Suns nab G Terrance Arceneaux in 1st round of The Athletic’s mock draft

After not having a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Phoenix Suns currently hold two selections in next year’s festivities.

In Sam Vecenie of The Athletic’s way-too-early mock draft released Tuesday, the Suns used those picks to shore up some length at both the wing and forward spots.

With the 26th overall pick in next year’s draft, Vecenie has the Suns taking 19-year-old Terrance Arceneaux, a 6-foot-7 wing out of Houston.

I get the impression I’m a bit higher on Arceneaux than consensus, but he seems like one of those guys who is tailor-made to be an NBA wing. Every year, there is a guy ranked somewhere in the 30s or 40s in their recruiting class who surprisingly goes one-and-done. This is my pick for that this season. Arceneaux is 6-foot-7 with what has to be at least a 7-foot wingspan. He hits shots off the catch from distance and is an extremely disruptive defender both on the wing with his ability to get into passing lanes and on the weak side as a shot blocker. He’s not really a primary scorer, but he does everything else well in how it translates toward being a potential NBA prospect. I think he has a really strong year as a freshman for Houston as a role player, and he’s actually the guy I see as their best long-term prospect ahead of guys like Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser, both of whom are also rated highly here.

Arceneaux was listed as a four-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals and was the No. 70 player nationally in the ESPN100.

As a senior for Beaumont High School during the 2021-22 season, he averaged 15.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, two assists, 3.2 blocks and 2.2 steals across 30 games played.

If Phoenix were to select Arceneaux, he would give the Suns more length and defensive prowess to pair alongside First Team All-Defense selection Mikal Bridges.

With their second-round selection, Vecenie has the Suns taking Roko Prkacin out of Cibona at 55th overall.

Prkacin, 20, is currently listed at 6-foot-9 and primarily plays power forward.

While playing for the Cibona Zagreb of the Adriatic Basketball Association last season (24 games), Prkacin scored 13.3 points on 49% shooting overall to go along with 6.8 assists per game.