When the Phoenix Suns opened for business on the morning of the 2019 NBA Draft, the world was their oyster. They entered draft day armed with the No. 6 overall pick, a high second-rounder in No. 32, and salary-cap wiggle room. But by the close of business on Thursday night, the Suns’ once bright outlook dimmed to an all-time low.
The Suns have one job: build around Devin Booker. They’re failing miserably
Their sequence of moves during the 2019 NBA Draft made absolutely no sense.
The league’s second-longest playoff drought does not appear to be ending any time soon. Phoenix general manager James Jones and president Jeff Bower dug themselves into a hole, and unless they know something about the roster they’re constructing that the rest of the world doesn’t, there appears to be no pathway to emerge in a better place than where they started.
Each move Phoenix made on draft night was more disappointing than the last
First, they traded T.J. Warren and pick No. 32 to Indiana for nothing in return, choosing to sacrifice that pick to dump Warren’s salary. But Warren is not some overpaid scrub. He’s a 43 percent three-point shooter who has averaged about 19 points per game over the past two seasons, and is on a decent contract that’ll pay him $35 million over the next three years. The Pacers should be laughing at the Suns, the same way the Clippers laughed after trading Mike Muscala to the Lakers for promising young center Ivica Zubac.
The Suns ostensibly traded Warren to create cap space. At this point, they had $22.8 million in room, even accounting for the cap hold of restricted free agent Kelly Oubre. Maybe they knew something we didn’t. Or, maybe they had too much dip on their chip.
The latter is feasible, because things spiraled out of control shortly thereafter.
Phoenix moved down from the No. 6 pick, trading it to Minnesota for No. 11 and Dario Saric. Saric is a versatile, OK basketball player. He has decent court vision and is a streaky shooter from three. But Saric will also become a restricted free agent next summer, meaning he’ll either be due a raise or leave after one season.
The Wolves adeptly selected Jarrett Culver, the most versatile player in the draft after Zion Williamson, at No. 6. The Suns, meanwhile, overreached and took North Carolina’s Cam Johnson at 11.
Johnson was my sleeper pick in this year’s draft class, so long as he landed on a playoff team. He is a superior shooter with a lightning-quick trigger, someone who moves well without the ball and has sneaky defensive instincts. I’m happy for him, especially after seeing how hard Johnson’s North Carolina teammate and seventh-overall pick Coby White cheered upon hearing the selection.
But Phoenix is not a playoff team, and “sleeper” suggests a player picked much lower in the draft than this. There are insinuations that Bower drafted Johnson in part because he lost him in a recruiting battle while coaching at Marist College. Johnson will also be 28 by the end of his rookie contract, another head-scratching decision when you consider the Suns could have had Culver or Cam Reddish at No. 6, or a number of other higher-touted prospects at No. 11.
Somehow, the Suns’ night got even more confusing
After creating cap space in the Warren trade, the Suns sent Milwaukee’s 2020 first-round pick to Boston for pick No. 24 and Aron Baynes. Baynes is a solid veteran backup big man, but he is on the hook for $5.4 million next year. (There are conflicting reports about Baynes’ future in Phoenix, but he could be bought out).
When you consider the Suns must also pay No. 24 pick, Ty Jerome, about $2.2 million (20 percent of the rookie scale), that $22.8 million they created by trading Warren for nothing shrunk to $13.2 million. Forget about D’Angelo Russell. Can the Suns even afford Ish Smith?
The Suns have one job at this point, and they’re failing
Their only job is to prove they are competent enough to build something of significance around Devin Booker, the best player the franchise has employed since Steve Nash. But after an odd night of moves, Year 1 of Booker’s five-year max contract appears to be headed for more of the same.
Phoenix’s roster as it stands still boasts Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, along with last year’s No. 10 pick Mikal Bridges and now Johnson. It no longer features T.J. Warren, but will more than likely include a re-signed Oubre. It has Tyler Johnson for one more season, but did not draft, nor has the cap space to add, an All-Star caliber point guard of the future. It also, for some reason, has Aron Baynes.
Maybe the Suns weren’t actually interested in Russell all along, despite his undeniable ties to their franchise player. But their cap space likely won’t be enough to make a meaningful run at next-tier options like Malcolm Brogdon or Terry Rozier, either. Maybe Phoenix’s master plan is going after Darren Collison, or Ricky Rubio, who’s expected to replace Collison in Indiana. Maybe Phoenix can create more cap space by shedding the salary of underperforming 2017 No. 4 pick Josh Jackson, but that’s unlikely given his recent off-court issues.
Or maybe their plan is to waive and stretch the final season worth $19.2 million on Tyler Johnson’s contract, which could create $13 million more in cap space to go after Russell in free agency. That’s not a bad idea, provided Russell does leave Brooklyn this summer.
Or maybe no matter who’s running the Suns, the story is the same. Can they really go another year without a legitimate point guard to take playmaking duties off of Booker’s shoulders? That was once Ryan McDonough’s job, and he was fired for failing it.
Phoenix had one job, and they are blowing it. How many more missed opportunities until Devin Booker’s had enough?
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