# Suns draft picks this year?



## Petey (Aug 23, 2002)

With the Bulls and Suns pick, whom in the draft that is realistic, you'd like to see become a Sun?

-Petey


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## tempe85 (Jan 7, 2005)

Petey said:


> With the Bulls and Suns pick, whom in the draft that is realistic, you'd like to see become a Sun?
> 
> -Petey


I think the Suns pick belongs to New York... But with the Bulls pick I'd take Johan Petro.. he looks like he could be pretty good.


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## Petey (Aug 23, 2002)

tempe85 said:


> I think the Suns pick belongs to New York... But with the Bulls pick I'd take Johan Petro.. he looks like he could be pretty good.


Really?

Did not know that, thanks (about the Suns pick).

-Petey


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## tempe85 (Jan 7, 2005)

Petey said:


> Really?
> 
> Did not know that, thanks (about the Suns pick).
> 
> -Petey


A little history of the pick:

Two years ago the Suns traded for Leandrino Barbosa from the Spurs (30th pick I believe) for a future first round pick. The pick was lottery protected which is why the Spurs didn't get last years pick from the Suns. The Spurs then traded the Suns pick including their own, plus Malik Rose, for Nazr Muhammed from the Knicks.

The trade has really worked well for the Suns. Barbosa is a better player than his spot in the draft would indicate and essentially the Suns traded for a 30th pick for a future 30th pick. Barbosa's impact is essential for the Suns to make it to the finals (any primary backup of Nash is important).


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## ChristopherJ (Aug 10, 2004)

Channing Frye really impressed me in the NCAA tourney this year. If he can bulk up and gain some strength he would be someone to look for in the upcoming draft.


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## Lukasbmw (Jul 30, 2004)

I think Chicago is playing out of their minds. I'd wait a year and go without a pick for this draft. My bet is next year Chicago will be in the lottery. Gordon, Deng, and Curry form a good base, but I don't see them doing as well next year as they have this year.

Eric says: Wait on the Chicago pick

Remember we do have two picks coming up from New York and I don't believe they are lottery protected :cheers: 

Whenever we draft, we need to take the best player availible. The Suns seem to have terrible luck with big men, but great luck with small forwards.


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## tempe85 (Jan 7, 2005)

Lukasbmw said:


> I think Chicago is playing out of their minds. I'd wait a year and go without a pick for this draft. My bet is next year Chicago will be in the lottery. Gordon, Deng, and Curry form a good base, but I don't see them doing as well next year as they have this year.
> 
> Eric says: Wait on the Chicago pick
> 
> ...


Sadly I think we traded both New York picks to the Jazz to get rid of Gugliatta. One of my least favorite Suns moves in recent memory.


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## Kneepad (Jun 24, 2002)

Lukasbmw said:


> I think Chicago is playing out of their minds. I'd wait a year and go without a pick for this draft. My bet is next year Chicago will be in the lottery. Gordon, Deng, and Curry form a good base, but I don't see them doing as well next year as they have this year.
> 
> Eric says: Wait on the Chicago pick


I don't believe the Suns have the option of deferring the pick. The pick automatically goes to the Suns if it's not top 3.

Also this year's Knicks pick is owed to the Jazz from the Keon Clark / Gugliotta trade (although it will be lottery protected this year).

http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/2005.html 

But what is the other pick the Suns are owed from the Knicks?


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## tempe85 (Jan 7, 2005)

Kneepad said:


> I don't believe the Suns have the option of deferring the pick. The pick automatically goes to the Suns if it's not top 3.
> 
> Also this year's Knicks pick is owed to the Jazz from the Keon Clark / Gugliotta trade (although it will be lottery protected this year).
> 
> ...


I think it's some 2007, 2008 pick possibly even unprotected... but that went to the Jazz too.

By the way... I wonder if the Knicks will even have a first round pick for the next 50 years with the way Isiah tosses them around (lol they have the Spurs and Suns first rounders this year... but holy moley talk about worthless first round picks!).


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## Kneepad (Jun 24, 2002)

tempe85 said:


> I think it's some 2007, 2008 pick possibly even unprotected... but that went to the Jazz too.


Well, I have no record of it (and I follow this stuff very closely). If you or anyone has any further information on this pick, please let me know.


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## rafsox04 (Mar 31, 2005)

If Joe Johnson isn't re-signed, the Suns should obviously pursue big man to play alongside Marion and Stoudamire. Several guys I was impressed with in NCAA this year were:
1. Hakim Warrick: The Orangemen were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the first round by a surprising Vermont squad. He has proven to be a valuable comodity to Syracuse both on and off the court, and was easily the one of the most talented players in the nation. He is a strong, powerful player who can shoot fairly well and drives exceptionally. He would be a huge asset to the Suns if he arrived in Phoenix next season.
2. Ike Diogu: The star of the local Arizona State Sun Devils would be a strong driving force who cna play SF and PF. He is an amazing athlete who plays a bullish game using his power to his advantage. A bit undersized for a PF but could dominate at SF driving to the hoop.
3. Wayne Simien: The undisputed leader of the Kansas basketball program has demonstrated defined skill and poise in his years as a Jayhawk. He could thrive at PF as he has decent height and tremendous strength. He has also shown flashes of individual brilliance going one on one to the hoop.
4. Ronny Turiaf: Out of Gonzaga, Turiaf is a darkhorse in the draft who could make some splashes in draft workouts with his tremedous strength. He is larger than most of the big men in the NCAA standing at 6-10 245lbs but could put on some extra muscle to be even more dominating. Bringing Turiaf to Phoenix would allow Marion to play SF every game, where he could play with the ball more and be more creative.
5. Channing Frye: Has the best raw material in college hoops but he has yet to fully live up to expectations. Still a tremendous talent, the Arizona Wildcat stands at 6-11 and 240lbs. A low post player such as Frye needs to be tough and aggressive something Frye has yet to prove. Despite his lack of toughness Frye could develop into an excellent player in the future and with some aggression, a possible All-Star.


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## RedStripe27 (Apr 20, 2004)

rafsox04 said:


> If Joe Johnson isn't re-signed, the Suns should obviously pursue big man to play alongside Marion and Stoudamire. Several guys I was impressed with in NCAA this year were:
> 1. Hakim Warrick: The Orangemen were knocked out of the NCAA tournament in the first round by a surprising Vermont squad. He has proven to be a valuable comodity to Syracuse both on and off the court, and was easily the one of the most talented players in the nation. He is a strong, powerful player who can shoot fairly well and drives exceptionally. He would be a huge asset to the Suns if he arrived in Phoenix next season.
> *2. Ike Diogu: The star of the local Arizona State Sun Devils would be a strong driving force who cna play SF and PF. He is an amazing athlete who plays a bullish game using his power to his advantage. A bit undersized for a PF but could dominate at SF driving to the hoop.*
> 3. Wayne Simien: The undisputed leader of the Kansas basketball program has demonstrated defined skill and poise in his years as a Jayhawk. He could thrive at PF as he has decent height and tremendous strength. He has also shown flashes of individual brilliance going one on one to the hoop.
> ...


Ike does not drive to the basket and he will never be a 3. His strengths lie in the post, which is why many people don't know if he can play PF in the NBA (because of his size- 6'8"). He does have a nice shot from all ends of the floor which does help his stock. I like Ike, he's a solid player. But don't expect anything more from him than to be a Malik Rose type player, which wouldn't exactly be bad for this team. 

Channing Frye has exceeded expectations that everyone had for him. I played against him in high school and when he was recruited to UofA he wasn't expected to contribute to his junior year. Frye is very mentally tough, its the physical aspects he needs to work on to be able to succeed at the next level. His has great hands and passing ability, and his shot is pretty good and will only get better. Defensively he could be better, but he is a good shot blocker. Frye's success will ultimately depend on his ability to bulk up and step up his defensive rebouding. 

I like both of these players and think they could help out the club. We are in a fortunate position because we have our core group of players and simply need to add role players. Teams like Dallas and San Antonio have done well the past few years by being in the same situation, and players like Marques Daniels, Devin Brown, Beno Udrih, etc can be had without lottery picks. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out over the summer.


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## rebelsun (Nov 25, 2003)

It's going to be interesting come draft day for the Suns. They're roster and contract situation would lead one to believe they would go big in the draft. However, IMO, I don't think there will be a big man worth the pick for the Suns when they're on the clock. 

I would love for the Suns to select (who I consider to be) one of the many talented bigs in the draft. Those would be - Bogut, Martynas, Splitter, Vazquez, Taft, Tiago, Aleksandrov, Petro, and Villanueva. There are three other guys I'm on the fence about right now - Turiaf, Veremeenko, and Gigli. Turiaf is athletic, scores in the post, and blocks shots, but I'm not completely sold on him. Veremeenko and Gigli are there only because I haven't seen much of them.

I would not like to see PHX select a big not on that list - Frye, Simien, Diogu, Warrick, etc. NBADraft.net shot Frye up to 17th in their latest mock, which I think is just tourney hype that will soon blow over. I think he does a lot of things well, but doesn't do anything great. The Suns have plenty of those guys, and they're not too hard to find. I don't really like Simien and Diogu on the next level as they are just short PFs but are good at what they do. I think Warrick could be a nice fit in PHX, but I don't they should take him for a few reasons. One, he likely would only see backup minutes with the Suns. The other is that I don't see him fitting in well with many NBA systems and consequently, his trade value won't be high. Seeing as how the Suns are performing this year (and likely will for the next few years), this will likely be their highest draft pick for quite some time. So, they need to get some value out of it.

That said, if the Suns can't land of one of the aforementioned talented bigs, I think they just go for BPA and for talent. Monta Ellis and Shawne Williams may be available, I would rather have that talent (and trade value) on the bench than a Frye or a Diogu.

I think an ideal draft day scenario would be Petro or Villanueva falling to their pick. However, if PHX ended up with Shawne Williams as a 3rd-string wing next year, I would not be upset.


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## azirishmusic (Feb 25, 2004)

I would like the Suns to draft a big, but would not be upset if they simply took the best player available. A guy who would not fit a need but looks like a real value would be Joey Graham of Oklahoma State.


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