Since 2015 trade deadline, Suns put all their eggs in NBA Draft basket

While whining about superteams formed by free agency nowadays is en vogue — as if it’s somehow more morally reprehensible compared to trading for or drafting multiple star players — the fact is it’s extremely rare for any successful teams to do all of their superstar shopping via the draft.

Even for a Phoenix Suns team talking about playoff contention in a deep Western Conference, building beyond the draft is a requirement.

General manager Ryan McDonough has so far put all of his eggs in the NBA Draft basket, failing to add and retain high-level starters in free agency or via trade. And the many moves Phoenix has made in the last five seasons have, essentially, only given the Suns what you see on the current roster — a team expected to finish at the bottom of the Western Conference once again.

Can those players’ development give rise to winning? Could improvement open up doors for trades or wooing free agents?

Those are the two main questions that will define McDonough’s success or failure with his contract up in 2020.

That’s because after years of asset collecting, the assets have now been used. Other than the protected Milwaukee Bucks first-rounder via the Eric Bledsoe trade, the Suns only have their own draft picks to trade.

And the young assets left on the roster, if they’re to be considered in trades or kept to develop, have a lot of growing to do.

Phoenix has drafted — or acquired players on draft night via trade — 11 first-round picks since McDonough was hired as GM under former president of basketball operations Lon Babby in 2013. Seven of those remain under contract.

One, Devin Booker, has turned into a sure-fire star. Only one other, T.J. Warren, could be considered a starting-caliber player.

Here are those first-round picks selected by McDonough since he arrived.

Deandre Ayton, Josh Jackson or another player must develop into a full-fledged No. 2 option behind Booker for Phoenix to take a major leap forward. We know that.

How soon does that happen? Does it do enough to push Phoenix into 35-win territory this year? Can that be enough to give McDonough a break with an impactful trade or free agent signing in 2019?

So far, this is what a lot of gruntwork has left him:

Brandon Knight hasn’t been healthy and has been poor when he’s suited up for Phoenix. Among notable free agent signings, Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley, the latter of whom was traded Friday, are on the backend of their careers. Trevor Ariza is a building block, not a foundational piece.

Hope requires Knight’s resurrection coming off a torn ACL under first-year coach Igor Kokoskov and a collection of first-round picks playing to high expectations.

That brings us to the flowchart below, which is … quite busy.

It focuses on the monumental trade deadline day of 2015 that saw Phoenix begin a rebuild by acquiring Knight and dealing away two other starting-caliber point guards, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas.

The flowchart only includes the 2015 trades and attached deals to picks involved in those — plus a few random notes and thoughts from me.

It’s color-coded to help you get the gist: The Suns have roster-churned a lot starting with the 2015 NBA trade deadline only to have Knight, Mikal Bridges and Marquese Chriss to show for it.

Green – First-round talent the Suns spent a lot on and are banking on

Orange – First-round picks/players drafted in first round by Suns who were traded away

Blue – First-round picks acquired (notice how many in the flowchart end up being traded away)

Red – Starting point guards traded (again, no Bledsoe because, does that pick really matter at this point?)

Click on the chart below for larger image.

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