The Phoenix Suns have become a hot topic of conversation in trade talks in recent days, what with teams such as the Houston Rockets waiting patiently for their downfall as they look to trade for Suns stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. However, the Suns are looking to ride their core of Durant, Booker, and Bradley Beal for as long as possible, and on the night of the 2024 NBA Draft, they pulled off a trade with the Denver Nuggets so they could pick up some additional draft assets.

The Suns, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, have traded away the 22nd overall pick of the draft to the Nuggets in exchange for the 28th overall selection, pick 56, and two future second-round picks. Given how depleted the Suns' chest of draft assets are, picking up a few assets should allow them to have a shot at drafting an impactful young player or two, which would help the team given how restricted they are in terms of roster-building due to the new CBA.

Moreover, the Suns are only moving down six spots in the draft; given how close the prospects in the first round are in terms of talent and projected impact, perhaps Phoenix sensed that the man they would have drafted at pick 22 would still be available at 28. But for the Nuggets, they were clearly enamored of DaRon Holmes II enough to be aggressive and trade up six spots to get his services.

Nuggets get their man

The Nuggets proceeded to draft DaRon Holmes II with the pick that they traded for; Holmes will be 22 when the 2024-25 season rolls along, but he should be one of the most NBA-ready prospects in this draft class. In his junior year with Dayton, Holmes averaged 20.4 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 54/39/71 from the field. The three-point shooting improvement is what stands out; Holmes made 32 of his 83 three-point attempts last season, and in a pinch, he could be a floor-spacing rebounder for the Nuggets off the pine.

Nikola Jokic has the center position on lock for the Nuggets for the next decade or so, so all Denver has to do is get a quality backup center who won't lose them games whenever Jokic is taking a breather. Holmes is an athletic 6'10 big who averaged 2.1 blocks across his three seasons in Dayton, and he could become a much-better backup big option than Zeke Nnaji really quickly.

ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel is a big fan of the Nuggets' selection of Holmes; in addition to having Holmes go to the Nuggets in his final mock draft, Siegel pointed out that Holmes “flew up draft boards due to his floor spacing and shooting abilities in pick-and-pop situations”, giving the Nuggets a “great backup option” for Jokic.

Where do the Suns go from here?

The main thing the Suns needed was more flexibility; by adding two second-round picks on top of pick 28 and pick 56, Siegel pointed out that the Suns now have more assets to swing a trade or they could have some lottery ticket second-rounders moving forward.

Rarely does a late first-rounder or late second-rounder turn the fortunes of a franchise around, however. It will be interesting to see how the Suns maneuver and whether or not they could make the most of the additional assets that they acquired.

The Suns have made their selection for the 28th overall pick, and they have taken Ryan Dunn, an athletic defender who can explode for highlight-reel plays during any given play.