tenure in Phoenix and had better careers than the ones they had with Nash.

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Quentin Richardson is a prime example.

A good player with the Clippers, he became a 3-point savant in his one season in Phoenix, only to fall off the face of the NBA planet beginning the following year.

A good point guard can get up the court quickly; handle the ball (at least) above average; draw defensive attention away from teammates with good driving and shooting skills themselves; know where an open shooter will be at all times; and find their post players and cutters for easy buckets.

If Phoenix signed or traded for an above average veteran point guard, then a rookie power forward (even with developing skills) will have better immediate results than a rookie point guard with minimal skills and a good power forward (consider how difficult it was for point guard Elie Okobo and De’Anthony Melton to find Deandre Ayton in the post last season. Ayton is better than his stats implied, but no one could get him the ball).

It would be easy for fans to reject this plan right now because of the failed 2016 draft in which Ryan McDonough selected two failed power forwards in Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss.

However the past should not be a reason to ignore such a possibility in the present.

James Jones will not be drafting Bender or Chriss, or even Nash in 2019. He must trust his scouts, trust his own instincts, and select the best available player.

Strategically though, making sure that the best available player is a power forward then focusing all other assets on acquiring the best available point guard in trade or free agency might be their best bet at a quicker turnaround.

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