Ryan McDonough

phxccunningham

2017-phoenix-suns-draft-grades

2017 Phoenix Suns Draft Grades

Matt Petersen

Four floors separate the respective offices of Ryan McDonough and Earl Watson.

The majority of Watson’s work takes place on level zero of Talking Stick Resort Arena, where the main and practice courts can be found. The Suns Head Coach is here more often than not, holding quality conversations with players regardless of their current status with the team. From current Suns guard Eric Bledsoe to then-draft prospect Tyler Ulis to Phoenix Mercury superstar Diana Taurasi, Watson has time for everyone.

His ability to communicate sincerely did not go unnoticed by the potential draftees or their agents, who called McDonough requesting that their clients be drafted by the Suns if at all possible.

“We had a number of players and their agents calling us, reaching out to us, texting us saying, ‘We want to be in Phoenix. We like what you’re doing,’” McDonough disclosed during the post-draft press conference. “We said, ‘Really? We think your guy will be higher. Wouldn’t it be a sacrifice financially if he got to us?’ They said, ‘We don’t care. We like you. We like your situation. We love your coach. We love the way he connects with young players. He motivates them. He inspires them.’”

McDonough is more than willing to step onto the court and share a few words as well, but the bulk of his duties takes place on level four of the arena. Thick black doors, each with a sign that reads “Basketball Operations”, guard the entry to the Suns’ front office. Within them, the 37-year-old general manager has struck a deal for Eric Bledsoe, drafted Devin Booker and signed Tyson Chandler.

Watson spent a rare, long day in those offices during last Thursday’s NBA Draft. He watched as McDonough and his staff worked the phones, choosing the clay he would mold for the 2016-17 season. The first-year coach was thrilled when they took Dragan Bender fourth overall.

When the Suns swung a deal to land another top-10 pick and draft Marquese Chriss, he was ecstatic.

McDonough downplayed his role in making the biggest draft-night splash, citing the events as “fortunate.” Watson did not let him get away with it.

“Ryan’s being modest,” Watson said. “He and his staff got it done.

“In this situation, we kind of reverse roles,” he added. “He watched me coach, I watch him do his thing as well, implement things in the draft and make calls under pressure. The minutes are short. They got it done. We’re lucky to have the guys that we have.”

The Suns’ head coach wasn’t the only one impressed by McDonough’s draft-night magic. Several reporters and league observers gave Phoenix high marks for snagging not one, but two of the most talented prospects of the 2016 draft class.

"We had a number of players and their agents calling us, reaching out to us, texting us saying, 'We want to be in Phoenix...We love your coach. We love the way he connects with young players. He motivates them. He inspires them.'"

The effort and execution to acquire the eighth pick didn’t go unnoticed by the player taken with that selection, either. To Marquese Chriss, it was proof of how much the Suns valued him.

“I really like the organization all around and I respected them for [the trade],” he said. “I’m truly grateful they went to that amount of effort to get me onto the team.”

Chriss was doubly thrilled since Phoenix was where he wanted to be even before draft night. Ditto for Bender and Tyler Ulis, the Suns’ second-round pick.

The common thread tying all three players together: their initial impression of Watson.

“It was just communication,” Chriss said. “We were just talking about different things. We didn’t really talk much about the team. They were trying to get to know me and I just talked to the coaches. Earl Watson, me and [Coach] were really just having a conversation just about each other.”

“How they pay attention to the smaller details,” Bender added. “They’re getting to know each and every player and trying to help the young guys to become NBA players at the highest level.”

McDonough referenced Devin Booker and Alex Len’s respective progress after Watson took over as further proof of his impact on young players. After Watson took on interim head coaching duties on Feb. 1, Booker’s scoring average nearly doubled from 10.0 to 18.8 points per game. Len went from averaging 6.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest to nearly averaging a double-double (12.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg) over the final two-and-a-half months of the season.

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How McDonough and Watson Made Their Marks on the Suns' 2016 Draft

The wins Phoenix hoped to earn this season were instead replaced by an injury list that remained full through most of year. Eric Bledsoe, T.J. Warren, Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight all missed chunks of the 2015-16 campaign with various maladies.

Those setbacks, however, did offer some of the Suns' younger talent an opportunity to grow. Devin Booker is the now the Suns' highest-scoring rookie since Michael Finley in 1995-96, and that's after sitting much of the first half of the season. Alex Len has proven capable of proucing double-doubles almost on a nightly basis.

Those steps, combined with the prospect of a healthy roster for next season, offer hope for the not-so-distant future. This week on the Burns &amp; Gambo Show of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough said he's starting to see the long-term future of the team take place.

"We're getting to the point now where I think you're starting to see a young core develop and emerge with young guys like Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Devin Booker, T.J. Warren [and] Alex Len," McDonough said. "We'll have what looks like two lottery picks this year between our own and Washington's to potentially add to that core. That's what we're looking for. I feel bad that its' been such a tumultuous and kind of turbulent path to get here, but we want to build a team that has the capability to be successful for a long time going forward."

Another name that could be part of that core is Mirza Teletovic. The veteran forward is enjoying a career year off the bench for the Suns, averaging 11.8 points in just 21.0 minutes per game. Earlier this week, he set a new NBA record for most threes off the bench in a single season, a mark that has time to grow with three games remaining.

Teletovic signed a one-year deal with the Suns last summer after overcoming blood clots in his lungs. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but McDonough believes the Bosnian forward and Phoenix could extend their relationship this offseason.

"Despite our team's record, I think he's obviously played well and he's had a good experience in Phoenix," McDonough said. "I think setting the record is a great thing for him and our franchise. I think if you ask Mirza, he'd like to be back. He's a guy we have strong interest in bringing back as well."

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Arizona Sports: McDonough Likes Team's Young Core

The Phoenix Suns today completed a deal to acquire a first-round pick, center/forward DeJuan Blair and forward Kris Humphries from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Markieff Morris.            

“Today we added another first-round pick to our collection of picks while keeping our young core intact,” said Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough. “We are excited to watch this group of players continue to develop and grow together.”

The Suns received Washington’s 2016 first-round pick (protected to nine) as part of the deal and now own three 2016 first-round picks with their own, Washington’s and Cleveland’s (protected to 10), as well as their own second-round pick.

Blair is in his seventh NBA season and has averaged 2.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.5 minutes in 29 games with the Wizards this season. The 26-year-old holds career averages of 6.8 points on 52.4 percent shooting and 5.1 rebounds in 424 games (179 starts) with San Antonio (2009-13), Dallas (2013-14) and Washington (2014-16). Blair, a 6-7, 270-pound post player, was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team following his first professional season with the Spurs in 2009-10.

Humphries, in his 12th NBA season, has averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 16.6 minutes in 28 games with the Wizards in 2015-16. The 6-9, 235-pound forward has played in 719 career games (196 starts) and posted averages of 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds with Utah (2004-06), Toronto (2006-09), Dallas (2009-10), New Jersey/Brooklyn (2010-13), Boston (2013-14) and Washington (2014-16). The 31-year-old averaged a double-double in consecutive seasons with the Nets from 2010-12, including career-bests of 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds in 2011-12.

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Suns Acquire First-Round Pick, Blair, Humphries from Washington for Morris

The build-up to the 2015 NBA Draft ended on June 25, when the Suns selected Kentucky sharp-shooter Devin Booker with the 13th pick in the first round. This is one part of a three-part series, each of which focuses on the points of view of the Suns' general manager, head coach and rookie during the events leading up to, during and after the draft.

SUNS DRAFT POINTS OF VIEW: Ryan McDonough | Jeff Hornacek | Devin Booker

Ryan McDonough has more reasons than most to talk with John Calipari. Kentucky’s head coach has funneled high-end talent to the NBA for years. In this summer’s draft, several former Wildcats were projected lottery picks, one of which McDonough and the Suns held at No. 13 overall.

Background checks and general feedback are part an NBA team’s of the pre-draft homework. McDonough can count on honest and frank assessments from Calipari, a family friend dating back to his days as a coach at the University of Massachusetts.

McDonough was a kid, then. Now, he had his scouting eye on at least one of Calipari’s kids. Booker had just wrapped up a freshman year in which he shot better than 41 percent from three and was named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year.

The 6-6 guard’s outstanding shooting ability had become a broad identity. McDonough and his staff, however, began to see more than that.

“One of the things that stood out as we dug in deeper on film, as we talked to the coaches and the people around the program at Kentucky and just really cracked down and studied him, is he is a lot more than [just a shooter],” he said. “He can catch and shoot. He’s got great elevation on his shot. He’s also able to catch the ball and put it on the floor and make a play. He can take a few dribbles and make a shot or make a play for somebody else.”

Three recent Kentucky products (Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe, Archie Goodwin) already dot the current Suns’ roster. Calipari, wondering whether a fourth would be added, sent a text message to McDonough on draft night.

McDonough was ready with a discreet response.

“Which one? You need to be more specific.”

The Suns’ general manager squeezed that small exchange between a series of phone calls with other NBA front offices. Phoenix was eager to move up in the draft order so as not to miss out on a player McDonough knew he wanted. On their draft board was grouped a dozen of prospects they were extremely interested in drafting.

“Devin was solidly in that group,” McDonough said.

Slotted at No. 13, the Suns were in serious danger of missing out on one of their preferred targets. McDonough admitted he and his staff were “aggressive” talking with teams picking ahead of them in the lottery. The price to move up, however, was “extremely high.”

Even as the fee to trade up skyrocketed, one prospect on Phoenix’s board kept dropping.

Booker created his own value through skill and hard work, but the evolution of the modern NBA helped, too. Ever an observer of helpful trends, McDonough watched Golden State set a new path toward an NBA title, one paved with outside shooting as the main material.

Phoenix was currently experiencing a shortage in that resource after placing last in the league in three-point marksmanship after the All-Star break. For all the penetration skills of Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns were seldom able to take advantage.

“He’s a guy I think other teams will respect. In fact, I hope they don’t. I hope they leave him open…that threat is huge.”

McDonough labeled outside shooting as one of the team’s offseason priorities. It could be checked off one of two ways: the draft or free agency. Either way, he knew he’d need to be aggressive to acquire it.

“[Outside shooting is] certainly getting more expensive, if that makes sense,” McDonough said. “In the draft, I think you have to pick them higher if you want them. They tend to go pretty quickly. In free agency, they tend to cost a lot more money.”

Hence, when Indiana and Utah both passed on arguably the best shooter in the draft, the Suns were all too ready to snatch him up.

“If there’s a guy like Devin that you really like that just ends up being there [when you pick], you kind of breathe a sigh of relief,” McDonough said. “Thank goodness we didn’t give up other things when we didn’t have to.”

Instead, Booker will add his NBA-ready jump shot to a team that could force opposing defenses to bend, but was unable to break them without sufficient perimeter punch. Booker’s shooting reputation is such that McDonough believes his impact will be felt simply by being on the court.

"He’s a guy I think other teams will respect,” he said before adding with a laugh, “In fact, I hope they don’t. I hope they leave him open…that threat is huge."

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Suns Draft Points of View: Ryan McDonough

Jessica Taylor

Video killed the radio star. At least that’s what the Buggles tried to tell us. But could social media kill the college star’s draft stock?

In a world where we’re more connected than a set of LEGO , one tap of the “send” button and 140 characters can change the perception of a person’s character and create a public relations nightmare. And let’s not even get started on what a picture (or emoji) can do. In the wrong hands in this day and age, it can cost an athlete millions rather than be worth 1,000 words.

But just how closely are NBA teams, in particular the Suns, looking at Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social channels when determining whether or not to draft a college prospect? And on the flip side, how much does said prospect consider it?

Suns Assistant General Manager Pat Connelly thinks it’s part of the process, but a majority of prospects have figured out how to conduct themselves.

“Most people have become more nuanced over the years to it,” Connelly acknowledged after a draft workout this week. “Agents advise them not to put stuff on social media that we can see that we’d think is a little interesting. It’s rare now for guys to have stuff on there that is too incriminating. I don’t know if it’s the guys maturing more or being advised.”

Draft prospect Brandon Ashley says that college under coach Sean Miller prepared him for a lot more than just life on the court.

“One of the things I learned at the University of Arizona is social media control,” said Ashley. “They told us the things that we tweet out and put on Instagram, all that is a way of showing our brand. We want to build our brand as best we can.”

That mentality has been on exhibit from some of the athletes who have come through Phoenix for draft workouts. Many took to Twitter to thank the team for the opportunity.

While looking at players social accounts is part of the overall research process heading into the NBA Draft, it isn’t a large factor for the Suns.

“It’s something a lot of teams are doing. I saw an interview with one GM that said they read every tweet a guy sends out,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough said with a smile. “That seems a little time consuming. Don’t know how you’d have the time to do that.

“[For us] it’s  the personal interaction with the guys. Between the Chicago Combine, the Portsmouth Invitational and our workouts in Phoenix, we’re able to interact with most of the guys.  We value that more. Any time you get to spend half an hour to an hour with a guy, maybe have lunch with a guy and asking him whatever you want, you gain a lot more information than what a guy may post on Twitter or Instagram.”

So could social media derail a prospect’s future in Phoenix? Probably not. Like in the real world, being truly social and getting to know a person won’t be replaced by an iPhone and some photo filters. But that doesn’t mean the wrong 140 characters or photo can’t at least make an NBA front office think twice.

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Suns Retorter: Could Social Media Impact the NBA Draft?

Ben York

The Suns held their annual exit interviews and media availability on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after their 2014-15 season came to an end.

But what exactly goes on in those exit interviews? Suns GM Ryan McDonough shed some light on those meetings when he joined Arizona Sports’ Burns &amp; Gambo on Wednesday afternoon.

“We give them our feedback on how we think the season went, both individually and as a team,” McDonough said. “Individually we talk about some of the things the player did well, and some of the things he didn’t do well. We ask each player what his plans are for the summer time, what he thinks he needs to work on, we ask him about the entire organization.

“The goal is to figure out what we can all do better and how to better construct the team.”

Indeed, after defying the odds in 2013-14, the Suns couldn’t quite find that same chemistry this season. Nevertheless, from an organizational standpoint, the Suns are in a really good spot and poised to be a club that free agents want to play for.

“If you ask me to take a step back and view where we are overall, I think over a two year period we’ve done a lot of good things,” McDonough said. “Obviously the way this year ended was disappointing. The fact of the matter is we didn’t play well enough. I’ll take full responsibility for how the season went. But I think we are well-positioned [moving forward].”

In spite of the challenges McDonough and the Suns faced this season, he’s as upbeat as ever in regards to the future of this organization – and his message to the fans is simple.

“I’d like to say to our fans to hang in there with us,” McDonough said. “I know it was a difficult stretch the last 11 games or so of the season. The future is bright. We have some good young players. We’ll get some of the issues we had this year cleaned up.

“We’ll get back to a point where the community and fans are proud to watch the Phoenix Suns play basketball and I think we’ll have a much better season next year.”

Click here to listen to the entire interview with Arizona Sports.

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On Arizona Sports: McDonough Reflects on Season, Looks to Future

After a rough showing against the Hawks in Atlanta on Tuesday, the Suns bounced back and played much better against the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Dirk Nowitzki happened and the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs with a 107-104 loss.

“I thought we competed and played hard,” Lon Babby said Thursday on Bickley and Marotta. “The game ended like so many of our other games this year – we fell short in a close game. I thought the effort was better, particularly after the Atlanta game which was unacceptable.

“I felt good about how hard we played and competed, and put ourselves in a position to win a game on the road against a good playoff team.”

Although the Suns will miss the postseason, Babby still feels optimistic about the future and the leadership in place.

“The whole organization has to improve as we do every year,” added Babby. “We have to take a cold, hard look at what worked this year and, more importantly, what didn’t work. None of us are satisfied with not making the playoffs. We have to keep getting better and build a championship culture.”

Babby feels that as the offseason approaches, new decisions will certainly have to be made based on new facts. However, he cites the improvement the team has made over the past two years and expects that to continue.

“I’ve been preaching patience for too long,” he said. “Everybody’s in favor of patience unless it takes too long. I understand why there’s frustration. To me, the same people who were flying high last year, who were doing a terrific job, who were being lauded among the very best and certainly could’ve won those awards – Jeff [Hornacek] and Ryan [McDonough] – those are the same people we have in charge now. We have the right people in place and they are hard-working.

“All of us are going to look at what went wrong, what mistakes we made and correct them and move forward.”

Listen to the entire interview with Arizona Sports below

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Babby Talks Improvement, Future on Arizona Sports

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