The Suns Are Looking At Moving UP In The NBA Draft

The Suns Are Looking At Moving UP In The NBA Draft

um I know if I was the GM with a Phoenix Suns there’s a couple guys that I would be very comfortable taking in the top 10 you mean you think that there’s a possibility that they would trade up to get into the top 10 draft a play or only to turn it around to get somebody different [Music] yeah I’ve been thinking does the option of trading up in the draft actually potentially help fix the Sons more than anything else we’ve looked at getting a young Talent under under contractual control that can help now and build for the future uh moving up higher in the draft I mean it definitely can if there’s somebody that they like in particular and that they don’t think is going to fall all the way to number 22 there are a lot of teams in this draft that you look at and they have multiple picks and if you can find a way to entice them and swap there maybe move up a few spots or or move up even further depending on what you’re willing to give up uh my thing is you you have to know which guy that you really want and they have to be you have to hit on that pick as well because can’t trade up for a guy that doesn’t come in and contribute for you with this team’s window being what it is and doesn’t grow into something longterm that’s really special so I think if you are trading up you got to know exactly what you’re doing and uh you’ve got to really like that player but isn’t the same thing to be said if you stay at 22 you got to hit on that guy to help you out too I mean your percentages technically should be higher if you get into the top 10 of the draft of hitting on a on a good Prospect versus the 22 so yeah if they trade up you damn right they better know who they want man yeah I mean it’s it’s if they trade up and you get into the top 10 you better not take Jaylen Smith again yeah you know what I mean you got I don’t think he’s draft eligible still you got to know what you’re trading up for you have to you’re assuming that there’s not another Jaylen Smith out there oh I’m sure there is another oh there’s there’s probably about 10 Jaylen smiths in this draft so the chances of you running into another one is high un select Jaylen Smith oh man forward South Dakota State yeah no this this is a tricky draft I I I don’t like this draft at the top so I think trading up in this draft is very risky because I still think some of the best talent in this draft is going to be later um I will say I I believe the suns are really looking at significantly moving up in this draft which is an interesting Dynamic um but I also think there’s there’s other ways to look at it that you know is there a possibility of trading up in this draft and then maybe using that leverage or that ammunition to do something else later um that could be a possibility too so there’s a lot of options on the table um I know if I were the GM of the Phoenix Suns there’s a couple guys that I would be very comfortable taking in the top 10 you mean you think that there’s a possibility that they would trade up to get into the top 10 draft a play or only to turn it around to get somebody different yep interesting that’s a lot of work y I mean if you if you can trade up from 22 and maybe move a contract track and then get into the top 10 and there’s a team that loves that pick in the top 10 could you potentially trade back and take two of their picks uh for for one and still get one guy that you really like and maybe somebody that uh a project yeah maybe a project a little more potential so you know could this be a kind of a you know we’re going to sacrifice 22 in a player to potentially be in position to get two picks in this draft and have a better chance of hitting that so yeah I believe there’s a lot of things they’re looking at I believe they they are the moving up there’s a possibility to stay where they are and I think they’re intrigued also with the possibility of moving back so I mean I do like the fact that from what I’m hearing no rocks on turn they they’re looking at everything and they’re not rolling anything out which is why you can’t ignore T this draft because I believe they could be in position to get one of these guys I would say that the Suns would have a better chance of trading up in the draft if they are not offering 22 but instead they’re offering 2031 because you would think that somebody that wants to move out of this draft is just not in love with any of the prospects as much um so they’re willing to trade but trading within the same draft probably doesn’t make sense so like I would think that TW that 2031 pick would be more well you know Expendable what if you’re a team that’s around 9 to 12 and you have come to the conclusion that I’ve come to that some of the best players are going to fall to 18 to 24 and you’re saying you know what if you’re willing to give me a player that’s on your roster right now that I like that fits my system and I can still get a guy that I like down the road it’s a win-win for me instead of just sitting at eight and selecting a guy because because I think a lot of GMS in this spot the one thing they don’t want to do which I I can’t stand I I can’t fathom why people think this way but um you hear the word reach all the time and they’re terrified of at8 taking the guy that they love because the draft board has him at 18 like if you love a guy take him James Jones has no problem doing that James Jones doesn’t and I don’t and I actually that’s that’s listen if you’re it matters how it ends up playing out cam Johnson was a reach and then if you redo that draft it wasn’t a reach now Jaylen Smith was a miss right but I actually I lean towards the guy that’s willing to do that I don’t like guys that just stick to a board and say well yeah I’m I like this guy more but I I like Saul more but I’m gonna take Gerald because Gerald on all the draft boys is ranked higher like as a basketball evaluator that [ __ ] bothers me cuz I’m like yo just take the guy that you think is your guy so I I I agree with that I also think though that if you like you’ve been talking about if you can trade back and still get the guy that you love and maybe pocket an extra asset like you have to be able to read the room in terms of like do these guys think that he’s as high because if these guys behind me don’t think that this guy is that guy and they’re not interested in him I can get him for later and you don’t want to that team if you’re trading up but you do want be the team like yeah this guy is a sure thing we know that we have to sacrifice something to get this guy um because we’ve talked about some guys that are probably going to go in the top 10 or the top you know the lottery probably not going to be there when the suns are on the board but if they could find a way to get some of these guys yeah it might be worth it in the other problem is I I I get what you’re saying Flex about you know if a team identifies a player on the Suns that they would like to be able to take in a trade because it makes them instantly a little bit better than relying on a draft pick but the suns are kind of in the similar position where they can’t really sacrifice um players that can contribute at a high level so your window is kind of narrowed to about two or three dudes on this on this roster right now that you don’t feel confident can contribute at a high level that maybe another team might so you’re looking at naier little you’re looking at nerk maybe Royce O’Neal if he gets signed beforehand you can’t trade him though trade you can’t trade Grayson either so like there that’s basically it just those two guys just the usual suspects if’ yeah and so like that’s that’s kind of a um a hope in the clouds for sure I’d deal 20 22 and then the 2031 pick because to me what has everybody said you need to get younger you need to find a cheap talent that can help you but you also have to have an eye to the future if you can get the right guy say you wind up in that 9 to 12 range that you said or even higher whatever and you have a guy that you feel like could be a quality bench player now and grow into a guy that could either be that next Generation to be next to Devin Booker or be an asset that that you can then trade come 2026 to find that next guy when a Kevin Durant’s gone or and a Andor a Bradley Beal’s gone I think that’s the kind of calculated move you can make because you’re not finding that guy in a vet minimum you’re not finding that guy in a trade for naszi or little like this is that’s the calculated risk I think that you can take this off season that we haven’t really discussed to try to find that talent because you’ve backed yourself into a corner we’ve made that very clear with our veteran minimum Mondays and our trade machine Tuesdays and you brought Matt telman to try to get creative this may be the one loophole in in your CBA second a is to try to find that guy on a controllable contract that you believe in it’s also this is why when everybody talks about like when we talk about trades in like really the last couple days and last couple weeks every time we’ve talked about trades I swear I see the same comment about oh you’re just gonna manage you’re just gonna leverage the future for right now and blah blah blah I’m like no guys like listen this is the NBA I maybe Devin Booker does but he’s probably the one out of everybody else on that roster eventually these dudes are either going to be gone in free agency or they’re going to be traded like that’s just the reality of the business so you’re going to get back some draft Capital at at a certain point you know if if if the Suns don’t get very far in the playoffs this year you’re looking at you know a couple different scenarios where you might have to trade some some key ass assets right now for draft Capital uh coming up and so I I don’t look at it as every you have to think about these things as draft picks and players they’re all in one category they’re all assets and so whether you have one or the other doesn’t really matter because at some point you’re going to swap one for the other too right and uh it’s just how many can you get that’s the difference as you know you’re not gonna get four picks for KD right like those are things that are going to change yeah um if you if you know as you move forward no and and another thing about this theory of moving up or moving back when I look at this I say if if I’m moving up if I’m the Phoenix Suns in the position I am in financially contract actually draft pick wise if I’m moving up in this draft to get into that 8 to 12 range um I am not worried about positional fit I’m taking the best player best player on best player you feel not not based on boards just the guy you think is is the guy that’ll become a yes best basketball player and that’s what Sacramento did when they took Tyrese halber knowing they had dearon Fox there and he turned Tyrese halberton into damont sabonis right that’s what the Philadelphia 76ers did when they took Tyrese Maxi with James Harden right in front of him like sometimes that’s what the Phoenix sons did when they took Devin Booker with Eric blo and Brandon Knight in front of him like I don’t get locked into well we need a backup center so we’re going to move up and take a backup center that like take the best basketball player let the cookie crumble basketball has a way of working itself out and if you take a player that necessarily maybe he’s a guard and you’re looking and you’re like I got Deon Booker and Brad be why would I take this guard well you take that damn are because that guy’s going to show the potential he has eventually and may put you in a position to go get a better player down the road if you package him in the deal so for my liking if the Suns move up I’m I’m saying go get a go get a basketball player regardless of position yeah and they have needs at in the back court they have needs on the wing they have needs at the center spot so it’s not like you have a specific draft need for this team the needs for this team are everywhere right now true so you can I this is why with this draft especially we’ve talked about this before there are a lot of players that we feel like the best player in this draft probably it might not come from the top 10 it might come from the teens or the 20s or something there’s still going to be role players available that can help you so for me I feel like sitting at 22 you’re in a good spot and if you need to trade up there are a couple of teams that have multiple picks in this draft that you can kind of Target or even if you want to move down like Utah has number 10 but they also have 29 and 32 so like you have some flexibility there depending on how draft Knight is shaking out to get a player that can help you at any position so for me like trading up I worry about attaching that 2031 pick unless it like the proof is going to be in the pudding if you do that the guy that you get better be a fixture in your organization for years to come uh because otherwise you just lost a first rounder to move up in a draft that is not as star heavy as most drafts

On the latest PHNX Suns Podcast, the crew discusses the pros and cons of the Phoenix Suns potentially trading up from the No. 22 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

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