Draft shows Suns are making progress
Joel Embiid didn’t waste time in calling out the top pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.
“Don’t compare Ayton to me either… I play DEFENSE,” the second-team All-NBA center said on Twitter, prompting hundreds of responses, thousands of retweets and tens of thousands of likes within minutes.
Philadelphia’s Embiid is arguably the best low-post big man in the NBA. He’s certainly the most interesting on social media. His tweet and the reaction to it –
which included Golden State forward Draymond Green saying “you got the crown man” – highlights an apparent pivot point for the Phoenix Suns.
After years of futility and rebuilding and developing, it seems that the future is finally here.
The Suns have foundational players in Devin Booker and Josh Jackson. They have a highly regarded coach in Igor Kokoskov. And now they seem to have direction, selecting Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges in the first round, proven players who should be able to help them win now.
Rivals are noticing. Among the responses to Embiid’s trash talk was a note from Golden State forward Draymond Green, saying “you got the crown man.”
The NBA is noticing. The fledgling Twitter feud was one of the top stories on NBA.com.
And Phoenix fans should notice as well. This is positive momentum.
Nothing is promised, of course. The NBA draft is all about potential, and without seeing these guys on the floor in a live game, we can’t say for certain whether Ayton or Bridges will be ballers or busts (although these were two of the lower-risk players available). McDonough has made questionable moves, hires and draft picks in the recent past. And Suns owner Robert Sarver has been the one constant through an unprecedented stretch of futility for an organization that had become accustomed to success.
But with an All-NBA center and a championship-level Defensive Player of the Year talking trash, it’s easy to imagine the Suns re-emerging as contenders.
“Deandre Ayton,” former Sun and Pac-12 broadcaster Casey Jacobsen said, “if he stays healthy, is gonna be an AllStar here with the Phoenix Suns.”
Jacobsen was hosting the Suns’ draft night party at Talking Stick Resort Arena, and he heard the roars of approval.
“We could hear you guys down in the war room,” Vice President of Basketball Operations James Jones said when he took the stage. We really believe Deandre’s gonna be the piece that we’ve been missing. … We’re ready. We’re ready now.”
Ayton was excited, too.
“It was phenomenal to hear my name called as the Number 1 pick,” he said. “I was speechless. It’s truly a blessing for me to be a Phoenix Sun … The draft is over, it’s time for me to start a winning legacy down there with the best fans in the world.”
McDonough and Jones weren’t done. They took perhaps their top asset, the 2021 first-round pick from the Miami Heat, and flipped it for a consensus top-10 player in Bridges.
Bridges, a 6-foot-7 wing, hasn’t gotten the attention of Ayton or Luka Doncic or Marvin Bagley III or Michael Porter Jr. or Mo Bamba or Jaren Jackson Jr.
So what? He’s a two-time NCAA champion with Villanova who can guard multiple positions and shoot. Bridges scored 17.7 points and shot 44 percent from 3-point range last season. The 21year-old also should be ready to contribute now, having played in college for four years.
He also makes it easier for the Suns to trade scorer T.J. Warren. Warren has been one of Phoenix’s bright spots, but he doesn’t fit well on the court with Jackson.
It’s wise to temper the enthusiasm, but Suns fans should recognize that for one night at least Phoenix was the center of the NBA universe and the organization is in position to keep up the momentum toward credibility.
They have cap space to go after free agents. They have Alan Williams and Brandon Knight returning from injury. And they have trade bait in Warren and perhaps Dragan Bender or Marquese Chriss.
Jones was all smiles when he discussed Ayton and how he fits with what the Suns hope to show next season.
“The way you’ve seen him play in college is the way we want to see him play here,” the three-time NBA champion said. “He’s physical. He’s athletic. He’s competitive. He’s tough. He gives us an element that we haven’t had. When we pair him with Josh Jackson and Devin Booker we think we’re pretty good.”