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Suns and the 6th Pick - The Bol Bol Idea

Unfortunately for Phoenix, we received the 6th overall pick in this year's draft. No Zion or Ja. But, despite getting that pick, the Suns have a lot to consider when it comes down to trading it or keeping it.

Trading the Pick

With Josh Jackson’s recent arrest, I think it’s safe to say he won’t be joining the Suns for the 2019-2020 season. I believe the Suns will look to trade him before his trade value decreases anymore. With that being said, he'll most likely be packaged with the 6th pick to increase any sort of trade-value. TJ Warren / Tyler Johnson might be a part of that as well. Someone had suggested they throw the following offer to the Orlando Magic:

Magic receive: 2019 6th Overall Pick, Josh Jackson, TJ Warren

Suns Receive: 2019 16th Overall Pick, Aaron Gordon

Personally, I like the idea of the trade. I think it can work out decently for both teams. Aaron Gordon is a solid, young player who can help fill the hole in the PF position for Phoenix. Not to mention the 16th overall pick has decent value to it. Notable players drafted at 16 include Nikola Vucevic, Jusuf Nurkic and Terry Rozier. I think it's definitely something to look into.

Another trade people are suggesting is a package centered around Lonzo Ball. I’m not entirely sure if it would be a three-team trade with the Pelicans as well, but I would imagine it would take something along the lines of:

Lakers Receive: 2019 6th Overall Pick, Josh Jackson, Future 1st Round Pick (Milwaukee Pick?)

Suns Receive: Lonzo Ball, Future 2nd Round Pick

Like the Aaron Gordon trade, I’m completely fine with this. I’m a big fan of Lonzo and I think he can bring great playmaking + defense to the Suns backcourt. Zo's shooting of course needs improvement, but when you have Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton on the floor, the Suns offense shouldn’t be a problem to figure out.

The last major trade centered around the 6th pick is for Mike Conley. Of the three possible ideas, this one might be my least favorite. Conley is a great player with great experience, however he's on a pretty big contract at 31 years old. The trade looks something along the lines of:

Grizzlies Receive: 2019 6th Overall Pick, Josh Jackson, Tyler Johnson

Suns Receive: Mike Conley

The trade is still a decent one for both teams as the Grizzlies would get another young talent with the 6th pick, along with Jackson and Johnson who can be alright at times. Suns get an established, veteran PG which they desperately need. Wouldn't be upset with this trade at all.

Keeping the 6th Pick

The Suns of course have the option of keeping the pick. We do know that Phoenix originally stated, "1st, 2nd, or trade," preliminary to the lottery selections, but obviously some scouting on the incoming rookies should and will be done.

Since Ja is out of the book of options, I personally think the Suns should absolutely refrain from taking a PG with the 6th overall pick. I know that might sound crazy but hear me out. Point guards take time to develop. Very rarely will a point guard come into the league and have some immediate impact on a team. Suns shouldn’t want to wait any longer for that. Though Coby White and Darius Garland are super intriguing to look at for the point guard position, I don’t think the Suns should take them for the sake of waiting. Not to mention De’Anthony Melton seems to be a semi-decent point guard who already has a year of experience on the incoming rookies.

Sort of along the lines of players the Suns shouldn’t draft is Jarrett Culver. Like White and Garland, he’s an interesting guy to look at. Definitely has a lot of talent and potential as a player. The fact is, he plays shooting guard. Sure, he’d be a decent addition off the bench behind Booker, but that just isn’t what the Suns need at the moment.

The Bol Bol Idea

You want to know who I love in this draft? Bol Bol. This dude is an absolute animal. He can shoot, post-up, run down the court, grab rebounds and block shots at great efficiency. At 7'2" he would tower over every PF and nearly all centers in the league already. He hustles hard, has a good stroke, and in my opinion, could be a top 3 player in this draft.

Bol Bol did player center at Oregon. But as a young player, he’ll be more than able to adapt to the PF/C position. Having a front court of Deandre Ayton and Bol Bol is a force to be reckoned with. Once Ayton gets more comfortable pulling from three, they could form one of league’s best Twin-Tower duos.

Bol is skinny, but that’s not anything that can’t be changed. Kareem, Dwight Howard and Giannis all came into the league skinny, only to be followed by dominance. Being injury-prone comes with being skinny, but he has the tools to have some immediate impact when he’s healthy and on the court. If you couldn’t tell already, I’m big on Bol Bol.

I highly suggest checking out a video by The Dime Drop on their analysis of Bol. They do a great job getting into Bol’s detail of a player. I'll also link a video of Bol Bol’s highlights from his year at Oregon here.

Let me know in the poll below what you think of trading or keeping the 6th overall pick. Also comment on any other prospects you all are looking at for this draft!