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Phoenix Suns: 2016 NBA Draft Grades

By Gerald Bourguet

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Dragan Bender walks off the stage after being selected as the number four overall pick to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Dragan Bender walks off the stage after being selected as the number four overall pick to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s not often the Phoenix Suns are one of the big winners on NBA Draft night. Here’s a look at their successful haul with 2016 NBA Draft Grades.

Phoenix Suns
Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Dragan Bender walks off the stage after being selected as the number four overall pick to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

For a team that won 23 games last season, the Phoenix Suns faced a critical offseason for the future of the franchise heading into the 2016 NBA Draft.

Their supposed two best players were point guards who showed very little chemistry together before suffering season-ending injuries, their third-best player was a head case who was moved to D.C. by the NBA Trade Deadline, and their best player by season’s end wound up being a 19-year-old rookie.

Mired in a franchise-record six-year playoff drought, the temptation for owner Robert Sarver, general manager Ryan McDonough and new head coach Earl Watson was probably to continue this fruitless attempt of building from the middle up.

Instead, with the offseason officially getting underway in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Suns made strides in the process they began back in 2013, putting draft assets to good use to rebuild for the future.

It may take more patience from a disgruntled fan base, but the Phoenix Suns are finally back on the right track. Here’s a look at each decision the Suns made in this year’s draft, complete with grades, expectations for each rookie, and a look at what each move means for Phoenix’s future.

Next: A New Dragan In Phoenix

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