Phoenix controls two late second-round picks (Nos. 52 and 59) in tonight’s draft, and John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 says he “would not be surprised” if the Suns try to move up by packaging those selections and perhaps sweetening the pot by adding a future second-rounder (Twitter link).
If the Suns do move up, they would be targeting a specific player they think could play rotation minutes, Gambo adds.
Phoenix had a busy first round last night, selecting Duke center Khaman Maluach at No. 10 and agreeing to trade Vasilije Micic, the No. 29 pick (Liam McNeeley was later selected), and a 2029 first-rounder with least favorable language to the Hornets for Mark Williams.
The Suns have made multiple trades with the Hornets in recent months, and Charlotte is reportedly open to offers on either the 33rd or 34th pick. However, it’s unclear if the package mentioned by Gambadoro would appeal to the Hornets.
The Raptors (No. 39), Warriors (No. 41) and Thunder (No. 44) are also willing to move their second-rounders, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, who reported that Minnesota was taking calls on No. 31 as well.
Suns owner is destroying the team. Instead of saving picks for the future to rebuild the club they are just trying to be a playoff team against much better teams.
The 2029 pick they traded away is almost guaranteed to be in the 20s. The hornets just got .75 cents on the dollar from the laker deal earlier in the season.
The more I look at the reports the more I like what they did last night. Be curious to see if they target a PG or PF if they can move up.
Trading for a center then drafting a center at 10??????
A guy that helps you get better right now in Williams and a high upside project yeah. Mark williams helps them win game next year far more than the 29 pick in the draft does and now Maluach is relied on the be the starting center at 19 years old. The suns had zero bigs and now they have 48 minutes worth of good Center play. That’s an improvement on game one if next year and if maluach progresses it’s good for the future.
> The Suns had zero bigs and now they have 48
> minutes worth of good Center play.
Hopefully in a few years, but the C position will be a weakness for the Suns this season.
1) We’ve never seen 19 year C play at an over-average NBA level, especially in his rookie year. Maluach has a lot of potential, but he’s a few years away. He struggled mightily against good competition in the NCAA tourney. The Suns will work him in slowly.
2) Mark Williams is an under-average starting NBA Center at this point in his career, which is why the Hornets could get so little in return for him. He can score, but he’s a huge liability defensively.
Bro did you watch the suns play last year. They were 27th in defense at the rim and 32nd in finishing at the rim. Quite literally anything is better than what they had. I agree with the 19 year part but there is a reason a lot of draft experts said the suns are one of the biggest winners in the draft to get Maluach at No. 10.
I’m just glad they took him if he was the best player available. Former Suns GMs have passed on a ton of great players because they drafted position over best available.
Yeah, I’m a Warriors fan so I saw the Suns a lot…
Agreed. The Suns had awful C play last year using vets.
They’ll also have awful C play this year, but at least these young guys should get better over future years. That’s why you can say the Suns had a good draft.