How many Phoenix Suns rookies have suited up for the team over the past five seasons?
The number is just three. In fact, the last drafted rookie to play a minute of Phoenix Suns basketball was Jalen Smith in the 2020-21 season. Shoutout to Ty-Shon Alexander who played 47 minutes that season as a rookie.
Ish Wainright, Paris Bass, and Gabriel Lundberg played sparingly in the 2021-22 season as rookies but were all undrafted so they do not fit the criteria for the above statistic.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane as we prepare for this year’s draft.
2023 — Toumani Camara, pick #52 (trade months later)
The Suns did not have a single rookie on their roster in 2023. After the team dealt Camara in the Nurkic/Ayton/Allen deal, Phoenix entered the season without a rookie for the second consecutive year.
Camara averaged 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.9 steals in 70 games last season, averaging 24.8 minutes per game.
2022 — No one
The Suns had no rookies this season. Nothing to see (or talk about) here.
Phoenix did not have any draft picks in this draft due to dealing their first-round pick to Oklahoma City in 2020 as part of the trade for Chris Paul.
2021 — No one
Phoenix traded the 29th pick (Day’Ron Sharpe) and Jevon Carter for Landry Shamet on draft night. Herb Jones was right there.
The Landry Shamet deal was a swing and a miss. I get what they were trying to do, but it simply did not work out the way they (and many others) envisioned.
2020 — Jalen Smith, pick #10
This one stings. Tyrese Haliburton, Devin Vassell, and Tyrese Maxey were all right there. Phoenix reached for the second straight year, this time to no avail.
It clearly was not the right pick at the time, and everyone knew it. Phoenix later had to unload Jalen Smith’s contract to Indiana. They acquired Torrey Craig for Smith and had to attach a second-round pick in that deal less than two years later.
2019 — Cameron Johnson, pick #11 + Ty Jerome, pick #24
The infamous draft where the Suns were mocked by the NBA world for “reaching” for Cam Johnson. Phoenix landed Dario Saric and the 11th pick from Minnesota to move back five sports to take their guy. I was a Jarrett Culver believer at the time, and boy was I wrong.
It was one of the best moves the Suns have made on draft night in quite some time.
Phoenix then acquired Aron Baynes and the draft rights to Ty Jerome from Boston in exchange for a protected 2020 first-round pick via Milwaukee.
Phoenix landing Baynes, Saric, Johnson, and Jerome that night was seen as a failure at the time, but it wound up being one of the most positive series of offseason moves they’d had in a while.
Leaving the draft with three rotation players while giving up very little was a win.
The 2024 NBA Draft is just days away, so here’s to hoping the Suns can surprise us. Remember, draft night grades are meaningless.
Here’s to hoping their draft history improves when we look back on this five years from now.
