Tyrese Haliburton says he wanted to be drafted by Suns in 2020

A backcourt of Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker and Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton may have been one of the best in the league, and during the 2020 NBA Draft the Suns had the 10th pick in, that was the scenario that Haliburton wanted.

During the draft, Haliburton saw his name mocked anywhere from the fourth pick to the 10th pick, a range he never thought he would fall outside of.

“We were calling Phoenix. ‘Ya’ll need a PG. Let me come play with Book,” Haliburton said of his draft day experience on the Numbers on the Board podcast. “They told me they were going with a power forward, so I knew they weren’t drafting me.”

Haliburton would end up getting drafted two spots later to the Sacramento Kings at pick 12.

The Suns ultimately chose to draft Jalen Smith, a power forward out of Maryland, as they envisioned a double-big lineup with Deandre Ayton to compete with the likes of Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis in the Western Conference.

“Stix is my boy, I played with Stix, that’s my dawg,” Haliburton said about Smith, whose nickname is Stix.

Smith has managed to carve out a solid career as a rotational big man with stints in Phoenix, Indiana and now Chicago. But if the Suns had been on the same page as Haliburton during that time, the landscape of the Western Conference could look vastly different.

The Suns just days prior had traded for Chris Paul. Paul helped lead the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals but his age (35) would  have created a natural pathway toward Haliburton as a long-term replacement.

Ever since Paul’s departure, the Suns haven’t had a steady presence at point guard, while Haliburton is one of the best in the league at only 26 years old. If the Suns had drafted Haliburton in 2020, he could have learned behind Paul, and then when Paul got traded, the Suns would have had their new franchise point guard to take his place.

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