Phoenix Suns: 5 players to watch in 2018 NCAA Tournament

3. Marvin Bagley III, Duke

Point guard and center are the most glaring positions of need for the Suns, so taking a player who projects as a power forward at the next level — even one as impressive as Marvin Bagley III — seems a bit odd.

Phoenix already has two developing 4s in Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss, and Bagley has spent the vast majority of his time with the Duke Blue Devils playing that position. He may not have the skill-set to play the 5 in the NBA, especially without above-average rim protection or lateral quickness.

However, given how much Bender and Chriss have overwhelmed in their sophomore seasons, the Suns should not hesitate to pull the trigger on Bagley if they envision him easing the pressure on Devin Booker to do everything for the offense.

This all depends on where Phoenix falls on draft lottery night, of course, but if Bagley is the best available talent by the time McDonough is on the clock, this franchise could do a lot worse than a 19-year-old beast who grew up in Tempe and is leading Duke with 21.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game on 60.5 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from 3.

Barring some sort of dramatic upset, the 2-seeded Blue Devils have a pretty favorable path to at least the Sweet 16, at which point in time NBA Draft fanatics could be treated to a heavyweight frontcourt showdown against Michigan State.

In any case, a high-seeded Duke team should always be expected to go deep in the tournament, and if that’s the case, you can be guaranteed big numbers from Bagley — and possible glimpses of how he might function at the next level as a stretch-4 or stretch-5 — will be involved.