We get it. The Suns are an easy target.
Our local basketball franchise having any sort of success doesn’t seem to get clicks but bashing the front office and getting upset that their best player won’t use them in a video game, apparently does.
The Ryan McDonough years get more head scratching with each passing year. We know that. If you want to blast him for taking Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss... well deserved! But putting McDonough, Robert Sarver and rest of the front office on blast over Jayson Tatum's recent comments on Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes' show, 'All the Smoke,' about once wanting to be a Phoenix Sun, is a waste of time.
Suns fans might think that former head coach Earl Watson chiming in on past affairs (once again), gives the Jayson Tatum criticism validity, but it doesn't.
Look, I don’t have anything against Earl Watson other than the fact that he is a UCLA Bruin (I'm a Wildcat). As a collegiate player, I couldn’t stand him. As a coach, however, I actually really liked him. I even felt for him and the cards he was dealt in his tenure as the coach of the Suns. It's the same feeling I have for Jeff Hornacek, Igor Kokoskov, and Jay Triano.
Earl Watson being seemingly eager to pounce and inject himself into the Tatum discourse, however, almost makes Watson look less credible to me. He just doesn't have the verifiable fact on his side.
Let's rewind time and re-hash those facts.
First, Jayson Tatum was taken AHEAD OF JOSH JACKSON in the draft! It’s not like the Suns passed on the future all star at #4. This point is the most obvious, and should immediately halt any Twitter-based controversy, but it hasn't, so let’s move on.
Next is this whole notion that the Suns should/could have traded up for Tatum. The 76ers already traded up to go get Markelle Fultz, so they weren’t a partner. And who originally held that #1 pick that was surrendered to Philadelphia in the deal? BOSTON. The Celtics reportedly coveted Tatum so much, that had Philadelphia not made a move to get Fultz, they'd have just taken Tatum first overall. Danny Ainge knew Tatum would most likely be there for him at three because of Philly and the Lakers wanting to draft guards, so he made the trade to move back and gave the 76ers the green light to go get their guy. Ainge did Ainge and got multiple assets for a player they weren’t going to take, knowing they could still get their guy.
So a Suns trade with Philly is out. A trade with Boston is out. That leaves the rival Los Angeles Lakers at #2. From what I recall of that draft, and what Lakers media and fans were saying, there was no way they were trading the pick. They were rebuilding and wanted nothing more than to pair another top two pick in the draft with the previous years’ number two pick, Brandon Ingram. That goes back to the Celtics knowing Tatum would be there at three, because with Ingram on the roster, the Lakers didn’t need another wing. The Lakers needed a point guard.
Now, if Suns fans and the local media use their memories, they'll remember that it was widely reported both locally and nationally that Ryan McDonough was a huge fan of Lonzo Ball. IF the Suns would have been able to trade up, all reports at the time pointed to the fact that it would have been Lonzo Ball whom Phoenix would have been selected, not Jayson Tatum.
Last and certainly not least, my favorite part of this ridiculous topic. You know who the Suns would have probably had to trade for it to make sense for any of the three teams ahead of them in the 2017 NBA Draft? DEVIN BOOKER! Yes, the guy who Jayson Tatum stated that Earl Watson wanted to pair him with! The only other guy on that Suns roster at that time who would POSSIBLY warrant pairing with the fourth overall pick to move up would have been Eric Bledsoe. But none of those teams would have wanted his contract over the players they could have selected.
No, Marquese Chriss coming off a decent rookie season would not have been an option.
And no, don’t tell me “they could have traded multiple first round picks!” With the state the Suns were in at the time, there is no way trading multiple first round picks for any player in this draft would be a good idea.
What I can't figure out is why anyone would want to criticize the Suns for an impossible outcome in the 2017 NBA Draft when legitimate criticisms, like not executing on a Kyrie Irving trade which would have sent Josh Jackson to Cleveland, or not taking that rumored Sacramento deal that was on the table which would have sent Bledsoe to the Kings and landed the Suns DeAaron Fox.
This topic with Tatum, isn’t hindsight, it’s fantasyland. It’s a waste of energy and reeks of boredom and a desire for clicks.
As Suns fans, let’s forge ahead with the facts and not disappear into fantasy, unless that fantasy involves John Paxson's three in the waning seconds of the 1993 NBA Finals bouncing off the back of the rim.
