Could Suns Make Move Into First Round of NBA Draft?
The 2023 NBA Draft is here, and there's plenty of storylines to follow despite the No. 1 pick having been locked and sealed for awhile.
The San Antonio Spurs will be taking France's Victor Wembanyama when festivities get underway at 4:30 PM PST later today, though the following picks after that are still very much up for grabs.
Will the Charlotte Hornets take Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller? Will the Portland Trail Blazers stay put at No. 3 or will Damian Lillard finally be moved after years of speculation?
Storylines will naturally emerge, and though the Phoenix Suns don't exactly have much wiggle room to make a splash after working out a deal to land Bradley Beal (which has yet to be finalized), they could very well make a move into the first round tonight.
Bleacher Report believes that should be their goal, however.
"The Phoenix Suns' second-round loss to the Nuggets exposed a pretty significant lack of depth. The Suns were minus-57 over the six games, and their two single-digit wins required 158 points and 61.3 percent shooting from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant," wrote Andy Bailey.
"Those two need more help, particularly on the wings (where the Suns' depth was crippled by the KD trade). And trades involving Chris Paul or Deandre Ayton could get the team into the first round. Right now, Phoenix's only pick is No. 52."
With the Beal trade, the Suns could potentially have swapped second-round picks with Washington, which would put them at pick 56 - four spots down. Phoenix doesn't have their first-round pick thanks to their trade with the Brooklyn Nets that netted them Kevin Durant.
The Suns have been looking to move Deandre Ayton in what feels like forever, though Phoenix may be more intent on adding role players who can contribute right away considering all of their chips are pushed into the middle of the table with moves made the last six months.
Phoenix has shown they'll make whatever moves they deem necessary to put themselves in a position to win, and that could potentially involved a draft-night trade to move into the first round.
At minimum, the Suns will be a team to monitor, especially outside of the lottery.
