GIMME CARTER
Bulls take Duke big man in first round to give Markkanen a frontcourt running mate
For most of their half- century of existence, the Suns have coveted a big- time center.
In 1969, they lost the coin flip with Milwaukee for Lew Alcindor, now known as Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, and chose Neal Walk at No. 2. The closest they came was Alvan Adams, an All- Star on some very good teams. Shaquille O’Neal made a cameo appearance late in his career.
But a big, young franchise center to build around eluded them — until now.
With the first overall pick in the draft for the first time in franchise history, the Suns believe they have their man in 7- 1, 250- pound Deandre Ayton, whose size, athleticism and multiple skills made him the obvious No 1 overall pick Thursday night.
“Having my name called to be the first pick for the Phoenix Suns was mind- blowing,” Ayton said. “Having all the confidence and leading up to that point when I saw [ NBA Commissioner] Adam Silver came out, I was just waiting for my name, and when he called it, my mind went blank. . . . and I saw the reaction on my mom’s face. It was just priceless.”
He will join Devin Booker and Josh Jackson as the core of young talent that the Suns hope will pull them out of their long decline. Phoenix has missed the playoffs the last eight seasons and their 21- 61 record last season was the worst in the NBA and second- worst in franchise history.
Ayton was born in the Bahamas but left at age 12, a basketball prodigy who stayed in several Southern California homes and played with various basketball programs, including a season as a teammate of Marvin Bagley III at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix.
Ayton, 19, was the Pac- 12 player of the year at Arizona last season, averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game.
A local look
The Grizzlies took 6- 2 point guard Jevon Carter with the No. 32 pick. Known for tenacious defense, the Proviso East grad averaged 17.3 points and 6.6 assists with West Virginia.
The Mavericks took guard Jalen Brunson with the No. 33 pick. The Stevenson grad won two NCAA titles in his three years with Villanova. The reigning Associated Press player of the year averaged 18.9 points and 4.6 assists in his final season.
The Timberwolves took Ohio State’s Keita Bates- Diop with the No. 48 pick. The 6- 7 forward, who went to Normal U- High but played for a Chicago- area AAU team, was the Big Ten player of the year, averaging 19.8 points as a fourth- year senior.
Porter falls to No. 14
With teams apparently concerned about his injury history, Missouri small forward Michael Porter Jr. fell to the Nuggets with the 14th pick.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I was stressed out,” Porter said. “All that stress was overcome by joy the moment I got called, no matter what number it was. It’s been my dream since I was a kid. At the end of the day, the draft is a number and I wasn’t going to let an ego get in the way of my joy. I’m happy to be where I’m at and I feel like it’s the perfection situation for me.”
Porter played in just three games for the Tigers due to a back injury, which required surgery. He averaged 10 points and played just 53 minutes at Missouri. Then, he suffered a hip injury during the draft process and he cancelled a recent workout.
“Honestly, the teams at the very, very top of the draft told me last week I was their guy, they were going to take me,” Porter said. “Then the hip episode happened, and then doctors got involved and they got scared. So once one team gets scared, a lot of them get scared.”