Suns fall to No. 6 in 2019 NBA Draft as Pelicans take home the big prize in the lottery

Well, that didn’t go as expected.

The Phoenix Suns entered the lottery tied for the best odds for the top pick and fell all the way down to No. 6. Unfortunately, that was the most likely scenario all along.

After winning the NBA Draft Lottery for the first time in their franchise history last year obtaining Deandre Ayton, the opposite luck struck Phoenix on Tuesday night.

All of the sudden, we have to ask where the Suns go from here.

Will they stay at No. 6, where the prospects really aren’t anything to pound the table over? Names like Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Darius Garland (Vanderbilt) and Coby White (North Carolina) could intrigue them, but does it move the needle during an important offseason where everything has to go right?

Maybe instead, they aggressively hit the phone lines. Memphis finishing behind the Pelicans up top means Mike Conley might be on the way out. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday seems to be staying put now with possibly Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis as his teammates long-term in the Bayou.

Fire up your best trade suggestions, because the Suns ended up nowhere close to securing the rights to Williamson or Morant — or even RJ Barrett or Jarrett Culver.

With this scenario unfolding, it will truly test the Suns’ front office with James Jones leading at GM for the first time. Time to find out where the chips fall between now and free agency.

Below are the full lottery results:

1. New Orleans Pelicans (+6)
2. Memphis Grizzlies (+6)
3. New York Knicks (-2)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (+7)
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (-3)
6. Phoenix Suns (-3)
7. Chicago Bulls (-3)
8. Atlanta Hawks (-3)
9. Washington Wizards (-3)
10. Atlanta Hawks (via Dallas Mavericks) {-1}
11. Minnesota Timberwolves (-1)
12. Charlotte Hornets (-)
13. Miami Heat (-)
14. Boston Celtics (via Sacramento Kings) {-}