The Suns already have their own Top-4 pick as well as Miami’s #16 overall pick in this year’s draft as partial compensation for the Goran Dragic trade in 2015.
But they won’t be adding a third first round pick as a result of the Eric Bledsoe deal.
The Suns lost on a random drawing this afternoon, which allows the Bucks to keep their pick - now #17 - in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Phoenix will instead receive Milwaukee’s first round pick in either 2019, 2020 or 2021.
When the Suns negotiated the Bledsoe trade, each team added their own level or protection to Milwaukee’s pick.
Milwaukee wanted top-of-the-draft protection, and got it in the form of Top-10 protection this year, Top-3 protected next year and Top-7 protected in 2020.
The Suns wanted to make sure the pick didn’t drop too far in the first round if they could help it, adding bottom-14 protection in each of the next two years.
That means the Suns could only get Milwaukee’s pick in 2018 if it landed in the 11-16 range this year, or 4-16 range in 2019 or 8-30 in 2020. If it hadn’t conveyed by then, the pick would be entirely unprotected in 2021 (same year Miami’s is unprotected).
When Miwaukee tied with Miami at 44-38, they straddled the #16 and #17 picks, which has forced a random drawing today to see exactly which team got #16 and which team got #17.
If Miami draws the #16 pick, then the Suns get that pick and then Milwaukee gets to keep and draft the #17 pick for themselves this year.
If Milwaukee draws the #16 pick, then the Suns get BOTH the Milwaukee pick at #16 AND the Miami pick at #17.
Miami won, so the Suns lost.
Milwaukee will keep their #17 pick.
Still, the Suns have two first round picks this year, and now two in either 2019 or 2020, as well as two in 2021 (the Dragic trade). That’s a lot of ammo for trades.
I’ll say again what I said yesterday: The Suns didn’t want three first round picks this year. In fact, they don’t even want the same number of young players as THIS year, let alone adding three more.
The Suns will parlay several assets into either better, but fewer, prospects and/or in-their-prime veterans.
Now use these assets wisely, Ryan!