NBA teams are always evaluating the future, and the Phoenix Suns are no exception.
Suns general manager James Jones and owner Mat Ishbia evaluated the roster - deemed a championship window was currently open - and made moves accordingly.
That's involved some hefty names arriving here in the Valley, though it comes at a cost of luxury tax and draft picks after hauls for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal pushed Phoenix into "win-now" mode.
In terms of controlling their own first-round picks for the future - they don't. In the following even years (2024, 2026, 2028, 2030) other teams have the opportunity to swap picks with them, though the hope is Phoenix can pick fairly high to where it won't matter.
In the odd years (2025, 2027, 2029) their first-round picks belong to the Nets.
The Suns did manage to squeeze back some gains in the form of second-round picks in smaller trades over the summer, but when it comes to overall draft capital, Bleacher Report slid Phoenix dead last in their rankings:
"Let's start with the Suns—who have gone all in to win with Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Durant, Beal and others. It better work. The franchise won't have the means to make significant changes outside of shopping one or more of their four veterans," wrote Eric Pincus.
"While Phoenix has four firsts, it can't trade any because of the Stepien Rule, and the swaps are spoken for. In the long run, the Wizards could be the big winner in the Beal trade (check back in 5-7 years)."
The two squads Phoenix did business with to acquire superstars (Washington at No. 11 and Brooklyn at No. 5) both finished fairly high in the rankings.
Time will tell if the Suns ultimately can make good on their chips being pushed to the middle of the table, though it's hard to blame Phoenix for doing so at this point in time.
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