Have the Phoenix Suns finally learned from last draft’s mistakes?

The Phoenix Suns were active around the 2024 NBA Draft, selecting two players, Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, before signing undrafted Jalen Bridges to a two-way contract. The draft picks themselves were the largest the organization has taken since 2019, and even then, both picks (Jarrett Kulver and KZ Okpala) moved before playing for the team.

It’s clear that the draft has been a blind spot for the franchise, with the selection of Deandre Ayton with the first overall pick in 2018 instead of Luka Doncic, yet another mistake in a long list of mistakes. Owner Mat Ishbia’s huge trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal put even more distance between the Suns and developing young talent.

At this point, there’s no indication that three of their new players will be moved anytime soon. Though the same was true of last year’s second-rounder Toumani Camara (he also had some nice outings in Summer League), he ultimately became part of the deal that sent Ayton out of town.

If you’ve seen him play for the Portland Trail Blazers since then, it’s easy to see why they would have asked to include him in the deal. Camara is a young player who excels on the defensive end, skills that good teams always demand. Dwelling on Camara was beneficial for Portland, because he can grow with them or generate future assets for them in a trade.

That kind of long-term thinking (not to mention missing out on a ton of picks) is what The Valley has been lacking in recent years, and it has meant that general manager James Jones has come under close scrutiny. It’s too early to tell if any of these players are really going to help the team, but they at least show some forward planning on the Suns’ part.

At best, Dunn becomes this team’s version of Mikal Bridges, giving the Suns a stopper who can slow down elite scorers. In the playoffs, albeit with a small sample size, the Suns ranked dead last in defensive rating (123.2) as they were blown out by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

During the regular season, the team was above the league average in both rebounds (44.1, although again in the playoffs they finished last with 32.5) and in the aforementioned defensive rating (113.7). One of the main reasons for this was the reliance on Jusuf Nurkic, who had a great season and remained injury-free, but simply isn’t athletic or quick enough to stop explosive opponents.

The hope now is that both Ighodaro and Bridges can quickly develop into athletic defenders who have a positive impact on that end of the floor. Neither can currently come close to replicating Nurkic’s offensive game (he’s a fantastic passer out of the paint and connects possessions from inside), but playing with three All-Stars they don’t necessarily need to be right away.

For the most part, though, taking the draft seriously and moving up in the first and second rounds in what has been considered a weaker class gives the Suns more flexibility going forward. They can trade players if needed and now also have another second-round pick left to put on the table in a deal.

All of this points to an organization that has finally understood the importance of the draft, both now and in the future. If the Suns make a deep playoff run next year, it won’t be talked about much, but you can bet that Dunn and Co. will have either contributed or been the players needed to make a trade that allowed them to succeed.