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Who should the Phoenix Suns draft?
- Updated: May 30, 2013
General Manager Ryan McDonough knows he’s got his work cut out for him.
The new Suns boss was hired on May 7, and before he even became acclimated with his new parking space at US Airways Center, he had to hire a coach (welcome Jeff Hornacek), and begin scouting for his first draft as an NBA G.M.
So far, so good.
For the first time since 1987, the Suns have a top-five pick (No. 5 overall), and McDonough, who served as assistant G.M. in Boston last season, seems to know this draft like the back of his hand.
“I’ve been studying these guys closely for a number of years now,” he said. “I’ve watched some of them in high school and through their college years. I’ve been over to Europe probably ten times over the last two or three years scouting players.”
New Suns GM Ryan McDonough says Phoenix will take the best player available. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
“I feel like I have a pretty good idea who they are.”
Suns fans sure hope so. Not only does Phoenix own the No. 5 pick, but the Suns will also choose at No. 30 and No. 57.
The team struggled through a 25-57 campaign last year, the franchise’s worst record since its inaugural season in 1968-69.
The Suns were porous on defense, finishing 26th in the league in points allowed (101.6). They weren’t much better offensively, putting up just 95.2 points per game, which ranked 21st in the NBA.
McDonough believes that there aren’t any franchise-altering players in this year’s draft, but says that there are plenty of guys who can help the Suns immediately.
One such player may be Lehigh guard CJ McCollum, who has been rising up draft boards despite suffering a season-ending foot injury in January. McCollum is a prodigious scorer (23.9 ppg) who has drawn comparisons to Blazers point guard and reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard.
Though he played in only 12 games before getting injured, McCollum shot a ridiculous 51.6% from three-point range last season. The 6-3 guard could help the Suns spread the floor offensively and give more room for Marcin Gortat and Luis Scola to work inside.
Georgetown swingman Otto Porter could still be around when the Suns pick at No. 5. Porter is a do-everything small forward who can score and facilitate equally well. He’s got the requisite size (6-8) to be an effective 3 in the pros and was a good rebounder in college, averaging a team-leading 7.4 boards per game.
McCollum could be a good choice for the Suns at No. 5. (Lehigh Athletics)
Also in play are UNLV big man Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo. Bennett is a powerful, athletic 4 who had scouts drooling even before he arrived in Las Vegas. He has shown cat-like quickness on the interior and was a matchup problem because he’s strong enough to push past smaller defenders and quick enough to blow by bigger ones.
Oladipo was a National Player of the Year candidate and stood out at Indiana because of his defense and athleticism. The 6-4 guard did a little bit of everything for the Hoosiers, averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
While Phoenix could use some help on the wing, McDonough says that he won’t select players based on positional needs. “My general draft philosophy has always been to take the best player available,” he said. “We’re not going into it looking for a certain position type. We’re going into it with an open mind.”
Many draft experts believe that Kentucky center Nerlens Noel and Kansas guard Ben McLemore will almost certainly be among the first players chosen, but McDonough doesn’t see it that way.
“One of the difficult things about picking in the 5-slot is figuring out who’s going to be available,” he said. “A lot of years, you’d say, this guy isn’t going to be there…that guy’s definitely not going to be there. That’s not the case this year,” he said.
“We’ll prepare for everybody.”
While the Suns may enter the draft with an open mind, McDonough says that by the time the team goes on the clock, he’ll know exactly where they are going with their first-round pick.
“At the end of the day, we’ll have 8-10 guys that we’ll really target in on,” said Suns G.M. Ryan McDonough. “If we stick at five, four of them will be gone, and then we’ll pick the guy that we think is the best.”
With its two later selections, McDonough believes the Suns can still find value.
“If you look at the history of the draft, there are usually good players selected at the end of the first round and somewhere in the second round. Maybe not a whole lot of them, the percentages aren’t as good, but there have been examples,” he said.
“All it takes is one, and hopefully we can find that guy.”
Some of the players currently slotted for the late-first round are Miami point guard Shane Larkin, San Diego State shooting guard Jamaal Franklin, and national scoring leader Erick Green, who played the 2-guard at Virginia Tech.