Over the course of the NBA Finals, the lineups on the floor have become progressively smaller. The result has been beautiful basketball: two skilled teams playing 4-out for 48 minutes. Read More. Written by Jonathan Tjarks on Jun 17, 2013
The Phoenix Suns have investigated the possibility of another first-round pick beyond their No. 5 and No. 30 slots.
“We’ve talked to a few teams about getting in the draft at different ranges,” Ryan McDonough said. “We have good assets to do that. We have to evaluate all of these guys, figure out where they’re going to go. And then if we can get in at a particular range where a guy is undervalued, we’ll try to get in and get him there.”
McDonough worked out six players on Friday, including C.J. Leslie, who could be on the board when it’s time for the Suns to make their second selection.
“Good athlete, very long, can do some nice things attacking from the elbow,” McDonough said. “It (the NBA) is becoming more positionless. For a guy with C.J.’s size and length and athletic ability, to be able to defend some of these really athletic 3s (small forwards) with some size, that would be intriguing to a guy like me.”
The Phoenix Suns have named Pat Connelly Assistant General Manager and Trevor Bukstein has been promoted to Assistant General Manager. Ronnie Lester has been named a scout and Emilio Kovacic has been named International Scouting Consultant. John Treloar will remain the team’s Director of Player Personnel; John Shumate and Bubba Burrage remain scouts.
The Suns hired Ryan McDonough as general manager this offseason.
Connelly joins the Suns following seven seasons with the Washington Wizards, most recently as the Director of Player Personnel where he was one of the team’s top scouting sources of collegiate and international talent.
Dwayne Davis, the draft prospect out of Southern Miss, has scheduled workouts for six NBA teams and interests those organizations as a possible second round pick, a source told RealGM.
Davis will work out for the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and a sixth team that could sign the 6-foot-5 guard if he falls out of this month’s draft.
After averaging 16 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range in his senior season at Southern Miss, Davis stood out in the pre-draft’s Portsmouth Invitational, earning workout opportunities despite not participating in the combine.
Davis, 23, grew up as a homeless child, living through foster care and looking after his siblings.
Jeff Hornacek has been offered the head coach position of the Phoenix Suns, according to league sources. Hornacek and the Suns are working on a contract and constructing a coaching staff.
Hornacek met with Lon Babby and Ryan McDonough in the past week.
Hornacek, 50, played the first six seasons of his 14-year NBA career with the Suns and remains a popular figure in the community.
Hornacek has also interviewed for the Charlotte Bobcats' coaching position.
The Phoenix Suns will pick fifth overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, their highest selection since 1987 when they selected Armen Gilliam at No. 2 after David Robinson went to the San Antonio Spurs.
The draft is considered very flat, which benefits the Suns at No. 5 more than certain seasons in the past.
“The guy who goes there might not be much different, or any different, than guys who go in the top three,” McDonough said.
The Suns will be the first team from the Western Conference selecting in this draft.
“I think generally we need to get more athletic,” Ryan McDonough said. “I think we need more shooting. My philosophy is always to draft the best available player. There are some good pieces in place here. But at the same time, we won 25 games here, so we need to get better across the board.”
We could see NBA history on Saturday night if Ben Hansbrough makes it onto the floor for the Pacers in Phoenix. There has never been a game between two teams with sets of brothers.
The Phoenix Suns could finish with their worst record since their inaugural season 44 years ago, but the team's veterans insist that there isn't any tanking going on.