NBA Draft Rumors: Phoenix Suns Could Trade No. 6 Pick For Veteran Point Guard, Per ‘ESPN’


With the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns likely won’t end up with a highly touted prospect at the point guard position like Ja Morant from Murray State, or even Vanderbilt star Darius Garland. With that in mind, it now appears that the Suns might be considering shipping that draft pick to another team and getting a proven veteran point guard in return.

Citing ESPN‘s latest subscriber-only mock draft, Sporting News wrote that Phoenix’s front office has reportedly informed other teams that they are considering trading the sixth overall selection in this year’s draft, which takes place on June 20. As further noted, the Suns had spent most of the 2018-19 season looking for a point guard to team up with star shooting guard Devin Booker, specifically an experienced player that still wouldn’t be too old to play alongside their young core.

“For the most part, our team is all under 22,” Sporting News quoted Suns general manager James Jones as saying in a recent radio interview with Arizona Sports 98.7.

“So, if you try to add someone that’s 33, 34-years-old, it usually just doesn’t work. There’s too big of a gap.”

Although it’s unclear which veteran point guards the Suns are reportedly targeting, Jones also told Arizona Sports 98.7 that he and newly hired head coach Monty Williams are in close contact with each other during the pre-draft process, as both hope to make the right decisions while trying to bolster the point guard position.

As pointed out by Sporting News, there are a few point guards who could be targeted by the Phoenix Suns in the 2019 season. Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley, who turns 32-years-old later this year, is one supposed option, and so is Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers, who has been slowed down by injuries for most of his first two seasons in the NBA. However, USA Today‘s Lonzo Wire wrote that Arizona Sports 98.7’s John Gambadoro recently shut down the Ball rumors, saying that there is “no truth” to the talk of Phoenix possibly moving the No.6 pick to Los Angeles for the 21-year-old point guard.

With 19 wins and 63 losses in the 2018-19 regular season, the Phoenix Suns finished tied for the second-worst record in the entire NBA and, like the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-63) and New York Knicks (15-67), had a league-best 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s Draft Lottery. However, none of those teams ended up with the top two picks in the draft, with the Knicks picking third and the Cavs making their selection at No. 5, one spot ahead of the Suns.

Per Sporting News, the Suns — assuming they don’t trade the pick — are expected to use their No. 6 selection on North Carolina point guard Coby White.

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