3 biggest needs of the Suns with the 22nd pick in NBA Draft

Despite making huge trades to acquire both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in the last 18 months, the Phoenix Suns still have the 22nd pick in this year's NBA Draft. This might not seem like much - certainly the organization has whiffed on players with much high selections plenty of times this century - but this is a unique opportunity.

The franchise are in cap sheet hell, with the max contracts of Durant, Beal and Devin Booker making roster improvement extremely difficult through trades this summer. The new CBA punishing the Suns even further for going through the second apron when it comes to paying a penalty tax for assembling such an expensive collection of talent.

This draft pick then can come in on a cheap deal, and make the rotation that bit younger in the process.

But what kind of player should the Suns go for? Already the case has been made for Bronny James - who had a stellar showing at the first NBA Combine event - although that would be as much about selling G League tickets and flirting with the prospect of adding LeBron James than anything else.

It also helps that this draft is being spoken about as the weakest since 2013, because there is no pressure on the Suns to go with any one player who may be available come draft night. Not that there's much pressure in using the 22nd pick anyway, but these are the three areas that require the most attention and therefore should be looked at once the Suns' name is called.

3. Point Guard

The point guard position may seem like the biggest need for the Suns this summer - and in a lot of ways it is - but there is one very good reason that it does not top this list. There's no doubt that if the team could get a player like Devin Carter (a player whose stock is likely rising away from the 22nd pick), then it would be an interest prospect for the Suns to do so.

But point guards typically take some time to adjust to the level required to perform every night in the NBA, outside of the true superstars who hit the ground running. A good example of seeing this in action is in both Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black of the Orlando Magic.

Suggs is thought of more as an off-guard anyway, but it took him nearly two years to find his place in the league. Not as an initiator, but as the defensive stopper for the Magic. Black just had an average rookie season and couldn't get near the Magic's playoff rotation in their seven game series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

All of which is to say, the Suns should be looking at veteran options in free agency to add a point guard to their roster. Something they desperately need, but getting a young player to run the show for Booker, Durant and Beal would be a massive risk. Not unless the player in question was a can't miss selection to be in place for the next decade, and they definitely won't be.