2019 NBA Mock Draft: The Boston Celtics clean up

The Suns’ need for a point guard is well-documented at this point. We’ll never know how things could have gone but their inactivity filling the hole at that position means they were able to prolong their tank and move back into the high lottery this season. One factor in that mistake that doesn’t get enough attention, however, is how cruel it was to coach Igor Kokoskov, whose motion system is built around having multiple players on the court who can make plays with the ball in their hands. He hasn’t had an ideal roster suited for his system even one game all season.

T.J. Warren, the standout development success story who topped his game off with a 3-point shot this year, rarely passes and does not provide enough help on the glass to play power forward, the position he has started in all season. Deandre Ayton is a rookie whose passing is better than imagined but he is not a traditional playmaker by any means. Devin Booker can only do so much. The rest of the rotation is rookies or recently added vets learning Kokoskov’s system.

Many wonder whether Phoenix will actually make this pick. They subtracted far more from their scouting team than they added to it when they gutted former general manager Ryan McDonough’s staff eight days before the start of the season. New GM James Jones has been actively touting his plans to change the roster considerably this summer, adding as many as five new pieces.

So while Ja Morant is the clear non-Zion Williamson choice should the Suns land this high in the draft, maybe we should listen to recent history and stop expecting logic to dictate how the Suns address their hole at point guard.