The NBA Draft is 43 days away, and fan bases across the league already have June 23 circled on the calendar. That’s the night new talent enters organizations, and hope starts all over again. For the Phoenix Suns, thanks to the decisions of the past, they’ll have to wait until June 24 when the second round begins. Phoenix currently owns the 17th pick of the second round, number 47 overall.
The draft is always exciting because of what it represents. Hope. Opportunity. Possibility. At that point, the player hasn’t stepped on the floor in your jersey yet, so there’s no frustration attached. The slate is clean. Expectations are fresh. The player becomes a symbol of what could be next.
Obviously, the goal every season is not to be picking in the lottery because that usually means the year went sideways. For Phoenix, which would have owned the 16th overall selection, they’re still paying the price for the Bradley Beal acquisition and find themselves watching the first round from the outside.
Does it have to stay that way?
One rumor floating around involves the Oklahoma City Thunder, who own both the 12th and 17th picks in the draft. Reports suggest they could be open to moving one or both selections in exchange for future draft capital.
It’s possible the Phoenix Suns look at this draft, one many consider exceptionally deep, and explore ways to move into the first round to grab another young player for the organization to develop. There are intriguing names projected in that 10 to 20 range, and if Phoenix found a path to either the 12th or 17 pickth owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder, there would be real options on the board.
This draft is often viewed as a four-player class at the top, featuring prospects with true All-NBA potential. That’s important context. If you’re drafting at 12 or 17, the expectation probably isn’t that you’re landing a future superstar. Maybe an All-Star. More realistically, a quality rotational player with upside.
That raises the question. Is that worth trading up for? And more importantly, do the Suns have anything the Thunder would actually want?
Phoenix doesn’t have much ammunition. What they do have is future draft capital that could interest Oklahoma City if the Suns decide this is the moment to fire that bullet. On draft night, the 2033 first round pick becomes tradable. There are other firsts available as well, although many come attached to swaps and carry less value.
The key becomes how interested the Thunder would be in those assets, especially the 2033 first. If it’s unprotected or top-3 protected, that becomes appealing. We have no idea what Phoenix will look like seven years from now. Devin Booker might still be around, and if he is, he’d be 36 years old. The assumption is that the organization would be in the middle of another transition by then.
So is giving up that 2033 first worth it at this point in the Suns’ history? Or do you hold onto that bullet for another day, maybe for a trade that pushes you closer to contention, or a moment when you truly need that asset yourself?
In theory, the Oklahoma City Thunder don’t necessarily need one or both of these picks. They’re dominating the league. Why would they? These are assets finally coming to fruition, the result of elite asset management from Sam Presti.
The number 12 pick traces back to the Paul George trade in 2019. Number 17 came from the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2020 deal where OKC acquired Al Horford for Danny Green. It almost feels unfair that the defending NBA champions, currently sitting at 8-0 this postseason, still hold two first round picks. That’s what happens when an organization does things the right way.
At the same time, you can ask whether Oklahoma City has almost too much. Their financial picture starts changing quickly. They jump from $188.8 million in payroll during the 2025-26 season, currently 23rd in the league, to a projected $256.6 million in 2026-27, which would place them seventh. Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams both begin the first year of their five-year extensions at roughly $41.3 million annually. For one season, they’ll actually earn more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander before his supermax kicks in during 2027-28 at $60.6 million, around 35% of the projected cap.
Then there are decisions on players like Isaiah Hartenstein, Luguentz Dort, and Kenrich Williams, all of whom have team options next season. Oklahoma City is approaching the stage where difficult roster choices start becoming part of the equation.
That’s why the draft capital conversation matters. On one hand, the Thunder could absolutely move one of these picks for future assets. On the other hand, this is how they sustain the machine. Use those selections to reload, develop internally, and keep the pipeline flowing as the roster becomes more expensive.
Maybe that’s the real lesson sitting underneath this entire conversation. The Thunder are proof that sustainable success comes from patience, discipline, and constantly feeding the pipeline, even when you’re already on top. The Suns are still operating from the opposite side of that equation, searching for ways to balance urgency with sustainability. Trading into the first round could absolutely help, especially in a deep draft. It also feels like another reminder that every shortcut eventually comes with a receipt.
See More:
* [Suns Rumors](/suns-rumors)
* [Suns Trade Rumors](/suns-trade-rumors)