Seriously though... why can't the Suns draft Bronny James?

The NBA Playoffs are in full swing, and the Phoenix Suns continue to watch on from the sidelines having been battered 4-0 by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round. They have moved quick to remedy their situation, firing head coach Frank Vogel and bringing in another veteran with an eye for the offensive side of the game in Mike Budenholzer.

One of the more underrated aspects of getting the new head coach in so soon after dismissing Vogel is the fact he can have his say on the Suns' approach to the draft. Not that the organization has much to decide, as all they have to work with is the 22nd pick.

But after a stellar showing from Bronny James at the Draft Combine the question now has to be asked, why exactly would the Suns not think about drafting him?

This is a conversation that was explored before, but the situation has changed considerably since then. That's because James - who many experts still think may not be drafted at all - had quite the showing at the combine. His vertical leap and catching fire from deep quickly becoming a talking point for all who witnessed it.

Make no mistake, making a few shots alone is not reason to put James above Zach Edey, who is projected to still be available by the time the Suns are picking and who is intriguing for a whole host of other reasons. But this performance did enhance the stock of James, and it also brings two very important factors into play again.

The first is that his father LeBron James could in theory leave the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. It is not expected to happen - and even though the Suns are still not contenders - he has a better chance of winning a title with the Suns than the Lakers as currently constructed. Just like the Suns, the Lakers don't have much roster flexibility to improve either.

Would James take the minimum to play with his son? It's been talked about before, while James could also play with a friend in Kevin Durant who he's never got to chase a championship with. It's unlikely the James family would relocate from Los Angeles but do you know where is close by? Arizona, with Chris Paul's family staying in L.A. while he was a short journey away with the Suns in the past.

Even if drafting James wasn't enough to get his father to consider moving, owner Mat Ishbia could think big picture in consider Bronny. Starting next season, the Suns are going to have a G League team, making them the last franchise in the league to have an affiliate in that league. Wouldn't James be an excellent player to have playing down there, selling tickets and jerseys?

Although many don't want to admit it - basketball is a business - and the prospect of adding James to a G League roster in its first year of existence is certainly an intriguing one. What If LeBron pulled up to a couple of games a year when the Lakers were in town? What if he somehow joined the Suns and spent even more time watching him play? That alone is reason to consider this.

Really though the NBA Draft is a lottery, and to think the Suns can definitely get better value with the 22nd pick is at best optimistic. They certainly have greater needs - a young, cheap and athletic center would be an excellent choice - but last season the team drafted a player in Toumani Camara in the second round who they could have done with during the regular season.

Only they traded Camara to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Nurkic for Deandre Ayton deal, which further proves the point that a player of value can be gotten at every stage of the draft. This century, the franchise have drafted all of the following players before or with the 22nd pick -

Dragan Bender (fourth), Josh Jackson (fourth), Jarrett Culver (sixth), Kendall Marshall (13th), Zarko Cabarkapa (17th) and Casey Jacobsen (22nd). Hard to imagine taking a flyer on James could work out any worse than those selections. If anything his upside might be that bit higher than everybody predicted anyway, with far-reaching implications for the organization if they do go for it.