Phoenix Suns Non-draft Draft

For the record, I think either player the Suns selected would have been fine additions to their team, and I'm certain they'll help the teams they ended up on. But the Suns were simply not much in the market for new meat.

"It's pretty simple. There were four or five guys we were interested in, but they were off the board," Suns Head Coach and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Mike D'Antoni explained tom local media . "We love the group of players we have and want to keep them together. ... We think we are real close to playing for an NBA championship with the team we have."

So they took Kentucky point guard Rajon Rondo (is that a great NBA name or what?), widely considered to be the best college point guard available in this year's draft. They promptly traded Rondo to the Boston Celtics (who reportedly had coveted him from the beginning), along with veteran F/C Brian Grant, whose salary requirements far exceed the soundness of his knees. Boston, on the other hand, has plenty of cap space, and needs all the help they can get. In return, the Suns get the first round pick Boston acquired from Cleveland, provided it's not in the top ten. Got that?

With their 27th pick, they took Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez, who they promptly shipped to the Portland Trailblazers in return for $3 million. Rodriguez could expect about $800K/year on his first NBA contract. The three million, though, would buy some cap space for a veteran free agent point guard, which is what the Suns feel they need to take some of the load off of Steve Nash.

The Suns figure signing an established free agent veteran such as Bobby Jackson or Lindsey Hunter is a surer approach than gambling on a rookie maturing is less than one season. And who can blame them. The Suns have done well recently signing the castaways from other clubs; the classic example being Tim Thomas.

Thomas, of course, was a reliable but under-rated veteran at his position who was waived by the Bulls mid-season, even though they signed him for big money. The Suns picked him up for veteran minimum, and he was an essential part of their playoff run. So the Suns have boundless confidence here, and happily let go of the birds in their hand.

Of course, Tim Thomas is apparently about to sign with the Clippers as a veteran free agent. So we can only hope there's more magic where that came from.