PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns’ draft haul is officially complete.
The Suns were able to maneuver a limited pool of tradable draft assets to land Virginia’s Ryan Dunn and Marquette’e Oso Ighodaro – fulfilling two of the biggest needs that pressed the franchise this offseason.
What can the two newest members of the Suns bring to the franchise as rookies?
The coast is fairly clear for the two rookies to receive rotational minutes right away – the question of how consistent the roles will be is quite valid, but both are cost-controlled rookies that will serve a very specific purpose in 2024-25.
Ryan Dunn
Dunn could project as a day one starter – potentially.
It all depends on how coach Mike Budenholzer desires to shape his rotation, but a case could be made for starting Dunn as a four-man, thus moving Kevin Durant to a more natural spot and placing what could be the team’s strongest point-of-attack defender on the court to begin games.
Sliding Grayson Allen to the bench could be a prudent move in the grand scheme of things as well – as Allen has proven he can be capable of being a secondary creator in mix-and-match pairings with the Suns’ trio of stars.
Dunn figures to receive anywhere from 15-20 minutes a night – depending on what the front office is able to maneuver in the free agency period – but his upside, athleticism, and penchant for making plays on defense make him useful from day one.
Oso Ighodaro
Ighodaro’s role is a bit murkier, as the Suns could bring in another center such as Goga Bitadze to shore up the rotation behind incumbent starter Jusuf Nurkic.
However, the Arizona native has proven to be one of the higher IQ bigs in he draft, along with being an unheralded rim protector, and explosive play finisher.
His lack of shooting range and modest rebounding numbers are things that could lead to tempered expectations, but he is an exciting prospect that the Suns were clearly big on – to the tune of moving up 16 spots in the second round to snag him.
Verdict
The Suns picked up two pro-ready prospects that have clear flaws, but also have clear points of strength that make it very understandable as to why they went this avenue.
The Suns’ bare chest of controllable assets was maximized over the last two days – and the franchise is very much looking to reshape a roster that didn’t work last season.
Dunn and Ighodaro very much appear to be basketball-first guys that can be seamless fits in the Suns’ program and both could contribute to a potential 2025 playoff run.
Next up is the legal tampering period of free agency, which is set for 3 P.M. Sunday afternoon Phoenix time.
