NBA Mock Draft 2019: The chaos of this draft is only beginning
Vanderbilt. Darius Garland. 6. player. 66. . G
There is a lot of smoke coming from Phoenix’s front office, and as someone who covers the team, it feels like a lot of nonsense. Under James Jones, the franchise has squelched out most leaking. They are an incredibly young front office outside recent hire Jeff Bower, and Jones seems to view the hoopla surrounding the NBA as ridiculous. It feels very unlikely he or his staff are telling reporters or even other teams who they like this year.
That being said, their need at point guard is fueling much of the reporting and speculation surrounding the sixth pick with a week to go until draft night.
From Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated:
"“According to reports, the Suns have been weighing trading this pick, but it does seem likely that either White or Darius Garland will be available at this spot, which would give then a chance to address their long-standing hole at point guard.”"
Local radio host John Gambadoro has been crossing out name after name since the summer began, reporting over the past few weeks the Suns will not try to use No. 6 to trade for Mike Conley, Chris Paul or Lonzo Ball.
Then, Woj repeated similar thoughts on ESPN’s NBA Mock Draft special on Tuesday night. It appears the Suns will target a bargain veteran in free agency at point guard and try to draft a playmaker. Garland is decisively the better prospect in our opinion compared with Coby White, making this scenario a godsend for the rebuilding Suns.