The Phoenix Suns currently hold the 14th pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. With all this free time during the playoffs let’s go ahead and do a preliminary analysis on who the Suns should take in this years draft.

Assuming Steve Nash isn’t traded, and we are assuming Goran Dragic’s Stats increase a decent amount during his sophmore year to finally provide the Suns a legitimate backup point guard, what position do the Suns need the most?

Steve Nash

First, I think we would have to predict just who is most likely to stay with the team. We need to know which positions are going to be filled. Looking at the Suns 2009-2010 Team Salary we can expect Goran Dragic, Jared Dudley, Robin Lopez, Louis Amundson and Alando Tucker back. Their combined salary is around $7 Million. Judging by their performance late in the season under Alvin Gentry, the only way any of them are going to get traded is if they are necessary inclusions in a deal for either Amare, Shaq, or J-Rich.

Before I get into who I suspect the Suns to trade this off season let’s look into the positions we have covered. Let’s also go ahead and assume the Suns draft Chase Budinger from our most recent Mock Draft. Let’s also throw Lawson out as a possibility.

PG – Steve Nash, Goran Dragic
G – Jason Richardson, Leandro Barbosa
G-F – Alando Tucker, Grant Hill (He wants another year, my guess is he want’s it with Nash)
F – Louis Amundson, Jared Dudley
F-C – Amar’e Stoudemire
C – Shaquille O’Neal, Robin Lopez
Rookie Guard – Lawson/Budinger

Now,  I’m just throwing this out there… I’d actually like to see some comments from some Suns fans. By Keeping Steve

Jared Dudley in College

Nash and Shaq for another year, along with Richardson, Hill, Barbosa, Amundson, Dudley and Shaq, I think there is enough talent to make the playoffs, especially if Barne’s were to re-sign at a reasonable rate. So, You trade Amar’e for what you can get. Ideally, you get rid of Amar’e for a decent expiring contract. If LeBron doesn’t get a ring this year you think Cleveland would want to get rid of Ben Wallace to try a combo of LeBron, Williams, and Amare? How about Brad Miller from the Bulls? How about 2 for 1 involving one expiring contract and some other…

I think you know what I’m  getting at… We’d essentially have a competitive team for one more year while giving some valuable minutes to the young players who proved they can be reliable under Gentry. The team would likely get more defensive without Amar’e and we wouldn’t be losing any speed or major offensive ability. I’m pretty sure I’d be OK with that as a fan.

Getting rid of Amar’e would give more time to our younger players develop. I’ve got confidence a combination of Amundson, Dudley, Shaq, and Lopez and whoever the Suns trade STAT for would be effective.

And here it is, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. If Nash didn’t extend his contract this year, the Suns would only have $29 Million on the books with only Louis Amundson’s contract to resign. If Nash did extend his contract, the suns would likely have roughly $44 million + Louis Amundson.

Now, I’m not suggesting the Suns would be able to go out and sign D-Wade or something, at least if Nash were on the team. With the economy the way it is, it’s likely the salary cap is going to drop and the Suns wouldn’t be competitive. However, 2010 is still big. It would also provide another year for our young guys to develop.

At best, we drop all of our old players and have an amazing 2010 signing. The mid range, Steve Nash stays on the team and can still compete while our young players continue to develop and we can sign a pretty nice stud to play alongside an already winning team. Worst case scenario, it dampens how far we have to drop while the Suns are in their rebuilding process and gives us an exciting team to watch that can win a decent number of games.

Related posts:

1. Phoenix Suns Outlook Into the Future
2. Phoenix Suns Shaquille O’neal Traded to Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Louis Amundson and his Future with the Phoenix Suns
4. The Phoenix Suns Future and Imminent Summer Trades
5. Shaquille O’neal Just Got Pranked By Louis Amundson