After firing GM, acquiring point guard is ‘at top of list’ for Suns owner Sarver

It’s no secret what the Phoenix Suns’ major hole on the roster is.

They enter the 2018-19 season without a starting-caliber point guard despite having four on the roster.

Former Suns general manager Ryan McDonough pursued a trade for one during the offseason, per 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro, but was unsuccessful in his efforts.

McDonough was fired Monday morning, leaving vice president of basketball operations James Jones and assistant general manager Trevor Bukstein to bring in that player.

Team owner Robert Sarver acknowledged it’s a priority.

“I would say it’s definitely at the top of the list,” Sarver said on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Burns & Gambo.

Isaiah Canaan, Shaquille Harrison, De’Anthony Melton and Elie Okobo make up the rotation at the position. Canaan has over 200 games of NBA experience but has spent most of his time in the NBA toward the end of a team’s rotation. Harrison played 23 games in his rookie season last year and both Melton and Okobo were second-round picks in this year’s draft.

The owner said the team’s progress in the past six months and being in a “hyper-competitive Western Conference” were factors in the decision to fire McDonough.

Despite the team being led by a young roster headlined by 21-year-olds Devin Booker and Josh Jackson and 20-year-old Deandre Ayton, Sarver is ready to see the team move into the next step of competing.

“I think we’re at the end of a rebuild,” he said. “For me, the switch has flipped and it’s now time to start figuring out how to win.”

Sarver is high on the team’s current outlook.

“We’ve got a number of good young players,” he said. “I think we have, obviously, suffered through that process — which isn’t easy for our fan base — and now I think we’ve got some exciting young players who are going to be really, really good. And I think we have some flexibility. We’re preserving max cap space for next year, in addition to some other things we’re doing, so I think we have some flexibility and I think now it’s time to turn the switch on winning but that’s challenging.”

Along with that wiggle room, Sarver likes the Suns’ young talent being able to reach a certain level.

“I think we have three potential All-Star level players right now that if they continue to develop in the right way, I think we’re going to be great and we have them for a long time too,” he said.

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