It appears that the Phoenix Suns will stay in the No. 1 spot in the 2018 NBA Draft after all. Last week, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough appeared on ESPN2 during the NBA Draft combine and let it be known that the team was open to doing just about anything with the pick, whether it be sit there and select someone or move it for an established player.
But McDonough changed his tune and appears set on having to choose between Deandre Ayton or Luka Doncic atop the draft. McDonough spoke to the media after the team held a pre-draft workout and basically said that, after surveying the landscape, it’s hard to see them moving the No. 1 pick.
“It would have to be a young, proven star player with multiple years on his contract, multiple years of team control,” McDonough said, according to USA TODAY Sports. “Once you start whittling down the list, that list probably shrinks to a handful of players if not fewer players than that. So I think the overwhelming likelihood is that we keep the pick. However, we’re open, if those teams call us or we call them. But as of now obviously we’re planning on keeping it.”
Perhaps McDonough is bluffing, but he is right that the list of “young, proven star player with multiple years on his contract” is extremely short. With that in mind, it makes sense to just take someone and develop them, hoping that they can turn into the young star they covet.
(Via USA TODAY Sports)
