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Welcome to the weekly news roundup of your Phoenix Suns.
This week the Fantable members do their own mini-mock draft and give their opinions on which teams take which players in the top 10 draft picks. The Celtic/Sixers draft pick swap surprisingly changed the order of who is selected with which pick very little, just who the Sixers and Celtics take at their new draft positions. There's certainly a chance that even more picks may be swapped before draft day gets here on Thursday but for now we'll go with what we've got and give you our Fantable's draft day predictions.
GuarGuar:
1. Sixers - Markelle Fultz
2. Lakers - Lonzo Ball
3. Celtics - Josh Jackson
4. Suns - Jayson Tatum (great offensive upside)
5. Kings - De'Aaron Fox
6. Magic - Dennis Smith Jr (in desperate need of scoring)
7. Timberwolves - Jonathan Isaac (best fit for Isaac IMO)
8. Knicks - Malik Monk
9. Mavericks - Frank Ntilikina
10. Kings - Lauri Markannen (very Kings like pick)
Sun-Arc:
1. Sixers - Markelle Fultz
2. Lakers - Josh Jackson (because in my mock's universe they ultimately like him better than Ball)
3. Celtics - Jayson Tatum (then to Chicago in Butler trade)
4. Suns - Jonathan Isaac (no rattling of PG's for now)
5. Kings - De'Aaron Fox (SAC gets their man without a trade)
6. Magic - Dennis Smith Jr (Magic lost faith in Payton)
7. Timberwolves - Lauri Markkanen (they need a shooting big-man, not a guard)
8. Knicks - Lonzo Ball (surprisingly drops to 8. NYK happy to have him and Lavar doesn’t jump off a cliff as this is a good consolation prize.)
9. Mavericks - Frank Ntilikina (they will probably regret not taking Monk with this pick)
10. Kings - Malik Monk (possibly moved in a trade or kept.)
SDKyle:
1. Sixers - Markelle Fultz
2. Lakers - Lonzo Ball
3. Celtics - Josh Jackson
4. Suns - Jonathan Isaac
5. Kings - De'Aaron Fox
6. Magic - Jayson Tatum
7. Timberwolves - Lauri Markannen - I don't believe Markannen's actually ranks as the 7th best player in this draft, but his fit makes sense in Minnesota.
8. Knicks - Malik Monk
9. Mavericks - Frank Ntilikina - Along the same lines as Markannen, he's being drafted high here but I placed him based on scuttlebutt that the Mavs are in love with his potential.
10. Kings - Zach Collins
SouthernSun:
1. Sixers - Markelle Fultz
2. Lakers - Lonzo Ball
3. Celtics - Josh Jackson
4. Suns - Jayson Tatum *
5. Kings - De'Aaron Fox
6. Magic - Dennis Smith Jr
7. Timberwolves - Jonathan Isaac
8. Knicks - Malik Monk
9. Mavericks - Frank Ntilikina
10. Kings - Lauri Markannen
* Brief justification for Tatum: I know he's not as high as Isaac on a lot of Suns fans draft boards, but I believe he is severely underrated on Bright Side of the Sun. If McDonough has to choose between Tatum and Isaac at #4, I think he's going Tatum. The opportunity to take a player who could be an offensive superstar is too great a chance to pass up. We can find decent defenders in free agency.
Summary:
#1 - To Philadelphia - Markelle Fultz (x4)
#2 - To LA Lakers - Lonzo Ball (x3), Josh Jackson (x1)
#3 - To Boston - Josh Jackson (x3), Jayson Tatum (x1)
#4 - To Phoenix - Jayson Tatum/Jonathan Isaac (2-2 tie)
#5 - To Sacramento - De’Aaron Fox (x4)
#6. - To Orlando - Dennis Smith Jr (x3), Jayson Tatum (x1)
#7 - To Minnesota - Jonathan Isaac/Lauri Markannen (2-2 tie)
#8 - To New York - Malik Monk (x3), Lonzo Ball (x1)
#9 - To Dallas - Frank Ntilikina (x4)
#10 - To Sacramento - Lauri Markannen (x2), Malik Monk (x1), Zach Collins (x1)
Once again many thanks to our Fantable... GuarGuar, Sun-Arc, SDKyle and SouthernSun!:
The Final 1st Round Draft Order?
2. LA Lakers
3. Boston Celtics
4. Phoenix Suns
5. Sacramento Kings
6. Orlando Magic
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
8. New York Knicks
9. Dallas Mavericks
10. Sacramento Kings
12. Detroit Pistons
13. Denver Nuggets
14. Miami Heat
15. Portland Trailblazers
16. Chicago Bulls
17. Milwaukee Bucks
18. Indiana Pacers
19. Atlanta Hawks
20. Portland Trailblazers
22. Brooklyn Nets
23. Toronto Raptors
24. Utah Jazz
25. Orlando Magic
26. Portland Trailblazers
27. Brooklyn Nets
28. Los Angeles Lakers
30. Utah Jazz
We will see as the week progresses.
2016-17 Season Highlights
Suns vs Heat (Jan. 3) - Full Highlights.
Devin Booker's Best Plays from the 2016-17 Season
Quote of the Week
“At the very beginning you start with a super wide net with hundreds of players and it’s a constant narrowing process, kind of like a funnel. We’re kind of reaching the end of the funnel at this point in terms of guys we’ll really consider for our different picks.” - Suns Assistant General Manager Pat Connelly on the Suns' pre-draft workouts.
News & Notes
Report: Suns active in trade chatter as Paul George eyes Lakers. Arizona Sports
The Phoenix Suns should not trade Eric Bledsoe. ISportsWeb
Will Phoenix Suns meet with Lonzo Ball in final days before NBA draft? Doug Haller/AZCentral
Phoenix Suns: 5 options for pick No. 32 in 2017 NBA Draft. Gerald Bourguet/Hoops Habit
Four potential NBA draft-day trades for the Suns. Arizona Sports
Reports: Kings want to trade up in NBA Draft; could Suns be involved? Arizona Sports
What a 3-minute sprint tells the Suns about NBA draft prospects. Doug Haller/AZCentral
Suns Announce Schedule for NBA Summer League 2017. Suns.com
Suns Trivia
Former Sun Ron Lee who played with the Suns for 2 1/2 seasons (1976-77 to 1978-79) is the all-time leader in career per game average in steals for the Suns with 2.17 steals per game. Current Sun Eric Bledsoe is 8th on this list with a 1.58 steals per game average over his four seasons with Phoenix.
Statistics courtesy of Land of Basketball.com.
Suns History in Video
Charles Barkley Offense Highlights 1993 Playoffs
Previewing the Weeks/Months Ahead
Final Pre-draft workouts this week.
Draft date, June 22nd. Live on ESPN starting at 4 pm PT.
Summer League play, July 1st - 17th.
Free Agency begins July 1st.
Last Week's Poll Results
The question was, "How important do you think it is that the Suns get another first round pick in this draft?" The results were:
25% - Very important
68% - It would be nice but it's not a priority
07% - We don't need it.
There were a total of 328 votes cast.
This week's poll is...
Poll
Do you think that the Boston/Philadelphia 1st/3rd draft pick trade was "the first domino" and more 1st rounders will change hands before draft day?
This poll is closed
-
73%
Yes.
-
22%
A few trades could happen but no more top 10 picks will be moved.
-
4%
No.