Suns likely to keep number five pick in draft

The Phoenix Suns find themselves in very unfamiliary territory.

The franchise holds a top-five pick in the NBA Draft for only the seventh time in their 46-year history.

Unlike other years, there is no clear-cut number one overall selection, meaning there could be plenty of jockeying for draft position among the 30 teams.

But it doesn’t sound like new Suns general manager Ryan McDonough will be among those moving up or down the draft order.

“There will be multiple guys available that I’m comfortable with,” McDonough said Tuesday following the team’s most recent pre-draft workout. “I feel like we’re in a good position at five, we’re not going to go chasing somebody up above us most likely. I think it’s unlikely we drop down, so I think the most likely thing is we stick at five and just have two, three, four or five good options there and choose one of them.”

Although this is McDonough’s first draft as a general manager, he’s got a decade of experience in the Boston Celtics’ war room. The 33-year-old says he’s never seen a draft like this one.

“This seems like the least predictable at the top, you know, starting with number one,” he said. “I think there is some question with Cleveland — as far as I can tell, they’re still figuring out what they want to do.”

Because even the Cavaliers, who have the top pick for th third time in eight years, aren’t settled on their pick, McDonough isn’t ruling any of the top prospects being a possibility for the Suns.

“For me, there’s not a player or a subset of players I feel like I can put aside and not worry about and say ‘those guys definitely won’t be there at five,'” McDonough said. “We’re planning that any of them or all of them could be there at five, and we’re evaluating them all.”

Another thing to guard against in an uncertain draft is the stream of pervasive rumors that is sure to flow from now until the actual draft next Thursday. McDonough is fully aware and knows how to deal with it.

“I don’t get caught up in that, I really don’t,” he said. “It doesn’t benefit me. I know the players. I know who I like, I evaluate them all — I just act like they’re all going to be there.

“I guess there is some importance maybe right before the draft if you really like a guy and he’s going to be up in the top four, should we try to go up and get him? But other than that, I don’t really spend much time on it because the majority of it is misinformation rather than accurate information.”

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