Deandre Ayton knew where he was going all along — to Phoenix, where he conducted his only predraft workout. And he knew he would get a shot to provide the Suns with a potentially blistering two-man game combo with Devin Booker.
“Basketball is really changing, so the two-man game is really hard to stop,” Ayton said. “Having a guard like Devin Booker, who can really score, and me being a big man who can really pick-and-pop, very versatile, that’s very dangerous. The team in general is a very young and hungry team. We just have to stick together, get a great chemistry and start a winning legacy in Phoenix.”
The Suns also landed Mikal Bridges of Villanova through a trade. Bridges conducted his press conference after he was chosen by Philadelphia.
“It’s a great feeling to get picked by the Sixers,” he said.
Getting picking by and playing for are obviously different things.
Queens guard Hamidou Diallo of Kentucky was taken in the second round (45th overall) by the Hornets. The pick was part of the Dwight Howard/Timofey Mosgov trade. Diallo was then traded a second time to the Thunder.