2025 NBA Draft

[TOO]

I think he's got some Al Jefferson to him, seems like he can get by just knowing how to play, but his desire leaves everything to be desired and I don't know if you can learn that.

Another great comp. Where is the lack of desire knocks coming from? I haven't seen that from what I've seen of him.

For me it's because he's like 25% body fat(hyperbole). He's got a great frame, but he's got a long way to go to get into NBA shape.

He's already 20 and hasn't changed physically at Maryland, so that concerns me.

[JeremyG]

[Superbone]

No more generators in that young man's life.

[ShelC]

Article with draft grades from around the interwebs. Mostly A's for the draft tho I do agree with the criticism that Brea might've been a bit of a reach at 41 but that's splitting hairs.

https://arizonasports.com/nba/phoenix-s ... g/3588432/

https://www.nbadraft.net/2025-nba-draft ... -analysis/

[TOO]

No more generators in that young man's life.

Or he can get into the generator business and sell them by the truck load.

[JeremyG]

[ShelC]

Here's Sam Vecenie's grade for the Suns' draft night from The Athletic. Gave us a B- and shares a lot of the same concerns I and some others had around Maluach and Williams.

Spoiler: show/hide

Will the Mark Williams trade work out for Phoenix?

• Acquired Mark Williams from Charlotte for No. 29 and a 2031 first-round pick (worst of CLE, UTA and MIN)
• Selected Khaman Maluach (No. 10)
• Acquired No. 36 for two future second-round picks
• Acquired Koby Brea (No. 41) for No. 52 and No. 59
• Acquired Rasheer Fleming (No. 31) for No. 36 and two future second-round picks

Where to begin on the Suns? Let’s start with this: I loved the Maluach pick and think he’s exactly what the organization needs after battling through center struggles since moving Deandre Ayton in the Damian Lillard deal for Jusuf Nurkić. I would have had him much higher than this if I were making a board specifically for the Suns. While I’m not quite the believer in Maluach’s upside that some seem to be, I buy into him becoming a starting-caliber center with a fairly strong degree of confidence. He’s probably going to be something in between a Mitchell Robinson-style low-usage big and a Jarrett Allen-style elite rim-runner while playing nearly elite defense on the interior. I don’t think he has quite the rim-running force that Allen does, but he’s capable of more usage than Robinson. He’ll be awesome on the offensive glass, he’ll be remarkably effective with his angles in drop coverage, and he’ll hopefully continue to improve his ability to handle the ball on the perimeter. He needs to improve as a rebounder, but there are tools here.

The Suns also used several future second-round picks to get Fleming, a player whom many had rated more highly than I did at No. 32. This team desperately needed size and athleticism at the four, and Fleming could bring that. I see him as a more athletic version of Bobby Portis, a play-finisher on the interior who can step away and shoot, but a questionable defensive player with his rotations and help responsibilities. That player can be valuable in the NBA even with those questions, although you have to buy into Fleming’s jumper translating fully. Mechanically, it’s a bit funky. The team also drafted Brea in the second round, chipping up its No. 52 and 59 picks into No. 41. He’s probably the last thing that the Suns needed — another shooting guard — but Brea is a historically relevant shooter at volume. I don’t mind the gamble at the price point.

The move that I didn’t love was trading for Charlotte’s Williams. I wouldn’t have liked this move in a vacuum had the team, say, selected Coward at No. 10. But in conjunction with the Maluach pick? It doesn’t make any sense. Williams averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds this year, but those stats are often empty with him because he’s not that impressive on defense. He looks like he should be a great defender with his immense length, but he doesn’t move that well and tends to get lost in no-man’s land in ball screens between rollers and the ballhandler. Moving to a more competent defensive scheme could help him drastically, to be fair. New Suns’ coach Jordan Ott is known as a strong defensive coach. Having more diligent players fighting around screens as guards could make Williams’ life easier than it was in Charlotte and unlock some defensive improvement. But he will need to stay on the court more consistently to get those reps, as he’s only played 106 out of a possible 246 games so far in his career. He also failed a physical in an attempted deal with the Lakers in February.

The biggest issue for me is that the Suns can’t wait to find out if there’s potential for defensive improvement before paying him. Williams is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal, making him extension-eligible. Phoenix just paid a large price in terms of flexibility to acquire him, which reduces its leverage. The No. 29 pick and the 2031 first-rounder they sent out aren’t massive price tags by themselves, but they were the last firsts the Suns can send out in a trade because of the Stepien Rule.

You can make the case that the Suns can wait until next summer when Williams hits restricted free agency to pay him. But I don’t love that strategy, either. If you wait and he gets hurt again or struggles on defense, you might have all of the information you need about whether he’s a keeper. But if he does stay healthy in a contract year and improves on defense, you likely will pay full market price for a player with an injury history. If you extend him now, you at least have a chance to get contract value. But if you extend him now and he gets hurt again or doesn’t make the strides you hope for, you’re probably not happy with the contract then, either.

There are an awful lot of pathways in which the Williams deal doesn’t work out. And still, I’d probably bite the bullet and pay him at this point. By making the trade, I would hope the Suns have considered all those angles.

Even with more concerns about that trade, I think this draft week was more positive than negative for Phoenix.

Grade: B-

[Ring_Wanted]

B for Maluach - fine with him but I don't think I would have passed on Bryant.

A+ for Fleming - for a long time I was thinking about scenarios that allowed the Suns to jump from #29 to the high 20s to pick him. Acquiring him at the top of the second round, after trading #29, is a move I would have never thought a Suns FO would be able to pull off.

C- for trading for Williams once you know you have Maluach.

[O_Gardino]

I really don't see the concern with having both Williams and Maluach. If they are somehow both ready to play 30 every night, the Suns can trade Williams for at least what they paid for him. Be honest - what are the chances both are ready and healthy?

I also like having multiple young and talented big men in practice. They can push each other and learn from each other.

[Split T]

I don’t have a problem with having both of them…for me it was just using basically all of our available assets to acquire 2 5s that at the moment can’t play together.

[Ring_Wanted]

I don’t have a problem with having both of them…for me it was just using basically all of our available assets to acquire 2 5s that at the moment can’t play together.

Uhh... and that's not a concern? Also considering the need to pay Williams if he actually delivers.

[Split T]

I don’t have a problem with having both of them…for me it was just using basically all of our available assets to acquire 2 5s that at the moment can’t play together.

Uhh... and that's not a concern? Also considering the need to pay Williams if he actually delivers.

Sorry I wasn’t clear…that is my concern. Having them isn’t a concern…spending all our assets to fill one position when we had multiple needs is a concern.

[Ring_Wanted]

I don’t have a problem with having both of them…for me it was just using basically all of our available assets to acquire 2 5s that at the moment can’t play together.

Uhh... and that's not a concern? Also considering the need to pay Williams if he actually delivers.

Sorry I wasn’t clear…that is my concern. Having them isn’t a concern…spending all our assets to fill one position when we had multiple needs is a concern.

Ah agreed then. That's basically my stance. Give me either Williams+Bryant (insert your alternative here for #10), or Maluach+assets+better cap flexibility.

[Mori Chu]

The problem isn't really about Williams as a player. He seems pretty good actually. It's more about the situation and asset management. We are already over the 2nd apron, and we have almost no usable or tradeable draft picks left for years to come. So we trade 2 of them for a 1-year rental of a center, when we already have 2-3 centers on the roster and just spent our 1st rounder on a center? Our one and only 1st round draft pick we got from trading KD, the only 1st round draft asset we have to show for mortgaging a decade worth of our future to get a failed Big 3?

If Williams is so great, you have to ask yourself why Charlotte was so eager to trade him not once but twice. I think they can tell that he is unable to stay healthy and therefore is not a good risk to give him a big contract. But now we'll be pot-committed having spent two 1sts to acquire him, so we'll be strongly tempted to re-sign him. Meanwhile we have three other centers, all of whom have various talent and potential (Williams, Richards, Oso), all blocking our newly drafted rookie from ever getting to see the floor.

This just isn't the way smart people manage a professional basketball team. They squander draft picks left and right. The moment we get a few picks back, they burn a hole in the GM and owner's pockets and they toss them out as candy in their next misbegotten trade. We aren't even good any more! Why mortgage the future when our present team is so bad? Can't they see that we should be doing everything we can to build for the next era of the team, the next version of the Suns? That this version is fatally doomed?

[Superbone]

Can't they see that we should be doing everything we can to build for the next era of the team, the next version of the Suns? That this version is fatally doomed?

You are a real bummer lately, man. Apparently, only you can see the extreme depths of our despair.

[JeremyG]

Can't they see that we should be doing everything we can to build for the next era of the team, the next version of the Suns? That this version is fatally doomed?

You are a real bummer lately, man. Apparently, only you can see the extreme depths of our despair.

Me too! I can see it!

[Superbone]

Can't they see that we should be doing everything we can to build for the next era of the team, the next version of the Suns? That this version is fatally doomed?

You are a real bummer lately, man. Apparently, only you can see the extreme depths of our despair.

Me too! I can see it!

Good on you! When I see Al now, I know what to expect.

[JeremyG]

Can't they see that we should be doing everything we can to build for the next era of the team, the next version of the Suns? That this version is fatally doomed?

You are a real bummer lately, man. Apparently, only you can see the extreme depths of our despair.

Me too! I can see it!

Good on you!

I guess you could say that Mori and I are “aligned.”

[Superbone]

Can't they see that we should be doing everything we can to build for the next era of the team, the next version of the Suns? That this version is fatally doomed?

You are a real bummer lately, man. Apparently, only you can see the extreme depths of our despair.

Me too! I can see it!

Good on you!

I guess you could say that Mori and I are “aligned.”

Have fun together.

[TOO]

You are a real bummer lately, man. Apparently, only you can see the extreme depths of our despair.

Me too! I can see it!

Good on you!

I guess you could say that Mori and I are “aligned.”

Have fun together.

Have fun making out in the pit of infinite sadness.