Yahoo NBA mock draft: Suns ‘zeroing in’ on Tyler Kolek at No. 22

The Phoenix Suns are “zeroing in” on selecting Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek with the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft, according to Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek.

In a mock draft posted Monday, Peek called this “one of the most unpredictable drafts in recent memory” but said the Suns may have tipped their hand.

The general consensus is that the Suns are zeroing in on Kolek at 22 with his high IQ and ability to come in right away and give solid minutes. He plays bigger than his 6-foot-3 frame, is smart with the ball and finishes well through contact.

Kolek has overcome his shorter wingspan as well as his height, measuring in with a 6-foot-2.75 wingspan at the draft combine which was the second-shortest among all the prospects who participated. He led the NCAA with 7.7 assists as a senior and shot 60.7% at the rim, where he took nearly half of his shot attempts.

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Kolek is the prospect most frequently mocked to the Suns on our mock draft tracker by far, with 10 mocks pairing him with Phoenix and just five for the next most, Duke center Kyle Filipowski.

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto also said Sunday there was a “growing belief from rival NBA executives” that Kolek will be the Suns’ target. Scotto pointed out Kolek is represented by Priority Sports agent Mark Bartelstein, the father of Suns CEO Josh Bartelstein.

Phoenix was without a traditional point guard last season and Kolek would fill that role, but head coach Mike Budenholzer said after he was introduced the team will need to be able to play without one as well.

The first round of the 2024 NBA Draft is on June 26.

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