Don’t expect the Suns to trade away their pick in the run-up to the 2018 rookie draft. By the end of the week, they will have exercised their pleasure and privilege to select first overall from a deep class that has big men crowding the top. It will be a unique opportunity for them; since joining the National Basketball Association in 1968, choosing second was their best experience. To underscore their luck — or lack thereof — in the endeavor, it bears nothing that, a year after their inception, they were on the losing side of a coin toss that gave the Bucks the opportunity to spread the welcome mat for Lee Alcindor, and they had to settle for Neal Walk, with due respect far from a Hall of Famer.
This time around, the Suns figure to claim Deandre Ayton, whose standout showing at the Pac-12 Conference and burgeoning potential in the NBA are best highlighted by the lucrative sneaker deal he just inked with Jay-Z-headed Puma Basketball. Clearly, they believe in their capacity to transition him to the rigors of the pro game, never mind his questionable defensive skills. That said, he’s a more conservative option compared to, say, Luka Doncic, whose relative youth and experience away from organized competition in the United States discount otherwise-stellar numbers in European leagues.
No doubt, the Suns’ preference for Ayton is influenced by the “buts” of other high-echelon candidates. Outside of Doncic, there are Michael Porter, Jr. (health issues), Jaren Jackson, Jr. (mediocre stats), Mohamed Bamba (iffy stamina), and Marvin Bagley (tweener projections). Meanwhile, others will be using the same information to leverage their prime positions in the draft to trade undesirable contracts away or, conversely, plan for moving up.
All told, the 2018 Draft promises to ramp up speculation on the upcoming season. In an era where star power is exuded by long-familiar names, the injection of eminently capable new blood figures ensures that the principal product won’t be going stale anytime soon.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
