The draft lottery balls have bounced their way and the draft order has been set. The only real news stemming from the event was that the Cleveland Cavaliers moved up from the ninth spot to claim the top pick. This shuffle of course meant that every other team slid down one spot from their originally projected slot.
All of this had zero effect on the Phoenix Suns who were slotted in for the 14th overall pick and that is exactly where they will stay. This pick is the Suns third first-round selection in this draft, assuming they keep all the picks, as they also have the 18th and the 27th overall picks.
The Suns appear to be close to breaking through here as they narrowly missed out on the playoffs in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. As a franchise they appear to be on solid ground moving forward as they have a ton of salary cap space to make a play for free-agents and they have their core guys all under contract.
Gerald Green and Eric Bledsoe are currently signed for one more year apiece at $3.5 and $3.7 million respectively. Suffice to say that should their strong play continue through the 2014-15 season both will be in line for significant pay raises. Given the depth in the backcourt it is likely that the Suns trade one of these two rather than commit all the salary cap dollars to backcourt players.
Draft Day Need:
Moving forward the Suns appear to be set in the backcourt as mentioned and they have the duo of Markieff and Marcus Morris in the middle. The weakness here is the small forward and power forward spots as current Sun Channing Frye will likely be leaving the desert in search of a long term contract.
How it is that these so called draft experts have the Suns picking yet another 6’4” two guard here is a bit ludicrous. The Suns don’t need backcourt help, in fact they have a surplus of players who essentially play the same position; adding another and committing guaranteed dollars doesn’t make sense.
Unfortunately for the Suns they might not be able to grab the player they want here and they might end up taking an international prospect. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Suns package their picks here to move up. It is widely speculated that the Sacramento Kings are looking to shop their pick and the Suns would do well in exploring that option.
If the Suns hold their 14th overall pick they would love to grab Aaron Gordon formerly from the University of Arizona. Gordon measured well at the draft combine and demonstrated his explosiveness and athleticism. Given the fact that Gordon is viewed as a guy who can step in and play right away and contribute minutes there is a very good possibility that he comes off the board here before the Suns have a chance to take him.
If Gordon is gone the Suns would do well to turn their attention to a top rated international prospect here. There is a good probability that either Dario Saric or Jusef Nurkic from Croatia will be available here. Saric would make the most sense as he is a versatile two guard who can play a stretch three. He would fit in well with Phoenix’s system of run-and-gun basketball as he can score and create well in transition.