NBA Combine notebook: Suns meet with Bagley, not ruling out No. 1 trade
May 18, 2018, 4:52 PM | Updated: May 21, 2018, 1:39 pm
Duke's Marvin Bagley III is congratulated by teammates during the second half of a regional semifinal game against Syracuse in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Friday, March 23, 2018, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The Phoenix Suns made history by receiving the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft for the first time in franchise history. So what will general manager Ryan McDonough do with it?
University of Arizona center DeAndre Ayton and Real Madrid guard Luke Doncic have been declared the top two prospects in this year’s draft, with many experts declaring one of the two as a shoe-in for the Suns’ pick.
But while on ESPN’s broadcast set at the NBA Combine in Chicago on Friday, McDonough told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Phoenix is considering a “handful” of players with the No. 1 pick, one of which they met with this week at the combine, Duke forward Marvin Bagley III.
#Suns GM Ryan McDonough says the pick at #1 this year will be difficult and the team has talked to Marvin Bagley. pic.twitter.com/A9PdRCIekx
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) May 18, 2018
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“I think people are jumping to conclusions as far as maybe there are one or two guys maybe in the mix for us,” McDonough said. “There are a handful of guys, we met with Marvin Bagley this week here in Chicago, who, as you know, is a Phoenician, he is a local kid.”
The 6-foot-11 Tempe native shined in his only season for the Blue Devils, shooting 61.4 percent and 39.7 percent from 3-point range while averaging 21 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
With a wingspan over 7 feet, Bagley is currently ranked by ESPN as the No. 3 prospect in the class.
McDonough would also not rule out the possibility of trading the first overall selection.
“We’re certainly open to that. We’ll consider it,” McDonough said. “Obviously, we’ll have more information closer to the draft than we do today, after we go through the workout process and the interview process and we get the medical physicals. So we’re open to that.
“I think if you look around the NBA, as far as the veteran players, there are probably a few players we’d consider trading the pick for, not … just pick for player No. 1. So it’ll be a busy month for us.”
