Deandre Ayton or Luka Doncic? Suns have massive decision to make with No. 1 pick

Michael Singer | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Suns fans rejoice after winning first overall pick in NBA draft The Phoenix Suns won the lottery and have the first pick in the NBA draft for the first time in franchise history.

CHICAGO – If the decision was up to Phoenix forward Josh Jackson, the Suns would take Arizona center Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick won at Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery.

“I would like to see us get a big man, and I think the best big man in this draft is probably Deandre Ayton if you ask me,” said Jackson, the Suns’ lottery representative, while holding the placard with the Suns’ logo. “It’s the guy, I think he’s got so much potential. Like I said, I watched him in high school and every year I watched him add a little bit something more to his game. His ceiling is through the roof.”

If only it was that easy.

New Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov coached Luka Doncic on the Slovenian national team that won EuroBasket in 2017. Kokoskov has referred to Doncic as a "wunderkind," and as such, it’s impossible to ignore the Real Madrid product as a potential No. 1 pick.

“We’ll certainly weigh (Kokoskov’s opinion) pretty heavily,” Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said. “He’s our head coach and has a good track record of evaluating players, developing players. Obviously he and Doncic have a great history together having won the European championships and Doncic is a phenomenal talent who’s certainly in the mix for the No. 1 pick for us. … And knowing Igor, he’ll have strong opinions on Luka, and I know how he feels about Luka and the special connection they have. At the same time, he’ll want us to draft the best player.”

McDonough said he’ll likely be heading to Spain in the coming weeks to interview and watch Doncic play.

“I was hoping it was unanimous. That would make my job easier,” McDonough joked when he heard Jackson’s pick. “I guess we got a decision to make.”

There will be plenty of time for assessment and evaluation, but both players would fit well with the talent the Suns have assembled. Devin Booker is already a franchise cornerstone and his ability to space the floor, coupled with Doncic’s potential as a stretch guard, is tantalizing. But the option to add Ayton, a physically imposing center who would immediately offer an inside-out presence to Booker, is intriguing as well.

“Hopefully (the No. 1 pick) gives us another foundational player to build around,” McDonough said. “We feel like we have one in Devin Booker, we feel like Josh Jackson has the potential to be one. He certainly made strides over the second half of the past season. Usually in the NBA it takes three elite players to win at a high level.”

Tuesday night’s other big winner was the Sacramento Kings, who moved up to No. 2 despite having just a 6% chance to do so. De’Aaron Fox, who stood in as the Kings’ representative at the Palmer House Hilton, already has an idea which player might be sitting for them at No. 2.

“You can’t go wrong,” Fox said. “Deandre’s probably going to Phoenix. That’s kind of a, you would say, a given.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Michael Singer on Twitter @msinger