Phoenix Suns
Acquired: F Jalen Smith (Pick No. 10)
Traded: None
The Phoenix Suns made most of their noise before the 2020 NBA Draft when they traded for 10x All-Star and future Hall-of-Fame point guard, Chris Paul. The Thunder sent Chris Paul and Abdel Nader to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 first-round pick. The addition of Chris Paul to a team that already has two All-Star talents in Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton makes the Phoenix Suns a sneaky good team in the Western Conference that will be a contender to make the playoffs.
When it came time to draft with the No. 10 pick, the Phoenix Suns made what seemed to be a reach in many people’s eyes as they took Jalen Smith out of Maryland. Jalen Smith averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game last season with the Terrapins, earning him 2019-20 All-Big Ten honors. Not that Jalen Smith isn’t a good choice next to DeAndre Ayton, but the Phoenix Suns could have traded down in the first-round and drafted Smith at a later time.
Other forwards such as Isaiah Stewart and Precious Achiuwa had higher overall draft grades than Jalen Smith and would have made more sense for the Phoenix Suns given their athletic and versatile play styles. Unlike Stewart and Achiuwa, Jalen Smith is more of a back to the basket type of big man who has shown the ability to play from the perimeter, but spends most of his time in the paint. Next to Ayton, the Phoenix Suns will have a great rebounding duo, but will be giving up the ability to push the ball in transition and will have to resort to more of a half-court and slow tempo team with Smith on the court.
Much like the Utah Jazz, the Phoenix Suns find themselves on this list because of what could have been with this No. 10 overall pick. Jalen Smith could turn out to be a great addition for the Phoenix Suns, but there were some more polished and better developed big man options they could have gone with. As a result, this draft choice could come back to hurt the Phoenix Suns.
