The 2031 CSL Draft Lottery
The site of the CSL 2031 Draft Lottery was met with an unwelcome site as a local fan was chosen to represent the Phoenix Suns as a good luck charm. It turns out that this fan was as good of a charm as could be as the Suns ended up jumping from 9 to 2 in the Draft lottery. Not quite the 1st overall pick as New Orleans got that stroke of luck and will likely end up picking Victor Wembanyama, a generational big man from France. While not quite Wemby; the Suns have their pick of the rest of a very strong field. We wanted to get thoughts on the fan who attended.
Known as "The Ray", he is a superfan of the highest order
"Well, I can say that I don't see the plan from our front office in terms of competing, but hoping the 2nd pick helps with that. personally I was a big fan of trading for Garland and where he is right now! I think a big thing for the franchise would be selling off Tatum and grabbing picks and just tanking next year imo.
The Suns front office have a choice of the following:
Illinois Center Kofi Cockburn is a BEAST
Although most of the draft talk has been over Victor Wembanyama; Kofi Cockburn out of Illinois has his own generational hype label on him. With Illinois alumni; Ayo Dosunmu on the team as it is; there could a reuniting of the two. A big, strong and old-school type of Center; Cockburn is great for the team , but interferes with Center Dedric Lawson wrapped up for a couple of years. Still, there is no doubt that Cockburn will be a future great in the position for a long time coming.
Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham is a leader of men
One of the glaring weaknesses from the Suns is the Point play and combining a stud like Cunningham with Garland would fix so many issues. An elite passer and a decent defender; Cade's biggest strength may be his all-around scoring game. He could easily become one of the best two way guards in the league with time and patience put into him. Though he doesn't seem to be a top 2 pick for a team atleast off first viewing. Still; Cade looks to have all the features of a star at the backcourt position.
Gonzanga's Jalen Suggs has shown he has the tools to win
Jalen Suggs projects to be a defensive master with his onball and off the ball defense being significantly better than an other rookie. Already a good passer, Sugg's defense looks to be masterful for someone so young and he looks to come out of college already one of the better defenders at the position. This would fulfill two weaknesses the Suns have at Point and defensively the team has been awful. However; Suggs is a major liability on the offensive end and looks like he will never become a potent threat from there.
Gradey Dick measures up
A darkhorse has become a strong candidate for the Suns over the past few weeks and that is one, Gradey Dick out of Kansas. The Small Forward has though to be a strong pick at 2 recently and the team has monitored the market for Tatum trades in the beginning stages of this. Dick is a master of none and average at it all from the 3 position and that has seen him rocket up draft boards over the time. Many don't expect Gradey to be the 2nd overall pick, but Phoenix could spring a surprise.
Keegan Murray is prepared
Keegan Murray out of Iowa has emerged as a strong contender here in drafts and over with the scout team. A strong defender out of college; he is someone who can shoot a decent bit and would be able to slot in for Tatum if the team decided to tank next year to grab another pick. Nothing definite, but could be the one who goes #2 overall as well.
