Ultimate Arizona Sports Fantasy Draft – Phoenix Suns

This week the NHL will partake in its first ever All-Star Game
Fantasy
Draft. The draft, much like those that take place on playgrounds around the
world on a daily basis, will pit team captains Niklas Lidstrom and Eric Staal
against each other while they select who their teammates for the game will
be
from a list of pre-determined participants. The format intrigued us here at
ArizonaSports.com so much that we decided to politely borrow it from the
NHL,
the way they borrowed it from kids, for what we are calling the Ultimate
Arizona Sports Fantasy Draft.

Over the next few days you will see writers from our site along with Sports
620 KTAR hosts and even members of the teams’ broadcast crews compete
in
head-to-head drafts in an attempt to see who can come up with the
ultimate roster. After each draft has concluded, the rosters will be posted
on the site
with explanations about each pick. Fans will be invited to vote on who has
compiled the ultimate roster for each team.

Mark Asher’s Ultimate Fantasy Suns Team	Jon Bloom’s Ultimate Fantasy Suns Team
No. 1 – (Charles Barkley) Nice I got the No. 1 pick! I wouldn’t say this one is a no-brainer, but I have never seen an athlete transform a sports town the way Sir Charles did! I will gladly take Charles Barkley and lock down the power forward spot.	No. 2 – (Steve Nash) After Ash predictably went with the round mound of rebound with his first pick, I decided I had to go with the guy who Hall of Fame Voice of the Suns Al McCoy told me was hands down the best leader the franchise has ever had…and that’s the 2-time MVP and current Suns point guard.
No. 4 – (Amare Stoudemire) OK, Bloomer threw me for a small loop taking both point guards. I know I can get Jason Kidd later so I will make my team unbeatable in the post and select Amare Stoudemire with my second pick. Amare will play Center on this squad.	No. 3 – (Kevin Johnson) Anyone who knows me well, knows that my favorite athlete of all time in any sport and the reason I’ve been a Suns fan since 1988 is KJ. While this makes me point guard heavy, you can never have too many great playmakers and I’ve got two of the best.
No. 6 – (Shawn Marion) Man I wanted the Greyhound to be my shooting guard…nice pick Bloom. I’m going for athleticism with my squad so with my next pick I will take the Matrix Shawn Marion. My team will win a dunk contest that’s for sure!	No. 5 – (Walter Davis) Sure I would have loved to pair Stat with Nash & KJ, but since he’s off the board, when you’ve got great penetrators, you need to have guys who can knock down the perimeter shot, and it’s tough to find a better shooter than “Sweet D.”
No. 8 – (Connie Hawkins) This is my pick paying homage to “Old School”. Gotta go with the Hawk…Connie Hawkins is one my favorites of all time and the thought of him coming off my bench is ridiculous!	No. 7 – (Tom Chambers) I’ve heard him referred to as the Amare of the 80’s, and I remember dominating with him when playing NBA Jam back in the day, so I decided to go with TC as my starting PF.
No. 10 – (Paul Westphal) The Oklahoma Kid better hit the weights to play against my front court! With my next pick I have to go with a great scorer at the 2 guard spot. He was maybe going to be my coach, but I think he was a better player so let’s grab Paul Westphal.	No. 9 – (Alvin Adams) After Ash went with the Hawk, there was only one logical place I could go for some more size. I didn’t get to see Alvin play as much as some of the other guys, but anyone who can put up 47 pts, 18 rebs and 12 assists in a game as a starting center is someone I want on my roster.
No. 12 – (Jason Kidd) This is a little bit of a steal, but I knew Bloomer wasn’t going three point guards. Suns have had three great point guards in their history and granted Kidd was the 3rd best (unless it’s a french fry throwing contest). That won’t stop me from taking Jason Kidd and completing my team of Suns Awesomeness!	No. 11 – (Dick Van Arsdale) Another guy that us thirty-somethings didn’t get to see play, but from what I’ve heard about the “Original Sun,” he flat out got it done (top 5 all time in 7 categories) and is a fantastic swingman to round out this roster which definitely has an edge in the backcourt and it’s a landslide when it comes to basketball IQ.
Coach – (Mike D’Antoni) 7 seconds or less will have to be the motto as Mike D’Antoni is the coach of my team.	Coach – (Cotton Fitzsimmons) It’s hard to find a coach who’s as revered by a fanbase as much as Cotton is here in the Valley. There’s no doubt in my mind that he would get the most out of these six guys and losing would not be an option against Ash’s squad.

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