featured-image

Suns Draft Points of View: Ryan McDonough

The build-up to the 2015 NBA Draft ended on June 25, when the Suns selected Kentucky sharp-shooter Devin Booker with the 13th pick in the first round. This is one part of a three-part series, each of which focuses on the points of view of the Suns' general manager, head coach and rookie during the events leading up to, during and after the draft.

SUNS DRAFT POINTS OF VIEW: Ryan McDonough | Jeff Hornacek | Devin Booker

Ryan McDonough has more reasons than most to talk with John Calipari. Kentucky’s head coach has funneled high-end talent to the NBA for years. In this summer’s draft, several former Wildcats were projected lottery picks, one of which McDonough and the Suns held at No. 13 overall.

Background checks and general feedback are part an NBA team’s of the pre-draft homework. McDonough can count on honest and frank assessments from Calipari, a family friend dating back to his days as a coach at the University of Massachusetts.

McDonough was a kid, then. Now, he had his scouting eye on at least one of Calipari’s kids. Booker had just wrapped up a freshman year in which he shot better than 41 percent from three and was named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year.

The 6-6 guard’s outstanding shooting ability had become a broad identity. McDonough and his staff, however, began to see more than that.

“One of the things that stood out as we dug in deeper on film, as we talked to the coaches and the people around the program at Kentucky and just really cracked down and studied him, is he is a lot more than [just a shooter],” he said. “He can catch and shoot. He’s got great elevation on his shot. He’s also able to catch the ball and put it on the floor and make a play. He can take a few dribbles and make a shot or make a play for somebody else.”

Devin Booker's Pre-Draft Workout

Three recent Kentucky products (Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe, Archie Goodwin) already dot the current Suns’ roster. Calipari, wondering whether a fourth would be added, sent a text message to McDonough on draft night.

“You going to take my guy?”

McDonough was ready with a discreet response.

“Which one? You need to be more specific.”

The Suns’ general manager squeezed that small exchange between a series of phone calls with other NBA front offices. Phoenix was eager to move up in the draft order so as not to miss out on a player McDonough knew he wanted. On their draft board was grouped a dozen of prospects they were extremely interested in drafting.

“Devin was solidly in that group,” McDonough said.

Slotted at No. 13, the Suns were in serious danger of missing out on one of their preferred targets. McDonough admitted he and his staff were “aggressive” talking with teams picking ahead of them in the lottery. The price to move up, however, was “extremely high.”

Even as the fee to trade up skyrocketed, one prospect on Phoenix’s board kept dropping.

Booker created his own value through skill and hard work, but the evolution of the modern NBA helped, too. Ever an observer of helpful trends, McDonough watched Golden State set a new path toward an NBA title, one paved with outside shooting as the main material.

Phoenix was currently experiencing a shortage in that resource after placing last in the league in three-point marksmanship after the All-Star break. For all the penetration skills of Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns were seldom able to take advantage.

“He’s a guy I think other teams will respect. In fact, I hope they don’t. I hope they leave him open…that threat is huge.”

— Ryan McDonough on Devin Booker

McDonough labeled outside shooting as one of the team’s offseason priorities. It could be checked off one of two ways: the draft or free agency. Either way, he knew he’d need to be aggressive to acquire it.

“[Outside shooting is] certainly getting more expensive, if that makes sense,” McDonough said. “In the draft, I think you have to pick them higher if you want them. They tend to go pretty quickly. In free agency, they tend to cost a lot more money.”

Hence, when Indiana and Utah both passed on arguably the best shooter in the draft, the Suns were all too ready to snatch him up.

“If there’s a guy like Devin that you really like that just ends up being there [when you pick], you kind of breathe a sigh of relief,” McDonough said. “Thank goodness we didn’t give up other things when we didn’t have to.”

Instead, Booker will add his NBA-ready jump shot to a team that could force opposing defenses to bend, but was unable to break them without sufficient perimeter punch. Booker’s shooting reputation is such that McDonough believes his impact will be felt simply by being on the court.

"He’s a guy I think other teams will respect,” he said before adding with a laugh, “In fact, I hope they don’t. I hope they leave him open…that threat is huge."