The Phoenix Suns aren't shopping the No. 1 overall pick, but they will listen to offers if teams come calling with trade proposals.
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski during Friday's coverage of the NBA combine at Quest Multisport in Chicago (h/t DefPen's Rob Lopez):
"We're certainly open to that. We'll consider it. I think we'll have more information closer to the draft than we do today after we go through the workout process and the interview process. We're open to that. I think if you look around the NBA, as far as the veteran players, there are probably a few we'd consider trading the pick for, outright, just pick for player."
McDonough also confirmed the Suns aren't looking at a single player or two with the No. 1 overall pick. Rather, he said the front office is casting a wide net and doing its due diligence on a larger group of top-tier prospects.
The GM continued:
"I think people are jumping to conclusions as far as there are maybe only one or two guys in the mix for us. There are more than that, Woj. There are a handful of guys. We met with Marvin Bagley this week here in Chicago. I like Deandre Ayton. Luka Doncic is actually playing right now in the EuroLeague Final Four. He has strong ties to our head coach and is one of the top young European players I've ever seen and I've ever scouted. And then there are guys like Mohamed Bamba and Michael Porter Jr."
Trying to pin which player the Suns have the most interest in at this point is pure guesswork, but it's clear Ayton and Doncic have the talent necessary to transform them into a contender in due time.
However, they'd do so in different ways.
While Ayton would presumably anchor the middle of Phoenix's attack after averaging 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds as a freshman at Arizona, Doncic would link up with Devin Booker and instantly form one of the league's most dynamic young backcourts.
"Hopefully (the No. 1 pick) gives us another foundational player to build around," McDonough said, per USA Today's Michael Singer. "We feel like we have one in Devin Booker; we feel like Josh Jackson has the potential to be one. He certainly made strides over the second half of the past season. Usually in the NBA, it takes three elite players to win at a high level."
In his post-lottery mock draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman has Doncic projected to the Suns at No. 1 and Ayton to the Sacramento Kings at No. 2.
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