If the Phoenix Suns have one thing heading into next month’s NBA draft, it’s options.
General manager Ryan McDonough holds the keys to the fourth and 13th picks as the franchise looks to turn the page on a terribly disappointing 2015-16 season which netted few bright spots outside of last year’s first round pick Devin Booker who was recently selected as an All-Rookie first-team member.
Phoenix is stockpiled with point guards, headlined by Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, both of which are coming off season-ending injuries.
There’s no chance McDonough and head coach Earl Watson would clutter their backcourt after the Isaiah Thomas/Goran Dragic/Bledsoe fiasco is there?
Maybe not but one college basketball analyst believes a point guard may be the best player on the board if Phoenix doesn’t trade out of the fourth spot.
“I think Kris Dunn is the third-best prospect,” CBS college basketball analyst Doug Gottlieb told Sports360AZ.com’s Brad Cesmat recently. “He’s got some John Wall to him. Long, crazy fast athlete who’s a tremendous passer.”
Gottlieb is well aware of the Suns crowded, expensive backcourt but believes adding the long six-four, 205-pound former Providence star and potentially moving either Bledsoe or Knight would not only help improve the roster but team chemistry, as well.
“I loved getting Devin Booker,” Gottlieb said. “I think he’s going to be your starting small forward or shooting guard…for years to come. The things he doesn’t do well are the things Kris Dunn does well. Can you package some of the other pieces around to acquire a guy who’s a [center]? Can you move some salaries around to sign a [center]? All the while fixing your chemical missteps in how you built this team.”
He described the Suns’ current mis-matched roster as a “jigsaw puzzle.”
Here’s hoping Phoenix puts the pieces together quickly.
