Bleacher Report has allowed their most recent 2024 NBA mock draft to see the light of day, and the Phoenix Suns add much needed depth down low.
B/R draft analyst Jonathan Wasserman went over a full two-round mock draft, including the Suns’ lone first round pick.
In this mock, Wasserman had the Suns taking Duke big man Kyle Filipowski.
Filipowski is a 7-footer in his second year with the Blue Devils, and Wassermann broke down why he is slotted in the top-20 of the upcoming draft:
“Kyle Filipowski has been more effective this year inside the arc (61.5 percent), using his strength and touch to finish more post-ups, rolls in traffic and putbacks. His passing has continued to pop as well and remains a selling point on the scouting report,” wrote Wasserman.
“He hasn’t appeared to make a jump this year with his three-ball, which continues to look capable but unreliable.
“The big question with Filipowski asks whether his perimeter game can translate, which is what can help separate him from other 7-footers and NBA bench players. Filipowski clearly has range and body control handling in the open floor or beating bigs off the arc in space. But his shot has been inconsistent, and a high center of gravity makes it difficult to picture him blowing by NBA defenders.
“Regardless, in this draft, teams won’t nitpick too much when considering Filipowski’s size, skill level and NCAA impact/effectiveness.”
While Filipowski seems to be a natural fit to be selected and developed to be the Suns’ center of the future, Wasserman has Phoenix picking 18th in the first round currently- which is unlikely to be the draft slot they are found at in June.
It’s still interesting to examine the potential options James Jones has going into the draft- this will presumably be the first draft pick that was used and kept by the Suns since Deandre Ayton went number one overall in 2018.
Phoenix won’t own a second-round pick, as one of the picks was traded to the Washington Wizards in the Bradley Beal trade, and the other was taken away by the league for alleged tampering in the negotiation process with current Suns center Drew Eubanks prior to free agency opening.
