After a resounding disappointment of a season marked by discontent, injury, and the firing of a head coach, the Phoenix Suns find themselves in the lottery for the sixth consecutive season. The Suns hold three first-round picks this year, and should have plenty of intriguing options to help balance a relatively lopsided roster.
For years the playoff spots in the Western Conference have been difficult to obtain, something the Phoenix Suns know perhaps better than anyone else. They have missed out on the playoffs six years in a row, but they haven’t been six years of terrible basketball or largely dismal performances. Two of the six seasons Phoenix finished .500 or better, and two other seasons they finished 40-42, and 39-43. Three of the seasons they finished 10th in the West, one other season they finished ninth.
The agony of just missing out on the playoffs is two-fold, as there is the obvious disappointment of not being part of the playoffs, but also the lack of a high-level draft pick. Indeed has been the case for Phoenix, who, despite being in the lottery for six straight years, has only had one first-round pick inside the top-10 (fifth overall in 2013, Alex Len).
In the other four drafts since the drought began, the Suns have had the 13th pick three times, and the 14th pick the other. They have found quality players with most of those picks, Markieff Morris (now departed, but netted them another first from Washington), TJ Warren, and Devin Booker, but, although you could make an argument for Booker, none of those players have the ceilings or star-level talent of the players consistently taken with the top picks. (Editor’s Note: I’d make the argument for Booker)
But the Suns were not competitive at all this year, as the season-ending injury to Eric Bledsoe coupled with locker room problems (mostly caused by Morris) sent the competitive team of last year down the drain.
On the bright side, they now hold the no. 4 overall pick, in addition to the 13th and the 28th via trades, and have a real chance to add another big piece to a building team.
So who should they pick? It can be risky to go for need over best available talent so early in the draft, but Phoenix’s roster is decidedly guard heavy. The biggest strength of the roster is in their combo guards, led by the semi-young Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, whom the Suns have invested plenty of money, and the rising star shooting guard Devin Booker, the youngest player in the league whose emergence was the lone bright spot in the tail end of Phoenix’s season.
There are a couple talented guards whose talent could match the value of the fourth pick, such as Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray, but with how much talent and money the Suns have invested at the guard spots (plus how poorly the Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, Isiah Thomas trio worked out) it doesn’t make much sense to add another player with similar skill-sets to the three they already have on the team.
Where the Suns could really use a talent upgrade is in the front court. The departure of Markieff Morris was certainly good for the overall team chemistry, but there really aren’t any long-term answers at the forward positions with the players already on the team. Mirza Teletovic was a solid veteran shooter this year, but he is a free agent this summer and will likely move to a more competitive team. PJ Tucker has been a Suns player for four seasons and has been solid for them every year, but the 31-year-old is obviously not a player in Phoenix’s future plans. Third-year forward TJ Warren is worth holding onto, as he carved out a solid bench role as a scorer last season, and Jon Leuer is still an intriguing rotation player, but beyond them the Suns have nothing going for them, which is why the best bet for them is to add any of a few talented forwards that could be available and would be exciting additions to this squad.
Dragan Bender
The best name in the draft also belongs to one of the best prospects in the draft. Bender is also the youngest player in the draft, born in November of 1997. Currently playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, Bender is a unique player, standing at 7-1 with a 7-2 wingspan and only weighing 216 pounds. One of the biggest positives you hear about him is his basketball intelligence. He has a passing ability well beyond the normal range of a 7-1 player, and Bender is certainly comfortable with the ball in his hands. His impressive shooting range gives him a lot of offensive versatility, and his size and build projects him to be a plus defender that can add a lot of rim protection. He still needs plenty of development time, as he hasn’t even been seeing a lot of minutes with Maccabi, but Bender’s potential and skill-set could fit right in with the Phoenix Suns.
Jaylen Brown
Out of the University of California, Jaylen Brown is the physical prototype for what NBA teams look for in a small forward. He is 6-7 with an impressive 7-1 wingspan, and adds incredible athleticism, speed, and leaping ability to the equation to create a human being that is not easily matched by other human beings. Brown’s athleticism and physical tools are the most exciting aspect of his package, as he has all the potential to become an All-Star caliber wing. But he won’t enter the league at that level by a large margin. Brown was an excellent shooter from all ranges in high school, but his numbers from all over the floor dropped in his one year at Cal. And while his speed and aerial attack gives him strong slashing abilities, his handle was shaky all year and led to loads of turnovers in the paint. There was an overall lack of consistency in Brown’s play this year, but that is not uncommon with 18-year-old college players. His size and strength gives him plenty of defensive potential. He has the right blend of tools to become a premier ball-stopper in the NBA, and Brown could eventually have the ability to play anywhere from the 2-spot all the way to a small-ball 4. Adding the Cal product to the ranks would give Phoenix another athletic specimen and help form the foundation for a team that can easily out-run and out-jump almost everyone.
Marquese Chriss
Marquese Chriss is this year’s out-of-nowhere who-is-this-guy prospect that makes a late surge into being one of the top draft prospects. Unlike Bender and Brown, Chriss was not a heralded prospect coming into his first year of draft eligibility, but he made a name for himself at the University of Washington this year. At 6-9 with a 7-0 wingspan, Chriss projects mostly as a power forward, but his solid shooting stroke (35 percent from three) gives him the versatility to exceed as three or a stretch-four. Like Brown, Chriss is a naturally gifted athlete, showing off his explosiveness and control all season long. He also doesn’t have the strongest dribbling abilities, but his quickness enables him to attack defenders and get to the basket. Chriss isn’t much of a passer, and he is surprisingly an extremely poor rebounder, a very legitimate concern for how he will translate to the NBA. Similarly to Brown, he has all the tools needed to excel as a defender, but Chriss didn’t put it together on that end at Washington very much. Chriss has been seen as a late-lottery pick for the last few weeks, but Draft Express recently mocked him to the Celtics with the third pick, meaning his athleticism and potential may also wind up in Phoenix come draft night.
The Suns are surely evaluating many more players to consider with the fourth pick, but these three are the ones I would give the strongest look to if I were in the organization. All three address positions of need, while also bringing plenty of talent, tools, youth, potential, and value to the team. If any of these three are announced as the fourth overall pick by Commissioner Adam Silver, the Phoenix Suns will be welcoming another exciting addition to follow next season.
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