NBA draft time is here again, and oh what a magical time. Except that it won't be for the Phoenix Suns, and for a couple of reasons. One, this draft, in general, is one of the worst ever. Two, the Suns have a pick near the end of the lottery in the terrible draft.
At pick 13, the team can probably forget about finding a potential star player, or even a someday-starter. Whomever they draft this year is likely to, at best, be a bench rotation player. Of course there is always the possibility that someone will outperform expectations, but given the Phoenix Suns' sketchy draft history in the ‘aughts, I wouldn't count on a diamond in the rough.
Assuming the Suns don't do anything splashy like the rumored Gortat- or Nash-to-Minnesota trades to obtain the number two pick, I see the team going for a big. My personal hope is that they draft Tristan Thompson out of Texas. His offensive game is largely lacking and, because of that, will likely never start next to Gortat, whose offense is also a work-in-progress. However, Thompson is an excellent shot-blocker and rebounder, both offensive and defensive. Rebounding and defense are two things the Suns are not awesome at, so he'll fill a need and have some upside to boot. Another, though safer, forward prospect is Markieff Morris.
An interesting late note regarding the draft has been the slide of Kemba Walker. There's now talk of him possibly being available to the Suns at 13. I'd still rather the team go big, but if they go guard, I prefer Walker to either Jimmer Fredette or Iman Shumpert. But it's all a crapshoot.
More than anything, I'd love to see the Suns make a splash this year. They apparently really love Derrick Williams, so they should go after him hard, considering Minnesota's obviously hates their draft slot. Be aggressive and dream big and other cliches. Gortat would be a nice piece for the future and Nash is a god in Phoenix, but come on -- this team was 40-42 last year; time for a shake-up. In my opinion, Williams is the only player in the draft who has All-Star potential and I would take him first overall if I were Dan Gilbert's nerdy little kid.