Pair with Arizona ties among 1st-round draft trade-up targets for the Suns

In back-to-back years, the Phoenix Suns have been aggressive in moving around the NBA Draft to go get their guy.

Will they make it a third?

It’s something the Suns should seriously explore, because while all draft classes are different, this one in that range has a blend of all types of players at all types of positions. Whether it’s a lead guard, an off-ball shooter, wings with complementary skills or versatile bigs, just about every skillset will be available in the final 15 picks.

That should be music to the Suns’ ears, given how duplicative their roster is.

I took a peek at three players who fit Phoenix’s needs in Allen Graves, Morez Johnson and Dailyn Swain on Wednesday. Here are three more late first-round prospects who could fit on the Suns. Two of them should be familiar to college basketball fans in the state of Arizona.

Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina, 21 years old

Measurables: 7-foot-1, 227 pounds, 7-foot-2 wingspan
Stats: 17 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 BPG, 0.6 SPG, 1.7 TPG, 60.8 FG% (11 FGA/G), 42.6 3P% (3 3PA/G), 61.5 FT% (3.8 FTA/G)
Big board rankings: ESPN: 28, The Athletic (mock draft): 33, Yahoo!: 34, The Ringer: 17

There are certain organizations that value improvement when evaluating draft prospects, whether it is how much one got better in high school or in college. One of those teams will take Veesaar.

Veesaar got flickers of playing time in his redshirt freshman year before playing at a game-changing level as a reserve sophomore. His springy and mobile agility at his size created a terrific two-man game partner with Caleb Love and opened up what Arizona could do defensively. There is a case to be made that he was better two years ago than either Tobe Awaka or Motiejus Krivas, but the Wildcats knew better than this blog boy and committed to that superb duo, while Veesaar hit the portal in response.

He went to North Carolina and played to the level of his NIL standing, upping the production in a way that felt necessary. If Caleb Wilson would have stayed healthy, he and Veesaar could have led the Tar Heels to the Final Four as a premier frontcourt.

Veesaar plays tough through a slimmer build at 227 pounds, continuing to show flashes of versatile defense while growing as a shooter into 42.6% from deep on 94 attempts. Even if that percentage drops into the mid-30s, that would still be very good efficiency for a rim-protecting seven-footer. Again, his athleticism makes him a very good diver, so this is a true roll or pop screener. He’s a fantastic finisher.

Strong 28-point, 17-board effort from Henri Veesaar for shorthanded UNC last night. Up to 55 dunks and 37 3PTM. Really turned himself into an offensive prospect certain NBA teams can have good use for. pic.twitter.com/EvoeKEEB3s

— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) March 13, 2026

How impactful of a defender Veesaar is will ultimately determine if he is a starting-caliber big or more of an effective reserve. He only amounted to 79 blocks across his last two seasons, just over one a game. If his wingspan was just two or three inches longer, he’d be a whole different type of deterrent around the basket.

With how aggressive coaches want him to be — given Veesaar is quick enough to meet ball-handlers at the level of a ball screen — his recovery instincts are a work in progress. Warts of that ilk are fairly common in his tape. But there are also games where it has clicked, and when it did, he was a true two-way force. His defensive potential is getting undersold in this process, likely due to a lack of strength and high-end size.

If the Suns are moving on from Mark Williams, Veesaar would offer a new dynamic as a true stretch big, with him and Ighodaro having some parts of their skillset that could feature in double-big lineups alongside Maluach.

Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke, 20 years old

Measurables: 6-foot-7, 186 pounds, 6-foot-9 wingspan
Stats: 15 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 BPG, 0.7 SPG, 1.1 TPG, 43.3 FG% (11.3 FGA/G), 36.1 3P% (7.4 3PA/G), 86 FT% (3 FTA/G)
Big board rankings: ESPN: 24, The Athletic (mock draft): 30, Yahoo!: 33, The Ringer: 24

Evans is easy to pigeonhole as just a shooter but there might be more here. Despite 13.7 minutes per game as a freshman, Evans had enough juice to his NBA stock that he had a shot going in the first round last summer, but he wisely went back to school and thrived with a bigger role. Like we covered with Veesaar, the major improvement matters. I think he should definitively be in the top-20, and it seems like he’s got a shot of missing out on the first round entirely, which would be foolish.

Last year, Evans was buried behind three lottery picks. This year, most of the attention went to the freshmen frontcourt of Cameron Boozer and Patrick Ngongba II, as well as junior point guard Caleb Foster, who got love as a leader of the team. Evans, though, would always stand out when you watched the Blue Devils.

He has expanded his full shooting profile. Evans showcased a comfort level for using his dribble more often to set up the jumper and utilizing more dribble attacks versus closeouts.

Evans is a good athlete, so the more he can use that to his advantage on offense, the better. Movement will be his friend. He shouldn’t just be standing still in the corner, and he realized that more as a sophomore.

Loving Isaiah Evans’ multi-level scoring development as of late.

19.3 PPG on 51.2% FG in the tournament, including 25 PTS vs. St. John’s — 91st %-ile scorer on perimeter shots + 98th %-ile when driving to the rim. Strong improvements in his closeout attacking + pull-up shooting. pic.twitter.com/kefOsmeI2v

— Mohamed (@mcfNBA) March 28, 2026

As you can see, the dude is big for your standard off-ball guard that spaces the floor. The long limbs stand out on defense, where Evans really took on the challenge of playing with energy on that end as a full-time starter.

Whether it’s more of “he holds his own” or “legitimately impactful” will dictate a lot. Regardless, many “sniper” archetypes coming out in the draft have question marks defensively. Evans shouldn’t.

Isaiah Evans is exactly what contenders are looking for. The shot making and floor spacing jump out obviously, but the defensive upside is just as intriguing. Long, disruptive arms, a pesky competitive nature, and a mentality teams need.

Added strength is needed for NBA… pic.twitter.com/36O0ex66BQ

— Matt (@HoopHound5) May 27, 2026

The appeal here for Phoenix would be in the event it redistributes its plethora of 6-foot-5 perimeter players, and suddenly has an opening for someone younger with a bit more size to them. The dancing of the tax line could result in enough movement for that, plus a pick in Evans’ range.

Koa Peat, F, Arizona, 19 years old

Measurables: 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, 6-foot-11 wingspan
Stats: 14.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 0.7 BPG, 0.6 SPG, 1.6 TPG, 52.8 FG% (10.5 FGA/G), 35 3P% (0.6 3PA/G), 62.3 FT% (4.5 FTA/G)
Big board rankings: ESPN: 25, The Athletic (mock draft): 22, Yahoo!: 25, The Ringer: 26

At a certain point in the draft, the former Wildcat will be worth a swing, as his draft stock is one of the more volatile going into the night.

Peat was seen as a mid-to-late lottery selection coming into the college basketball season and then erupted against defending champion Florida in his first-ever game, dominating the supposed best frontcourt in the country.

Arizona freshmen Koa Peat was unreal vs the defending National Champs in Florida:

30 points
7rebounds
5 assists
3 steals
1 block
11/18 FG

Absolutely dominated Florida on both ends was quite unbelievable to watch in real time. pic.twitter.com/YlnX802oDt

— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) November 4, 2025

He exited that weekend with the type of momentum to join the likes of the Big Four of his freshmen class and make it a Big Five, only to stall out the rest of the season.

“Mr. Arizona” has consistently won at every amateur and international level, doing so with a mature physical tenacity where his strength and speed at his size overwhelmed everyone on both ends, accompanied by his good floor sense to make an impact everywhere. When he even accomplished that against the Gators, it seemed like it would be business as usual. But Peat’s play against the best competition was inconsistent, where his skill limitations were present.

The lack of a 3-point shot really isn’t the biggest issue here. Peat’s got a reliable midrange game with good touch, as well as an OK feel for finishing around the rim. But his off-the-dribble game to set that up is elementary at this stage. He’s more of a wing than a big, so his post game isn’t much of an option in the NBA. When Arizona got Peat the ball in key moments to let him go to work, he almost always was producing either a bulldozing straight line-drive to the rim or getting to the jumper from 12-16 feet through the same few moves he used all year. That eventually became too limited of a bag, even in the Big 12.

So if he isn’t a consistent scorer right now, Peat has to be able to space the floor so his intangibles and plus athleticism can stick around to help his team. Peat, however, appears to be in the process of remodeling his jumper after only taking 20 triples in college and shooting 62.5% at the foul line, so it’s going to be a while.

The good news is Peat at times put forth some fantastic defensive play, fitting right into Arizona’s sensational team defense and showing some switchability onto quick wings and bigger guards. He didn’t pop all the time, but in huge matchups, he was one of the best defenders out there for Arizona. As long as his learning process doesn’t hit any snags, he should be a positive defender in the league pretty quickly.

And for the lack of playmaking juice you’d assume given the off-the-bounce issues, Peat finished with 93 assists and 58 turnovers as a smart passer who read the floor well.

There is a great and unique winning player in there at a position of extreme value. If Peat’s offense takes a big step in either his handle or shot, you’ve got a versatile defender already built like a truck as a young pup who makes winning play after winning play inside all of the margins.

Take his offense out of it, and it’s almost like a version of the 2021 Suns title team rotation version of Torrey Craig. If the offense expands past “passable” to stay on the floor, he could ascend the redraft rankings of this class expeditiously. That’s the type of upside Phoenix should hunt for in the 20s, especially at his size for a forward.

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