Report: Suns May Deal Key Player to Acquire High Draft Pick

The Suns are looking to acquire a high pick in Thursday's draft, and they may offer a key player in exchange.

Rumors continue to swirl surrounding the Phoenix Suns, yet the latest one was quite the curveball in what Suns fans have been hearing lately.

Suns Looking to Move Into Top Ten of NBA Draft

In his latest mock draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony gave some insight into what the New Orleans Pelicans might do with their pick at No. 8:

"The Pelicans have less of a need at any particular position than other lottery teams, making this a natural target for teams looking to move up in trade conversations and creating quite a bit of chatter in NBA circles around this pick. The Phoenix Suns are said to be one of the teams potentially looking at trade scenarios here, possibly including a player like Cameron Johnson in order to free up salary-cap flexibility to keep Deandre Ayton. New Orleans has four surefire starters and a plethora of young talent at every position that gives it tremendous depth and role players to plug virtually any hole," said Givony.

This rumor is a bit surprising for a few reasons. 

The Suns have reportedly been interesting in getting back into the draft, but reports more so suggested that would be at the tail end of the event in acquiring a second-round selection. Arizona Sports' John Gambadoro has said to keep an eye out for teams such as Orlando, Oklahoma City and Minnesota as potential trade partners. 

This also goes against the "Deandre Ayton is basically a lock to leave" mantra we've heard by many NBA insiders since the conclusion of the season. The Suns also value Cam Johnson very highly and an upgrade in pay should reflect that this summer when rookie extension talks can take place. 

They also wouldn't be huge fans of strengthening a Pelicans team that took them to six games in the playoffs this past season without Zion Williamson. 

Phoenix has a big decision to make on Ayton's future, and Suns general manager James Jones said the luxury tax wouldn't be an obstacle in keeping their core players together. 

"We’re not talking about a luxury tax issue or avoiding those things. That’s not something that’s going to prevent us from continuing to build this team and keep this team together," Jones said to reporters earlier this offseason. 

Gambadoro doesn't believe there's any truth behind it. 

With double confirmation there is absolutely NO truth to report that the Suns are interested in trading Cam Johnson to New Orleans for the 8th overall pick.

— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) June 21, 2022

We're nearly 48 hours removed from the start of the 2022 NBA Draft, so time will tell if this report has any weight behind it. 

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