The Phoenix Suns face a pivotal draft night with picks 10 and 29 now in play.
NBA Draft Day is finally here. Well…day one. I get the monetization angle for stretching the draft into a two-day event, but as a fan of the product, give me the old-school, one-shot, one-kill format any day.
Regardless, today marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Phoenix Suns and the 2025–26 season. We’ve been counting down to this since the final buzzer of the regular season some 73 days ago. For most of that stretch, our focus was squarely on pick No. 29. Who could the Suns target at the back end of the first round to fill a need and maybe make an impact?
Then came Sunday.
The Kevin Durant trade flipped the script and returned Phoenix to a familiar place: the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft. ‘Twas a pick that was once ours when we traded for KD. And now it’s come home.
Huge credit to the Bright Side writing team, who sprinted to their keyboards to break down prospects and pitch possibilities for that pick. With only days to work with, we’ve flooded the site with as much intel and insight as possible so Suns fans could feel prepared for tonight.
Now it’s time to go on the record.
First, you’ll see predictions from the Bright Side staff. Then, it’s your turn: cast your vote for who the Suns should take at 10, at 29, or if you’d prefer they trade the picks altogether.
Let the chaos begin.
John Voita
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Cedric Coward
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Derik Queen
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Maxime Raynaud
Miah Scott
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach or Kasparas Jakuciounis
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Trade back in the draft to acquire more picks
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Rasheer Fleming
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Trade to 15-20 for Jase Richardson
Holden Sherman
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Carter Bryant
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Danny Wolf or Walter Clayton Jr.
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Maxime Raynaud
Ashton
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: They don’t. Nets have more trade picks than they could ever use on the 2025 draft cycle. Suns work a deal that lands them #8 for Khaman Maluach and/or any other projected top 5 pick that may fall into their laps.
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Danny Wolf or Walter Clayton Jr. I am just an echo chamber for Holden Sherman at this point.
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner. This is a Suns organization that has a big ol’ “Under New Management” sign hanging up to try and resurrect the failing business. Anybody’s guess is as good as mine.
Brandon Duenas
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach or CMB
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Jase Richardson or Danny Wolf (yes, at 10)
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner or Drake Powell
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Johni Broome
Archie Frazer
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach or attach with Beal to trade off him (if we can’t trade off Beal, then trade #10 with the Nets for Claxton/Johnson)
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Asa Newell or Derik Queen
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Noah Penda or Will Riley
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner
Bruce Veliz
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach or Thomas Sorber
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Collin Murray-Boyles
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner or Drake Powell
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Walter Clayton Jr.
Matthew Lissy
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Khaman Maluach
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Cedric Coward
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Liam McNeeley
Kevin Humpherys
- Who I’d like them to take at #10: Derik Queen or Danny Wolf
- Who I think they’ll take at #10: Collin Murray-Boyles
- Who I’d like them to take at #29: Kam Jones or Ryan Kalkbrenner
- Who I think they’ll take at #29: Ryan Kalkbrenner
You’ve seen who the Bright Side writers would like to take and who they think they will take.
Now it’s your turn.
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