Phoenix has a bit of a weird roster. Its players are either super young (8 are between 19-24) or super old (4 are 31 or older), with very few at their peak (Bledsoe and Knight, and Knight's not very good). The Suns have guys who can score, but the defense is atrocious (30th in the NBA). Most of the talent is in the backcourt, but there are some high upside guys in the frontcourt (including last year's two lottery picks - Bender and Chriss). So, in short, this is not a team that's 1-2 pieces away from competition - this is a team that just needs to accumulate talent.*
I was honestly hoping that this board's (understandable and appropriate) tendency toward Duke homerism would make Tatum a top 3 pick and let Jackson fall to the Suns. Jackson is the best fit with the roster as a defensive oriented wing, but he's off the board. The greatest "need" is probably a defensive forward, so we considered Jonathan Isaac, but I'm not convinced he's really going to thrive and he's also very much a work in progress. Tatum is enticing and is the most ready to contribute right away. But he's not going to do anything to help the defense and making him and Devin Booker cornerstones means that you're never really going to get a lot of stops. So we're taking a high upside guard who can lock people up and makes a good pairing with Booker as the long-term franchise guards. And we all know the Phoenix Suns love Kentucky guards.
So with the 4th pick, Phoenix takes De'Aaron Fox, G, Kentucky
*For this reason, I think the Suns are going to work hard to shop #4 - Sacramento may be willing to give 5 & 10 to come get Fox; Portland may be willing to give all three of its first round picks to come get Tatum.
Just be you. You is enough. - K, 4/5/10, 0:13.8 to play, 60-59 Duke.
You're all jealous hypocrites. - Titus on Laettner
You see those guys? Animals. They're animals. - SIU Coach Chris Lowery, on Duke