The 2017 NBA Draft was an opportunity for the Suns to change the course of their franchise forever.
With the no. 1 overall pick that year, the Suns could have had whoever they wanted, and there was no shortage of potential candidates.
In the end, Phoenix picked up Deandre Ayton out of Arizona, a move that turned out pretty well for them. Today, Ayton is one of the NBA’s best and brightest young centers, and his play was a big catalyst behind their Finals run last season.
But had they made a different decision that day, things might’ve turned out even better.
You see, Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic was available before he was selected with the third pick. Apparently, former head coach Igor Kokoskov (who was leading the team at the time), was pushing for the team to draft Luka instead.
It was their notorious team owner, Robert Sarver, who went in a different direction instead.
MacMahon: “You passed up Luka to get this guy. If center is such a devalued position, you were a dumbass then!”
Windhorst: “He went to Arizona where Sarver is a proud alum, I do think that was attractive to him.”
MacMahon: “I have been told by multiple people in the PHX organization that [picking Ayton] was a total Robert Sarver move. It sure wasn’t Igor! He wanted them obviously to get Luka, and to put a big offer on the table for Clint Capela. Who is ironically now one of the leverage points that the Suns have, if you want to make Capela-Ayton comps.”
A Luka/Booker pairing would have been absolutely deadly and might have made the Suns a superpower in the West.
Last season, Luka put up a whopping 27.4 points per game on 47.9% shooting.
Unfortunately, while Ayton is certainly no scrub, they never did get their hands on Doncic — and Sarver remains a highly disliked owner to this day.
