Suns GM James Jones to represent franchise at virtual NBA Draft Lottery
Aug 19, 2020, 7:11 AM
Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones speaks to the media regarding the firing of Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov, Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Phoenix Suns general manager James Jones will be the Suns’ representative at the virtual NBA Draft Lottery on Thursday.
The Suns have the 10th-best odds for the No. 1 pick at the lottery, as the league ruled that teams’ records before the restart in Orlando would be the standings for the lottery odds. The only way odds would change for those 14 teams is if one of them made the playoffs, which is the case for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Phoenix has a 13.9% chance at moving up into a top-four pick, including a 3.0% opportunity at the top selection. The overwhelming odds for the Suns are to stay at No. 10 with a 65.9% chance, followed by 19.0% to drop to 11th.
The Suns entered the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery with the best odds and held that position to select center Deandre Ayton. In last year’s lottery, the first with the new odds, Phoenix dropped three positions from the third-best odds to the sixth pick. Jones traded back from No. 6 to 11th, picking up Dario Saric in the deal and then selecting forward Cam Johnson.
Phoenix has their own first-round pick this year but no second-round selection, trading it to Memphis as a part of the Josh Jackson deal.
The lottery takes place Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN.
