Ryan McDonough: Overwhelming likelihood Suns keep No. 1 pick

PHOENIX – It’s been 10 days since the Phoenix Suns won the NBA Draft Lottery, awarding them the first overall pick for the first time in franchise history.

And in those 10 days, it’s been hard to catch general manager Ryan McDonough without an ear-to-ear grin.

“Somebody asked me the other day about other teams in the lottery, what they’re doing. I said I’m not really concerned about it. It doesn’t impact us. They should be worried about what we’re doing and who we’re going to pick,” he said Friday, following the team’s first pre-draft workout, which featured six guards, including Arizona State’s Tra Holder.

“It’s a unique position to be in.”

A position McDonough acknowledged comes with a great deal of pressure to make the right pick.

“I welcome that pressure, that responsibility,” he said.

“I honestly think there are some drafts you prefer not to have the No. 1 pick just because there isn’t a player worthy of that. I think in some ways you’re set up to fail in that scenario. This year we feel the opposite. We feel there are four or five players who in normal drafts would be in the mix for No. 1 if not the No. 1 pick. So we view that as a good problem to have.”

While much of the attention on the No. 1 pick is focused on Arizona center Deandre Ayton and Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, McDonough mentioned that there are a handful of players they would at least consider with that first overall selection.

At last week’s NBA Draft Combine, the Suns met with Duke forward Marvin Bagley III, Texas center Mohamed Bamba, Michigan State center Jaren Jackson Jr. and Missouri forward Michael Porter Jr., all of whom have been pegged to be among the first few off the board on June 21.

“For us, we wouldn’t invite them (to visit Phoenix) if they didn’t have a chance, if we weren’t seriously considering them,” McDonough said.

Of course the Suns would love for those top players to not only visit the Valley but work out, and preferably work out against one another. That, though, isn’t expected to happen.

Any workout that does take place with the first overall pick in mind is likely to be private.

“That’s usually the way it goes,” McDonough said. “Obviously, the agents have a lot of say. They have a strong voice in the process. They’re worried about injuries, which we understand that part of it. So we’d love for them to come in and compete against other top guys at their position. I think for the guys in the mix at No. 1 that’s going to be tough for us to put together.”

Even tougher would be parting with that No. 1 pick.

Immediately after the lottery, McDonough did open the possibility of trading the selection for a “young proven star player with multiple years on his contract or multiple years of team control” but finding that player and, more importantly, a team willing to trade such a player will be difficult.

“Once you start whittling down the list, that list probably shrinks to a handful of players if not fewer players than that, so I think the overwhelming likelihood is that we keep the pick,” McDonough said.

“However, we’re open if those teams call us or we call them. But as of now, we’re planning on keeping it. We want to go through the (pre-draft) process. I think if we were to arrive at that destination it would be on draft night or just before the draft so I think it’s very likely we keep the pick and draft No. 1.”

Holder’s workout

The workouts are just beginning for Holder, the Sun Devil product who made the Suns his first stop on the pre-draft process.

“It’s an unbelievable experience,” he said. “I kind of grew up as a man in the backyard in Tempe, so just getting the opportunity to play with great talent here was just a dream come true for me.”

Holder was joined in a six-guard workout by Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett, Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham, SMU’s Shake Milton, Oakland’s Kendrick Nunn and Iowa State’s Lindell Wigginton.

A four-year starter at ASU and first-team All-Pac-12 selection as a senior, Holder wasn’t invited to the combine. He did, however, earn an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational, which is reserved for the best seniors in the country.

“I think I did well,” said Holder, who averaged 13.3 points on 45.2 percent shooting and 5.0 assists. “I feel like the big question (teams have) is my point guard abilities. (They) probably think of me as an undersized two-guard, something like that, so I was able to distribute and in the second game I was able to score. I gave the best of both worlds.”

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