After making the case for a Kevin Durant trade with the Houston Rockets in a scenario where the Phoenix Suns get their own first-round pick back, let’s extend the thought exercise further and break down the NBA Draft prospects Phoenix would target in that range.
There seems to be a comfortable tier alignment — I can’t write that word 100% seriously anymore *sigh* — inside the top-five.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg will be the No. 1 overall pick, while the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are assuredly not slipping past five. From there, Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe is far too toolsy to slide.
When looking at it from the perspective of owning the 10th overall pick, the other safe bets to be off the board are Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears and Texas two-guard Tre Johnson. I would also make a case that there’s a drop-off after the Duke pair, wing Kon Knueppel and center Khaman Maluach. So while they won’t be included in the list of three below for that reason, perhaps they would still be there.
What I will note here is that The Ringer’s Zach Lowe on The Zach Lowe Show compiled opinions through front offices and arrived at a conclusion that 3-10 could be anyone.
That is eerily similar to the 2020 NBA Draft, which Phoenix also picked 10th in. Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball were going to be gone. From there, it was a giant shrug. With six weeks left to go for things to start materializing, let’s see if that is indeed the case.
The idea here is for the Suns to cash in on Durant by adding a premier young talent next to Devin Booker, taking advantage of a late-lottery crop of prospects that is not short on upside. Phoenix’s only real shot over the next three years for adding another star next to Booker is through the draft, and this would greatly accelerate the chances of doing so. Here are the three targets with that thinking.
Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, Illinois, 18 years old
(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Measurables: 6-foot-6, 205 pounds, 6-foot-8 wingspan Stats: 15.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, 0.3 BPG, 0.9 SPG, 3.7 TPG, 44 FG% (10.3 FGA/G), 31.8 3P% (5.2 3PA/G), 84.5 FT% (5.1 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 7, The Athletic: 5, The Ringer: 9, Yahoo!: 12
Modern NBA point guards need to be able to do two things effectively in order to be great offensive players.
They need to be able to shoot off the dribble and make the correct passes/reads off help defense. If we want to be picky, the second ability comes with a third of bringing a downhill presence at a defense, but that is tied with the shooting, so we’ll give a pass there.
Jakucioinis’ two defining skills for the Illini were those, and that makes him a very interesting prospect.
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You’re picturing Stephen Curry immediately off the first attribute. There is no need to go that far, though.
I love Mike Conley. Conley has made a living in the league by being one of the best pull-up 3-point shooters among floor generals while also being incredibly smart with the way he can locate pressure points on a defense. He’s going to play in his 19th NBA season next season because of that.
Jakucionis’ step-back 3 became one of the signature shots of the college basketball season. It’s one he would often take to bail out possessions — and just far too much in general — which is why it’s unwise to read into his low 3-point percentage.
He pulled it out of nothing constantly, and he would use it in different ways. Watch where he plants his left foot here and how Jakucionis hops back.
Kasparas Jakucionis with a clean step back three. pic.twitter.com/c3L9z9x2X9
— Josh M (@JknowsBBall) December 7, 2024
Focus on the footwork again below. Jakucionis establishes his right foot to begin the go-to motion to his left, where the step-back 3 would usually get launched. But instead, he quickly glides on his left foot and basically spams the button sequence on his video game controller again to do the same motion with his right foot into an effortless hop.
Being able to throw it to Jakucionis and have him hit a step back 3 in transition is such a cheat code pic.twitter.com/KjkUmj5tXO
— Joe Jackson (@joejacksonCBB) January 5, 2025
That is really high-level stuff. Again, the percentage (31.8%) is not concerning. Jakucionis shot 84.5% at the foul line, which can be used with the tape as a strong indicator that he can still be a good-to-great shooter in the league.
He can really, really pass the ball too. There’s some playground wizardry to it when Jakucionis is rolling.
Last clip- this may just be my favorite one from this. A ram screen for Illinois allows Wisconsin to be in position to switch the guards/wings. Jakucionis gets back to the middle and blows by Tonje to put Winter in a 2 on 1. Just a sweet wrap around pass that’s right on the money pic.twitter.com/PDl7f9fccp
— Joe Jackson (@joejacksonCBB) December 11, 2024
There were a handful of games when Jakucionis’ pick-and-roll game with his bigs single-handedly turned the tide. His international experience would pop in a way where he was clearly three steps ahead.
And then there was when the physicality and competition of a conference like the Big Ten gave him a healthy dose of reality. In that same vein as earlier, the Illini lost games because of the way Jakucionis was unable to take care of the ball. Even with how reliant his team was on him for individual creation, Jakucionis would spend time in close ball games on the bench, in a way where you would notice the intent behind giving him an extra breather.
As you can tell from the offensive game, Jakucionis’ athletic profile is more about how smooth he moves as opposed to explosiveness. That’s where he got picked on a bit defensively, although the size at his position is a major plus. How that affects him offensively comes down to how much you believe his footwork, handle and feel will allow for him to make up for that.
It’s going to come down to how quickly Jakucionis can turn his off-the-dribble 3s into a serious weapon. That instantly makes him the most fascinating guy in the lottery, because rookies usually don’t come in chucking with a permanent green light, so his development could be weird. But he could also just start hitting those right away while spotting up off the ball and offering playmaking juice, instantly making him a quality NBA guard.
It’s a perfect fit for Phoenix, who will presumably stock up on accentuating talent around Booker and will require some other guards like Jakucionis who can create while setting the table. Booker takes on enough responsibility. The gravity from Booker would give Jakucionis some space, and assuming Phoenix plays fast like Booker wants to, that’s even more freedom for the Lithuanian to come firing out of the gates.
He’s exactly the type of prospect you want after making a trade centered around getting the pick back.
Derik Queen, C, Maryland, 20 years old
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Measurables: 6-foot-10, 248 pounds, 7-foot-1 wingspan Stats: 16.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 2.4 TPG, 52.6 FG% (11.1 FGA/G), 20 3P% (35 3PAs), 76.6 FT% (6.1 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 10, The Athletic: 8, The Ringer: 9, Yahoo!: 8
Queen is a fascinating guy to bring up because his red flags and weaknesses are the types of attributes we’ve talked about the Suns cleaning up this summer. He is undersized for his position, and with that smaller frame, is not the fastest or strongest either. The defensive tape has its warts, as does Queen’s overall lack of consistency with a motor that looks like it comes down to conditioning.
But the reason to list Queen is because of his high ceiling and is the type of offensive weapon Booker has never been paired with before.
Queen has tantalizing skill with the ball. The league is about to be even more fun to watch if we get more bigs in the vein of Naz Reid on the lower end and Nikola Jokic on the higher end. We’re talking about players who can legitimately handle it with some shake and have toughness to create their own shot.
Queen’s got the quickness to make that work and uses a decisive physical style in his takes to the basket, whether it’s in the post or taking a big off the bounce. Sprinkle in his passing chops and you can imagine what this dude could do with NBA space and shooting.
Derik Queen #Maryland
Hit The Music. pic.twitter.com/JNDNNVkuMx
— Tyler Rucker (@tyler_rucker) May 1, 2025
Queen was on an excellent, well-rounded Terrapins squad that had a few different guys prominently handle the ball, so while the negative assist-to-turnover ratio might be a reason to downplay his playmaking, expect that to turn around in an NBA setting as a hub.
Two areas of his development will hold him in tweener status as a big until he gets better: his shot and his mobility.
Queen attempted 35 3s as a freshman, making 20% of them. It’s always a dangerous proposition to expect significant improvement as a shooter in the evaluation of a lottery prospect, particularly from bigs. And this is not a Deandre Ayton situation, where Queen already has a knockdown middy. That needs to come, too.
The optimism spawns from his free-throw percentage in the mid-70s and the fact that he was often playing alongside another big. Again, the spacing the NBA provides should aid him. It’s going to be a big couple weeks of individual workouts for him to show there is indeed potential in that jumper.
The mobility is more about what Queen could do on defense. If he’s agile enough to switch onto some guards, that helps make up for the lack of traditional size at the 5. It would also help him as a rim protector, a recovering defender and as a diver after ball screens. He’s smart enough to capitalize on those spaces as is.
There is a solid argument to be made that Phoenix, in this scenario, should look at the pick like a golden ticket of sorts, a one-time lottery spin to find a second star to go alongside Booker. If that’s the strategy, Queen would be the selection.
Jase Richardson, PG/SG, Michigan State, 19 years old
(Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 178 pounds, 6-foot-6 wingspan Stats: 12.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.3 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 TPG, 49.3 FG% (8.1 FGA/G), 41.2 3P% (3.2 3PA/G), 83.6 FT% (3.4 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 13, The Athletic: 11, The Ringer: 14, Yahoo!: 11
I promise putting the Spartan on this shortlist is not a bit.
Richardson, yes, J-Rich’s kid, is the type of explosive offensive talent and competitor you’d want to lead a young core alongside a veteran like Booker.
The lefty plays an admirable style. He’s constantly aggressive in seeking out where to go at defenses while scoring from all three levels. Michigan State had a roster full of returnees that Richardson eventually outplayed to not only start but also become the No. 1 option.
Really, the best way to describe him is as if a glue guy could also be a microwave, heat-check scorer. Richardson has the scoring attributes while using proper tempo, taking care of the ball and getting quality looks. Inside that role is some classic nose for the ball stuff. He’s an irritant defensively.
Richardson had 30 turnovers in 36 games. A one-and-done guard who is a productive scorer while not turning it over is incredibly rare.
After Richardson, the only other prospect to average at least 10 points and a turnover per game or less who was a one-and-done guard selected in the first round was … Devin Booker in 2015, per Stathead.
The shifty elements of Booker’s game, particularly in the ball screen maneuvering and the midrange, are there in Richardson.
Jase Richardson GOES OFF for a career-high against Oregon?
29 PTS | 9-13 FG | 3-6 3PT | 5 REB pic.twitter.com/9XcIhwREqf
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) February 8, 2025
Richardson embraces contact and gets to the foul line a fair bit, a must for him since he is not the hyper-tiered athlete his dad was.
The only real question here is what position he plays. Richardson has the size for the 1, but Michigan State did not offer a conducive lens for evaluating his potential future as a floor general. Taking a kid as your future point guard who averaged under two assists a night would be bold.
For what it’s worth, the passing flashes were present and accounted for.
Jase Richardson averaged just 1.9 AST/G this season but boasted the lowest TO% out of all Freshman at 7.9% with a 2.3 AST/TO.
Here is some film that showcases Jase’s ability to find the open man + make advanced reads of the defense.#NBADraft pic.twitter.com/SgdBTdkLV4
— HuntHoops (@HuntHoops) May 9, 2025
But he’s got a long way to go before stepping in and running professional offenses every night. There’s a strong case to be made that he’s at best a combo guard for that type of skill set.
And for as exciting as the defensive work is, Richardson is small in a league that keeps getting bigger and bigger. The lack of versatility that comes with that is a negative.
To say the least, the gap between all he can do on both ends as a starting point guard or as more of a complementary scorer in an accentuating role is large. This is the rare high-floor, high-ceiling situation.
That feels like a match for Phoenix with how much it would have to nail this pick.
Who should be lower on the Suns’ 2025 NBA Draft board?
This range offers a handful of guys who either have too many of the traits the Suns should be looking to pass on, or complementary skill sets who don’t offer enough high-end upside to deliver on the price Phoenix pays for the pick.
South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles has tweener questions as a big like Queen — but without the high ceiling. He’s also got undeniable traits teams love, including ones the Suns will covet like defensive versatility, motor and scoring around the rim.
Arizona wing Carter Bryant is already moving up draft boards and looks more and more likely to go in the lottery. His 3-and-D profile is terrific and the Suns could use another one of those. Bryant, however, will probably not be more than that and the Suns need more than that.
Imagine everything Jakucionis does, except your brain is configuring that inside your imagination while on acid. That is BYU guard Egor Demin. While completely understanding the gravity of this statement, he could be the best player in the class if he reaches his full potential. He could also be out of the league within five years with how low the lows get. Too risky for what the Suns would give up in this scenario.
To follow up on that, French guard Nolan Traore is the best international prospect and held a firmer grasp on that claim six months ago. He did not have a good year and, like Demin, is best suited for a team that can develop a project.
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