The 2020 NBA Draft

[Bogyo]

How many of you have actually watched Jalen in college? Not many, i suppose. He is not a bad pick, but it's Cam thing all over again - good player that we took while passing on better ones in the process. Simple as that.

I have, and I liked him. However, I am sooo f'ng fed up with the "passing on better ones in the process" by Jones in drafts, trades and free agent acquisions I can't even describe it. Sorry, not sorry.

You always pass on better ones in every draft unless you are the #1 and choose LeBron like player.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Pick BPA, figure out the rest later, especially if the difference is pretty glaring as in this case.

[Frank Lee]

Damn Phnxsport.... it’s a little early in the day for such a dose of logic and reason

[Fo-Real]

Funny thing is so many people have been all up on Christian Woods nuts, you know the 6'10 215lb thin framed PF that plays defense and hits the 3 ball yet are hating on Jalen Smith, you know the 6'10 215lb thin framed PF that plays defense and hits the 3 ball.

And yes, Wood is just as thin framed as Smith even after being in the NBA for more than a few years.



And since i know some of the haters wont bother spending the time to look it up for themselves, here is a direct comparison of Woods last season in College (UNLV) and Smiths. Tell me what you see.

Honestly, they only share a bottom frame similarity, upper body, Smith is JACKED and his shoulders remind me of Amare!!

[NTB]

I have, and I liked him. However, I am sooo f'ng fed up with the "passing on better ones in the process" by Jones in drafts, trades and free agent acquisions I can't even describe it. Sorry, not sorry.

You always pass on better ones in every draft unless you are the #1 and choose LeBron like player.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Pick BPA, figure out the rest later, especially if the difference is pretty glaring as in this case.

BPA was Giannis and everyone passed on him. That's what I am saying. Maybe BPA is Bane in this year's draft and he was chosen #30. You never know who is the BPA unless as i said there is LeBron in the class.

[BobbieL]

Funny thing is so many people have been all up on Christian Woods nuts, you know the 6'10 215lb thin framed PF that plays defense and hits the 3 ball yet are hating on Jalen Smith, you know the 6'10 215lb thin framed PF that plays defense and hits the 3 ball.

And yes, Wood is just as thin framed as Smith even after being in the NBA for more than a few years.



And since i know some of the haters wont bother spending the time to look it up for themselves, here is a direct comparison of Woods last season in College (UNLV) and Smiths. Tell me what you see.

Honestly, they only share a bottom frame similarity, upper body, Smith is JACKED and his shoulders remind me of Amare!!

I am sticking with my John Salley comparison. Maybe I am trying to keep his skill set a bit lower - but if he provides the Suns what Salley did the Pistons that rookie year, he will be just fine. Salley was picked 11th I believe, Smith was picked 10th.

[Fo-Real]

Half asleep so I hope this make sense.

I do enjoy coming to the board most of the time because I love seeing peoples opinions and passion for the team. But man sometimes it's tough when people speak in such absolutes when there is really no reason to.

Ok so the media had stix graded lower. So what. They had Haliburton rated pretty high and apparently true NBA people didn't. Who saw Williams going so early? Does it mean Chicago was wrong? No. Maybe in a few years we will all be saying how dumb the top 3 were for not taking him. Why does everyone automatically say Haliburton was a steal because he fell but Smith is trash because he rose? No one knows yet.

What would people have said on this board if the Suns had taken Donovan instead of Jackson at four in 2017? Imagine the comments some of our board members would have written just because people judge based on mock draft information.

In the end was it surprising? Sure. But to all of those talking in absolutes like "we should have traded back" how do you know there was an interested team that wanted to trade? How do you know that maybe there was intel another team at 11,12,13 wanted Smith as well.

Every draft has busts taken high. Every draft has stars taken late. Enjoy the surprise and let it play out. Then we can judge.

great post. agree totally. you are so right about mock drafts. if we knew what we knew, Jamal Murray would have been picked over Josh Jackson!

And if the Suns had taken Murray over Jackson, there would have been posters on here and draft experts talking about HOW DUMB it was for weeks, only to shut up and act like there was never a doubt it was a good decision like with Cam!!!

[Ghost of Kleine]

Funny thing is so many people have been all up on Christian Woods nuts, you know the 6'10 215lb thin framed PF that plays defense and hits the 3 ball yet are hating on Jalen Smith, you know the 6'10 215lb thin framed PF that plays defense and hits the 3 ball.

And yes, Wood is just as thin framed as Smith even after being in the NBA for more than a few years.



And since i know some of the haters wont bother spending the time to look it up for themselves, here is a direct comparison of Woods last season in College (UNLV) and Smiths. Tell me what you see.

No hate on Smith from me man! He was a great pick, Even at 10, Considering he might have been gone otherwise IF we waited. He's going to be dynamite!!! And definitely a fan favorite into his 2nd or third season with his two way impact and winning defensive plays.

My only gripe is our decision not to add a 2nd pick, even in the 2nd round to late 2nd round for upgraded positional depth. And as a result, many inter conference teams that we'll be facing got better and much deeper as a result. A late 2nd could of gotten us a Riller, A Merrill, A Jessup a Killian Tillie etc. For further depth. We passed over Bane at 30, And the real kick in the nuts is that we let Memphis of all teams steal him from us! A trend that seems to be repeating frequently now. With Morant ( They jumped us in the draft), Clarke, Melton, Bane!

I really hope that we have a clever plan for affordable depth in free agency in spite of our very limited cap space post trade. Again, Smith was a great get in the early first round. But we whiffed big time after his selection on many great low cost impact role players that could of really helped us and given us much needed depth. I just hope that we address these issues accordingly before this depth issue comes back to bite us during the season!

[Ghost of Kleine]

Read on Twitter

?s=09

[49erhokie]

I have, and I liked him. However, I am sooo f'ng fed up with the "passing on better ones in the process" by Jones in drafts, trades and free agent acquisions I can't even describe it. Sorry, not sorry.

You always pass on better ones in every draft unless you are the #1 and choose LeBron like player.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Pick BPA, figure out the rest later, especially if the difference is pretty glaring as in this case.

But what if that's not his BPA. We all get caught up on mocks and what so called "experts" say should be the draft order but at the end of the day the FO's are the ones out there scouting and determining the fit for the team.

[BobbieL]

You always pass on better ones in every draft unless you are the #1 and choose LeBron like player.

Let's agree to disagree on this one. Pick BPA, figure out the rest later, especially if the difference is pretty glaring as in this case.

But what if that's not his BPA. We all get caught up on mocks and what so called "experts" say should be the draft order but at the end of the day the FO's are the ones out there scouting and determining the fit for the team.

I agree. I mean, the Bulls pick at 4 was Patrick Williams. That seemed to be high. The Celtics picked that kid from Oregon, Pritchard, was he picked too high. Nobody knows what the Suns draft board represents or where they have them ranked. My guess, when Smith was picked, he was BPA on their draft board

I go back to this about James Jones (and crew): Cam Johnson in one year has shown to be a better NBA pro than Josh, Dragan or Jackson ever did. If Jalen Smith is a good NBA pro - it doesn't matter if Jay Bilas would have picked Vassell or Haliburton

[King4Day]

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[King4Day]

Anyone see Gambo's feedback on Haliburton on why we didn't take him?
Saw this on Reddit:

"Gambo says the Suns didn't think Halliburton was unique or dynamic enough to play the 1 and that he wasn't unique or dynamic enough to play the 2. They see him as a combo guard who isn't talented enough to take a solid role."

[bigfoot]

"MS in Journalism from Columbia School of Journalism"

Yeah, total amateur.

He might be an outstanding "editorial/opinion" writer but does his Columbia degree make him an expert in NBA front office management, an area where his experience is limited? Tucker Carlson, Rachel Maddow, Zach Lowe ... experts at opining.

His job and critically acclaimed balanced coverage of NBA events for decades makes him an expert. I don't know why you've chosen this bridge to die on, but there isn't a more well respected writer in the country. Like not a 1. Comparing him to Stephen A Smith (who isn't really a writer and is a TV personality), or Tucker Carlson (a TV personality), shows that. Zach Lowe appearing on the Jump on occasion doesn't make him a TV personality shock jock. He's a writer with sources in every FO in the entire league. He covers the entire NBA and is one of the very few writers who even does that.

The bridge I've chosen to die is pointing out your complaints about James Jones assets management are bogus. You decided you don't like the way Jones handled trades and dumping draft picks. You then chose to use a snippet of Lowe's writing as your justification to support your argument. Lowe is just a more well known and connected Gambo. He writes opinion articles. Sure he's well respected but it doesn't make him right nor does it make him more experienced in evaluating talent than Jones and the other Suns front office guys. He certainly does not have experience being around championship cultures nor can he put three championship rings on his fingers. Guaranteed that Lowe does not have the experience of being around players every waking minute of a season and understanding the type of mentality and dedication it takes to get to the promise land.

To me, Jones understands the behind-the-scenes culture of what it takes to win. If he sacrifices 2nd round picks to build/repair that culture I don't care. If he passes on players mocked higher that he doesn't believe fit the culture I'm okay with that. And being that Lowe got his start as an analytics guy, I'm sure you can find articles about the odds of 2nd round and late 1st round picks ever panning out. For every Dragic type gotten in the second round, there are 95 others who didn't make the cut. Those aren't great odds. That seems to be the bridge your willing to die on when you lament about giving up second-round picks.

[Wilber85]

I am content with Smith. Hope he is that stretch player we need at the 4/5.

Also - people saying he's bigger stronger than Saric, ya'll are crazy to want to get rid of Saric. Keep both! Why one or the other? I saw Halliburton, Vassell, Kira available and was upset we didn't go with one of them, but I have a feeling we bring in another PG that can learn under CP3.

I am thinking we somehow get Lonzo Ball, call me crazy but New Orleans is stacked with PG's.

Who else do you think we can get for back up PG?

CP3, ???, Payne
Booker, Carter
Bridges, Nader
Johnson, Saric
Ayton, Smith

That roster has a lot of different lineup opportunities.

Hope we stay healthy, and no drug pops!

[Jesus_H_Macy]

I am content with Smith. Hope he is that stretch player we need at the 4/5.

Also - people saying he's bigger stronger than Saric, ya'll are crazy to want to get rid of Saric. Keep both! Why one or the other? I saw Halliburton, Vassell, Kira available and was upset we didn't go with one of them, but I have a feeling we bring in another PG that can learn under CP3.

I am thinking we somehow get Lonzo Ball, call me crazy but New Orleans is stacked with PG's.

Who else do you think we can get for back up PG?

CP3, ???, Payne
Booker, Carter
Bridges, Nader
Johnson, Saric
Ayton, Smith

That roster has a lot of different lineup opportunities.

Hope we stay healthy, and no drug pops!

I'm hoping we use all or most of the MLE money on that backup 1/2 spot, assuming there are no more trades coming. These are the dudes I see showing as available on Spotrac that I thought were worth bothering to mention here:

Jeff Teague
Goran Dragic
Jordan Clarkson
Matthew Dellavedova
D.J. Agustin
Kris Dunn
J.J. Barea
Michael Carter-Williams
Shabazz Napier
Emmanuel Mudiay
Raul Neto
Pat Connaughton
Reggie Jackson
Trey Burke
Jerian Grant

Dragic is the clear standout and best-case scenario for me, but I'd be surprised if he was willing to come back here at all, let alone for MLE money. Other than that...I guess Agustin? Although I'd like us to get a guy who can play both 1 and 2 the 1 part of that is far more important so I don't know how much Clarkson would help. Can JJ Barea still play ? Napier, Mudiay, Neto, Connaughton, Burke, and Grant all have some level of name value for me but tbh I have no real idea what any of their games are like and if they would give us what we need.

[BobbieL]

He might be an outstanding "editorial/opinion" writer but does his Columbia degree make him an expert in NBA front office management, an area where his experience is limited? Tucker Carlson, Rachel Maddow, Zach Lowe ... experts at opining.

His job and critically acclaimed balanced coverage of NBA events for decades makes him an expert. I don't know why you've chosen this bridge to die on, but there isn't a more well respected writer in the country. Like not a 1. Comparing him to Stephen A Smith (who isn't really a writer and is a TV personality), or Tucker Carlson (a TV personality), shows that. Zach Lowe appearing on the Jump on occasion doesn't make him a TV personality shock jock. He's a writer with sources in every FO in the entire league. He covers the entire NBA and is one of the very few writers who even does that.

The bridge I've chosen to die is pointing out your complaints about James Jones assets management are bogus. You decided you don't like the way Jones handled trades and dumping draft picks. You then chose to use a snippet of Lowe's writing as your justification to support your argument. Lowe is just a more well known and connected Gambo. He writes opinion articles. Sure he's well respected but it doesn't make him right nor does it make him more experienced in evaluating talent than Jones and the other Suns front office guys. He certainly does not have experience being around championship cultures nor can he put three championship rings on his fingers. Guaranteed that Lowe does not have the experience of being around players every waking minute of a season and understanding the type of mentality and dedication it takes to get to the promise land.

To me, Jones understands the behind-the-scenes culture of what it takes to win. If he sacrifices 2nd round picks to build/repair that culture I don't care. If he passes on players mocked higher that he doesn't believe fit the culture I'm okay with that. And being that Lowe got his start as an analytics guy, I'm sure you can find articles about the odds of 2nd round and late 1st round picks ever panning out. For every Dragic type gotten in the second round, there are 95 others who didn't make the cut. Those aren't great odds. That seems to be the bridge your willing to die on when you lament about giving up second-round picks.

I like Zach Lowe - I think he is one of the best out there. And yes, I think the Suns should have stretched Josh and not given up the player (Melton) and picks (two second rounders I believe) to save some 2.5m dollars (difference between Josh and Korvers buy out).

That being said, Zach gets to write his articles after the fact. So its easy to second guess

As for Jones - he does seem to know what kind of player he likes and will just have to see how Smith develops and the team develops.

[Revived]

Read on Twitter

This is a damn shame. Do the Suns even have scouts in Europe? I seriously doubt it if we’re in cost cutting mode like we’ve been the last several years under Sarver.

[Slim Charless]

He might be an outstanding "editorial/opinion" writer but does his Columbia degree make him an expert in NBA front office management, an area where his experience is limited? Tucker Carlson, Rachel Maddow, Zach Lowe ... experts at opining.

His job and critically acclaimed balanced coverage of NBA events for decades makes him an expert. I don't know why you've chosen this bridge to die on, but there isn't a more well respected writer in the country. Like not a 1. Comparing him to Stephen A Smith (who isn't really a writer and is a TV personality), or Tucker Carlson (a TV personality), shows that. Zach Lowe appearing on the Jump on occasion doesn't make him a TV personality shock jock. He's a writer with sources in every FO in the entire league. He covers the entire NBA and is one of the very few writers who even does that.

The bridge I've chosen to die is pointing out your complaints about James Jones assets management are bogus. You decided you don't like the way Jones handled trades and dumping draft picks. You then chose to use a snippet of Lowe's writing as your justification to support your argument. Lowe is just a more well known and connected Gambo. He writes opinion articles. Sure he's well respected but it doesn't make him right nor does it make him more experienced in evaluating talent than Jones and the other Suns front office guys. He certainly does not have experience being around championship cultures nor can he put three championship rings on his fingers. Guaranteed that Lowe does not have the experience of being around players every waking minute of a season and understanding the type of mentality and dedication it takes to get to the promise land.

To me, Jones understands the behind-the-scenes culture of what it takes to win. If he sacrifices 2nd round picks to build/repair that culture I don't care. If he passes on players mocked higher that he doesn't believe fit the culture I'm okay with that. And being that Lowe got his start as an analytics guy, I'm sure you can find articles about the odds of 2nd round and late 1st round picks ever panning out. For every Dragic type gotten in the second round, there are 95 others who didn't make the cut. Those aren't great odds. That seems to be the bridge your willing to die on when you lament about giving up second-round picks.

This obsession that he has with bringing up Luka is hilarious too. With absolutely no proof he just goes and declares that Jones would take JJJ is funny. This is despite the fact the Jones loves to take kids with multiple years of experience and who are smart. That's EXACTLY what Luka's rep was coming out. Everything Jones has shown us leads to him taking Luka with no hesitation.

He's salty his guy didn't get taken and is spamming the board with complaints. There's a number of mocks that had Smith being taken in 13-16 range. We have no proof that he'd still be there if we traded down to 18 or wherever. Boston and other teams needed a big.

Plus, he played PF in college, the constant comments about how the kid's a C are funny when they're followed immediately by complaints about how weak his base and thin his legs are. He's a 4, besides with Ayton there we hopefully have an anchor for our defense and this kid can do things that he excells at like blindside blocks.

[Wilber85]

I am content with Smith. Hope he is that stretch player we need at the 4/5.

Also - people saying he's bigger stronger than Saric, ya'll are crazy to want to get rid of Saric. Keep both! Why one or the other? I saw Halliburton, Vassell, Kira available and was upset we didn't go with one of them, but I have a feeling we bring in another PG that can learn under CP3.

I am thinking we somehow get Lonzo Ball, call me crazy but New Orleans is stacked with PG's.

Who else do you think we can get for back up PG?

CP3, ???, Payne
Booker, Carter
Bridges, Nader
Johnson, Saric
Ayton, Smith

That roster has a lot of different lineup opportunities.

Hope we stay healthy, and no drug pops!

I'm hoping we use all or most of the MLE money on that backup 1/2 spot, assuming there are no more trades coming. These are the dudes I see showing as available on Spotrac that I thought were worth bothering to mention here:

Jeff Teague
Goran Dragic
Jordan Clarkson
Matthew Dellavedova
D.J. Agustin
Kris Dunn
J.J. Barea
Michael Carter-Williams
Shabazz Napier
Emmanuel Mudiay
Raul Neto
Pat Connaughton
Reggie Jackson
Trey Burke
Jerian Grant

Dragic is the clear standout and best-case scenario for me, but I'd be surprised if he was willing to come back here at all, let alone for MLE money. Other than that...I guess Agustin? Although I'd like us to get a guy who can play both 1 and 2 the 1 part of that is far more important so I don't know how much Clarkson would help. Can JJ Barea still play ? Napier, Mudiay, Neto, Connaughton, Burke, and Grant all have some level of name value for me but tbh I have no real idea what any of their games are like and if they would give us what we need.

Goran Dragic
Jordan Clarkson

Those are the only two.

Hate to say it but I say we get Lonzo Ball if we can to be mentored by CP3.

[alamin330]

This is the big thing that should concern everyone. This is an article quoting the Zach Lowe pieces about James Jones from a year ago. We have seen 0 evidence, and in fact accumulated much more evidence, that what he has said is more true than ever. I have no idea why more simply are okay with the smartest and nicest NBA writer having to state, "But incentivizing another team to take him in part because you screwed up your cap sheet is a disaster. It borders on malpractice.”




https://arizonasports.com/story/2106625/lowe-suns-win-more-now-positioned-beyond-2019-20/?show=comments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Lowe

So this high school teacher-become web blogger with no NBA playing or front office management experience is the ultimate authority on how the Suns managed their assets. He's just another talking head and probably hasn't watched but a few Suns games the last few years. He's a Celtics homer with a nice personality kinda like Stephen A Smith is a Knicks homer with a **** personality.

If you think Zach Lowe isn't incredibly highly respected nationally and by front offices, then you're just beyond ignorant. He wins awards for the quality of his analytical coverage. He did not get where he is by being a shock jock personality in the way Stephen A is. This is quite possibly the dumbest thing I've read on realgm, and quite frankly it makes me fairly certain you've never read an article he's written.

I wonder if Zach Lowe knows how to catch a ball. Looks like a nerd who got bored of the nerd stuff and started liking basketball.

Zach Lowe is enjoying his 15 minutes right now. He knows very little about basketball. Let him enjoy