Suns trade down, Nuggets take DaRon Holmes II with 22nd pick in NBA Draft

The Phoenix Suns traded the No. 22 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to the Denver Nuggets, who plan to select Arizona high school product DaRon Holmes II, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Phoenix received the 28th pick which was used to draft Ryan Dunn as well as the 56th pick and two future second-round picks. Those second-round picks come in 2026 and 2031, confirmed Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

Suns fans will have to wait until Thursday to see who Phoenix selects with the 56th pick, as the second round takes place on Thursday, beginning at 1 p.m.

Phoenix entered Wednesday in dire need of draft capital after trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal saw them give up first-round picks every other year and relinquish control of their picks in the remaining years with swap rights given to other teams.

Because of their financial limitations and those trades in the past year-plus, they were not able to trade their own 2024 first-rounder until draft day. Phoenix also was restricted with a 2031 first-round choice its only other asset of note, and that also could not be traded until Wednesday.

Additionally, a second-round pick for 2024 was forfeited as a penalty as the NBA determined the Suns contacted then-free agent center Drew Eubanks prior to the open negotiating period last summer.

DaRon Holmes II picked by Suns in trade with Nuggets

The 6-foot-10 big man grew up locally in Goodyear and attended Millennium High School for three years. He was named the Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year following his junior campaign, averaging 23.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.1 assists per game.

Prior to his senior year, Holmes transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida. He ended up transferring back to the Valley in the middle of the academic year and closed out his high school career at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler.

Holmes, rated as four-star recruit by 247 Sports, chose Dayton over other offers from Arizona, LSU, Tennessee and UCLA.

After his third and final season, Holmes was named 2024 Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the year and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year. The two accolades recognized his top-level performance on the court, in which he averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 blocks per game.

Holmes led the Flyers to their first March Madness victory since 2015, defeating Nevada before putting up 23 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and one block in a loss to Arizona.

Holmes becomes the third active NBA player from Dayton, joining former National Player of the Year Obi Toppin and 2023 Phoenix Suns second-round choice Toumani Camara.

Toppin and Camara sent Holmes well wishes and several former teammates from Millennium accompanied him on draft night in Lotte New York Palace. Holmes and Toppin (No. 7 overall in 2020) are the only first-round picks from Dayton since 1980.

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