#14 - Phoenix Suns

Brace Hemmelgarn/USA Today Sports

What I’d Do:

James Young – Kentucky

6’7” (7’ wingspan), 213 lbs., 08/16/1995 (18 years old)

For a team that was in a full-on rebuild a year ago, the Phoenix Suns don’t have a lot of particular team needs. First-year general manager Ryan McDonough and first-year head coach Jeff Hornacek overhauled the roster last summer, hitting on trades (Eric Bledsoe, Miles Plumlee/Gerald Green) and stacking assets (three first round picks in this draft) while improving the team by 23 wins from the previous season. While the earliest of the three picks is their own at the end of the lottery, they’ll have over $25 million in cap room this summer with eight players on guaranteed contracts in 2014-15. The Phoenix Suns have plenty of options to continue rebuilding this roster in the pursuit of a playoff run next season.


The restricted free agencies of Eric Bledsoe and P.J. Tucker will eat into that cap space and could impact McDonough’s draft outlook. Both should be priorities for the team to re-sign, as starting players whose toughness and versatility helped propel Phoenix to the 8th ranked offense and 15th team defense. Eric Bledsoe might get a max offer and will be a tough decision for a Suns team that could have a Goran Dragic opt-out decision of their own next summer. P.J. should get love in free agency as a good chemistry, “3-and-D” option at the wing but will be reasonable to re-sign, at maybe mid-level money at the most. Matching offer sheets on Bledsoe and Tucker could run the Suns up to $20 million of that cap space on an optimistic estimate and it’ll be interesting to see if McDonough wants to build on a core that won 48 games in a tough Western Conference or preserve cap flexibility going forward for a big move.

The three first round picks most certainly won’t be added to the 2014-15 roster, with eight guaranteed spots already and the impending futures of Eric and P.J. Ideally McDonough would package all three of the picks and matching contracts for a legitimate All-Star big to pair with his young point guards. Preferably one who could embrace the analytical approach of the front office and coaching staff, who rebounds and shoots 3’s at a well-above average rate. Maybe even a big that could throw the kind of beautiful outlet passes (to said-young point guards) that generates easy transition offense for a team that played the 8th quickest pace in 2013-14. If only that type of multi-faceted big man was available in trade this summer…

Whether or not they can pull off a Kevin Love move depends entirely on Minnesota and what they want to do going forward, post-Love. Maybe I’ll put something together in the “Crazy Trade” section but I still don’t think Love is moved before the draft, so Phoenix drafts independent of any trade and probably goes best player available.

Their #5 pick last year, center Alex Len, played half the season in under 10 minutes per game and is still adjusting to the speed of the league at age-20. The emergence of Miles Plumlee probably prohibits their need at center in the short-term, with Channing Frye and the Morris’ holding down the PF spot as stretch players. I still think big man could be a need for this team but one they might address with a later pick.

The uncertain statuses of Tucker and Bledsoe could help make James Young the pick here. Young can play either wing position and brings a lot of skills that fit within Hornacek’s offense.

Most notably, Young can stroke the 3-ball. Phoenix fired the 4th-most 3-pointers in the league this season (25.1 per game, 7th in percentage) and was able to generate a lot of looks by penetrating and kicking to shooters. Bledsoe only played 43 games but averaged over 8 assists per game, along with Goran Dragic, by optimizing the spacing of the roster and moving the ball (five rotation players used over 20% of possessions).

James Young is, fittingly, the third-youngest player in this draft behind Aaron Gordon and Noah Vonleh and struggled for large stretches of his Kentucky season, particularly with his jump shot. He finished the season at 35.9% from 3 and really turned it on late and in the NCAA tournament. He used the most spot-up possessions in college basketball this season on below-average shooting numbers, but was above-average on jump shots overall with over a point per possession. His physical tools (7’ wingspan and 35.5” vertical as an 18-year old) are kind of scary for a young player with this good of a jumper and he should fill out his 213 lb. frame to hopefully get stronger on his drives. Young’s already a good rebounder who isn’t afraid to put a body on bigger guys in the paint, and he can use his 8’8” reach and wingspan to contest on the wing. Hornacek would be one of the few coaches in the league who might not frown on Young’s preference for transition 3’s.

It’s maybe his physical tools that allow Young to overcompensate for some fundamental issues, but it’s hard not to attribute most of his flaws to his age. He’ll get caught ball-watching often on defense and will gamble when guarding off-the-ball, and isn’t exactly a stopper on-ball either. He loooves his jumper and, as pretty as his lefty-release can be, his shot-selection is suspect, especially in the paint where he relies on too many floaters in that in-between spot (right below the FT line but above the half-circle). He’s also too left-hand dominant around the basket and needs to work on his right at the next level. Head coach John Calipari recognized his shaky handle and didn’t run many pick-and-rolls for Young this season, as he’s a scorer that doesn’t look to create, finishing with more turnovers per game than assists.

The one knock on James Young that I can’t really blame on his age and lack of development yet is his apparently average athleticism in games. His frame and measurables denote a player way more explosive than he’s shown in his lone season at Kentucky but his lack of a quick first step has limited some of his offensive opportunities. His takes to the basket are more in line with the Michael Bluth “head down, power through” philosophy, as he lacks the burst to get by guys and prefers to use his strength to get to the rim. That should improve as he gets older and stronger (and wiser) but the lack of burst to the basket and reliance on floaters and in-between shots is troubling.

Even with those athletic issues, I think James Young is the best player on the board at a position of need for the Suns. Elfrid Payton could also make sense here but lacks the offensive upside and smooth jumper of Young. Point guard could be a definite need next season, when Dragic opts out for a bigger contract, but I think Phoenix matches on any max offer sheet to Eric Bledsoe and prefers the prospect that can score off-the-ball. Young’ll need some development hours to round out his offensive game and discipline his trigger finger at the next level. The solid infrastructure in the front office and on the bench should help Young’s development, and maybe Phoenix’s famed medical and training programs can help maximize his athletic potential and resolve his quickness issues. He could struggle to see minutes early at the wing but injuries or inconsistent play from guys like Gerald Green or Archie Goodwin will get him looks throughout the season.

What They’ll Do:

Phoenix could absolutely opt for a more NBA-ready prospect with their first pick, such as a T.J. Warren or Elfrid Payton or Shabazz Napier, who could also help the depth chart in case of a Tucker or Bledsoe loss. Zach LaVine offers a lot of similar offensive upside as James Young but at the combo guard position. They could stash an international guy like Clint Capela or Jusuf Nurkic here and fill in depth with their next picks. I get the sense that McDonough is in on the Kevin Love talks throughout the entire process and will make an offer to Minnesota; whether or not Kevin Love wants to buy into Phoenix yet or Minnesota has a clue is another story.

With their next pick coming up at #18, I’d think Zach LaVine and Elfrid Payton are guaranteed to go within the next couple of picks. T.J. Warren, Shabazz Napier, and the international guys have more of a chance to last to #18, and I believe James Young is the best player available here. Payton is probably more NBA-ready but Phoenix loves spot-up players who can shoot the 3 and will have plenty of additional development potential in the young Young (I couldn’t help myself…).

Crazy Draft Day Trade:

Does #14/#18/#27 + Markieff Morris/Archie Goodwin/Alex Len sound appealing to the Timberwolves? Phoenix is under the cap (if they renounce Emeka Okafor, as expected) and has no bad contracts on their books, and can fit Love in without sending out matching salaries back. Minnesota would get some cap relief back and go under the cap in this scenario (which I think is legal) by picking up the solid ‘Kieff and two prospects, and have picks #13/14/18/27 to rebuild or supplement their roster. How they could fit that many draft picks on said-roster is a good question, which is why I don’t really see Phoenix as a great fit in a Love trade.

Assuming Minnesota has a clue they should prefer the higher picks (Boston at #6, Lakers at #7) over the multiple picks, unless they can completely burn it down and rebuild. Phoenix might be better off matching one of P.J. Tucker or Eric Bledsoe in free agency and maintaining a max contract spot going forward for a Love free agency run or a Goran Dragic extension.

Otherwise, any trades from Phoenix on draft night might be more of a trade up or down variety, depending on who slips. #14 is their highest pick in this draft and I think they use it on an upside wing like James Young, leaving #18 or #27 for a trade or draft-and-stash player.