Phoenix Suns GM Ryan McDonough opens up about Deandre Ayton and Luka Doncic

Scott Bordow | The Republic | azcentral.com

CHICAGO – Suns’ General Manager Ryan McDonough was hoping to sleep in on Wednesday morning, following the excitement of Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery.

But he woke up early with one thought in his head.

“Now we have to make the right pick,” he said with a smile.

The Suns’ draft preparations began in earnest Thursday with McDonough, Assistant General Manager Pat Connelly and new coach Igor Kokoskov here at the NBA draft combine.

"It's been a whirlwind but in a good way," McDonough. "This is always one of the busiest weeks of the year with the player interviews, the agent meetings, the player workouts. It's a jam-packed week but then when you layer in the No. 1 pick, it's a whirlwind but a lot of fun."

Neither Arizona center Deandre Ayton nor Slovenian guard Luka Doncic – the top two candidates for the No. 1 pick – are at the combine but on Thursday they were still dominating the conversation.

Earlier in the day, Doncic was quoted as saying he hasn’t made up his mind whether he’ll leave Real Madrid and come to the NBA, despite the fact he’s projected to be one of the top two picks. Doncic made the comments before Real Madrid’s games this weekend in the EuroLeague Final Four.

“I’m not sure if these are the last two games,” Doncic said. “We are yet to make this decision. Perhaps after the season.”

Almost immediately, Doncic’s comments were interpreted as leverage; that he was telling the Sacramento Kings he’ll just stay in Spain if they take him with the No. 2 pick.

McDonough read the comments a different way.

“He’s in a little bit of a tricky spot as far as how he answers those questions,” McDonough told azcentral sports. “You have to put yourself in his shoes. (Real Madrid) is preparing for what’s the biggest basketball event outside of the U.S. With them playing (Friday) night in the semifinals for him to answer NBA questions or talk about the NBA that probably wouldn’t be the best optically for him. I didn’t take it for anything more than that.

“I have no concerns that if we drafted him that he wouldn’t be on our roster next year.”

So whom will the Suns take at No. 1? McDonough said again Thursday that the decision won’t come until the days leading up to the June 21 draft. He also said Phoenix’s candidate list stretches beyond Ayton and Doncic. He specifically mentioned Duke’s Marvin Bagley III and Texas’ Mohamed Bamba, and said Phoenix would interview between five to 10 players for the top pick.

The final decision, however, is expected to come down to Ayton or Doncic. McDonough was asked, then, to give his scouting report on both players:

Ayton: “A phenomenal physical specimen. He’s everything you look for physically in terms of size, strength, length and athleticism. Obviously, he was tremendously productive this year at the University of Arizona. He rebounds at a high level, his stroke for a young big I think is very good and very developed, the way he can not only score at the rim and above the rim but the way he can make shots away from the basket. I think for his size he moves his feet pretty well on the perimeter. There really aren’t a lot of holes in his game. Obviously like a lot of young players he needs to be a little better defensively, understanding off-ball rotations and concepts and things like that but that usually comes with experience.”

Doncic: “I’ve been in the league since 2003 and he’s the most productive European player I’ve ever seen. What he did last year in the EuroBasket (2017) playing for Igor, what he’s doing for Real Madrid is unprecedented in a couple of decades. Most Americans who haven’t seen Luka play in person will be surprised by just how big he is. … I think his physical measurements are similar to Joe Johnson, and Joe is a big, strong, thick guy. You see Luka on film or see the highlights, you see the skill, the high-level passing, the incredible feel and court vision but then you see him up close and say, ‘God, this is a big, strong guy who has produced at a high level.'”

Suns GM McDonough not revealing No. 1 pick just yet After winning the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft in Tuesday's lottery, Suns GM Ryan McDonough isn't revealing whom the Suns will be drafting.

One argument made for the Suns drafting Doncic is that centers are not so vital in the NBA as they were, say, 20 years ago. McDonough agreed with that theory – to a point.

“People look at Golden State and say that but if you look at Anthony Davis and the impact he had with New Orleans, Joel Embiid and what he’s done for the Philadelphia 76ers, Clint Capela and the role he’s playing for Houston ... the special ones are valuable. The unique freaks, which Ayton and Bamba and Bagley and some of these guys are, there aren’t too many guys in the world 6-10 to 7-1 with that kind of skill, athleticism and coordination.

“I get generally that’s the trend but I think there are a few exceptions and I think some of the guys in the draft are going to be those freak players.”

McDonough said he’s not concerned that the Suns won’t be able to work out Doncic because he’ll be playing in the Liga ACB, the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league, through June. The Suns already have seen Doncic play in person several times, and McDonough plans to head to Europe in the next few weeks to get another look at the Slovenian guard.

“If anything, it makes it easier for us to evaluate him in real time against high-level competition,” McDonough said. “We view that as a benefit.”

One college coach here at the combine, USC’s Andy Enfield, said there’s little doubt in his mind Ayton should be the top pick.

“I think our entire coaching staff thinks Deandre deserves to be the No. 1 pick in the draft based on what he did last season,” Enfield said. “We all think he’s going to be a terrific NBA player. From recruiting him early on when he was younger we know the type of hard worker he is … he’s very skilled, he obviously has great size, his work ethic should help him have a long and productive NBA career.

“There are a lot of 7-foot-1 players out there but very few who can do what he does. In fact there aren’t too many at all.”

While McDonough insisted he’s not certain whom the Suns will take, he knows one thing. They’re not in the position of taking, say, Kwame Brown at No. 1.

“Honestly some years, even with the No. 1 pick you have to stretch to envision it. Maybe it’s a reach. Nobody in the draft is really worthy,” McDonough said. "This year I think a number of guys are worthy. … We’re going to work out at least a handful of guys and not jump to any conclusions.”

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