Suns break from pre-draft workouts, reassess draft board
Jun 11, 2013, 8:39 PM | Updated: 8:45 pm
Workouts will resume, but for right now all is quiet on the practice court at the US Airways Center.
John Treloar, director of player personnel for the Phoenix Suns, can (momentarily) stop calling agents to set up visits, giving his cell phone a break.
Equipment manager Jay Gaspar can re-stock the Suns gear (thanks Adidas) for draft prospects.
More importantly, GM Ryan McDonough and head coach Jeff Hornacek can take a step back, along with the entire basketball operations staff, and review the past eight days.
Oh, and not have to worry about speaking to the media.
“I feel like I’ve seen you guys more than anybody else in the month I’ve been here,” McDonough joked.
The Suns have held seven pre-draft workouts in the past eight days. There have been 45 players — including ten likely lottery prospects — who have visited since June 3.
“It’s been a grind for our staff, seven in eight days,” McDonough said. “We feel good about where we are. We’ll take a little break and concentrate on film work over the next few days. We feel like we’re in good position here a couple of weeks out from the draft.”
The Suns, at the moment, have three draft picks, including the fifth overall selection. They also hold the final choice in the first round, 30th overall, and a pick late in the second round, 57th overall.
Whether that changes — McDonough has several times expressed an interest in acquiring an additional pick or two — may not be realized until the week of or maybe not until the day of the draft, coming up on Thursday, June 27.
Until then, besides the film watching and background checks, expect another wave of draft hopefuls to make their way into the Valley.
McDonough, preparing for his 11th NBA Draft, subscribes to the theory of you can never have enough information.
“Sometimes there are guys that you might’ve had slotted in a certain range,” he said, “maybe those guys weren’t in the mix for us at five and then they come in and have a great workout and show that they’ve improved since the college season ended. And I say, ‘Wait a minute. We probably have to reassess this. Should this guy be in the mix at five or should a guy who’s a projected second round pick, should he be in the mix at 30?’ That’s kind of what we’re doing right now.”
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