Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway home through the work week, and I sure hope yours is going well.

Today’s the big day, as the Suns are set to pick 10th and 29th overall, picking up the top-10 selection from Houston as part of the Kevin Durant trade. Plenty more on that below, but I also hope you tune in to our amazing PHNX Suns crew tonight, who go live at 5 pm, and they’ll have instant reaction and analysis from all of the Suns’ action tonight, as the draft kicks off at 5 pm as well.

Looking forward to the picks. On to the show!

Final Mock Draft – Who To Watch Out For Tonight

Draft day is here!

It’s really all us Suns fans have looked forward to since the depressing end to the regular season, sans a new head coach. General manager Brian Gregory helped the Suns add assets, and the team now owns two first-rounders, at No. 10 and 29 overall.

The 10th overall pick is a recent development, but rest assured, the Suns’ scouting staff has unquestionably been preparing for all scenarios, and certainly had their wish list ready to go regardless of any trade coming through. I can tell you from my time with the Coyotes, these staffs expect the unexpected, and the draft is basically their Super Bowl — they leave no stone unturned.

Now they have an additional selection in a much higher position, allowing for a little more flexibility as the team tries to reload around Devin Booker, as opposed to starting a rebuild from scratch.

So what can you expect tonight?

Prospects to Keep an Eye On in Tonight’s First Round

Those aforementioned scouting staff draft boards are awfully secretive, but that doesn’t stop the nation’s talking heads from taking a shot. The PHNX Sports Daily has run multiple iterations of mock drafts over the past few months, but none of those versions included a top-10 pick, well, because the Suns didn’t have one.

Now, they do.

Remember, there are plenty of variables that could still play out, including Gregory continuing to wheel and deal before, or even during, tonight’s first round.

Here’s a quick peek at how the latest (and final) first-round mock drafts have shaken out from around the basketball-sphere.

• Will Gottlieb, ALLCITY
  • 10th overall: Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 12
  • 29th overall: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 34
• Jeremy Woo, ESPN
  • 10th overall: Carter Bryant, SF/PF, Arizona
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 13
  • 29th overall: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 34
• Kevin O’Connor, Yahoo Sports
  • 10th overall: Carter Bryant, SF/PF, Arizona
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 13
  • 29th overall: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 34
• Jonathan Wasserman, Bleacher Report
  • 10th overall: Kon Knueppel, SF, Duke
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 6
  • 29th overall: Maxime Raynaud, C, Stanford
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 27
• Gary Parrish, CBS Sports
  • 10th overall: Carter Bryant, PG, Israel
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 13
  • 29th overall: Ben Saraf, PG, Israel
  • Diehard Draft Ranking: 32

You may have noticed the Diehard Draft Guide rankings listed above — make sure to check out the NBA Diehard Draft Guide — Led by ALLCITY draft analysts Derek Bodner of PHLY and Will Gottlieb of CHGO. If you’re not a Diehard, today’s a perfect day to become one and gain access (details just below my email intro) — win/win!

My Take: It’s pretty easy to be pessimistic considering how Phoenix just floundered, but I’d challenge you to let yourself get excited about the possibilities of next season, and beyond. The Durant experiment was a pretty big flop, and there’s no recouping the assets that were given up to acquire him, but so goes life in the NBA. Move on and remember this team, because if Gregory’s blueprint works, you’ll be looking back in a few years wondering why we ever doubted the Spartans’ Suns’ strategy.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Enjoy the draft tonight, and be sure to check our site, Youtube channel and social media accounts for updates all week!

Take a Deeper Dive: It’s a two-for-one bonus! First, Gerald takes a look at five prospects the Suns may pick tonight, while David has put together a comprehensive list of mock draft predictions!

I Didn’t Hear No Bell: The Diamondbacks have experienced injury after injury, but they continue to roll, defeating the White Sox 4-1 in Chicago yesterday. The pitching was refreshingly effective, allowing a combined three hits, while four different D-backs chipped in one RBI to come away with the win. Arizona has won two straight and five of their last six, and wrap up their road trip in Chicago today (11:10 am).

Yesterday’s game was no exception to the injury bug, by the way, as Ildemaro Vargas exited the game after being hit on the foot by a pitch, and it was later announced he has a fracture.

Heartbreaking Scene: Thoughts are with star Ketel Marte, who was visibly shaken during yesterday’s game after a White Sox fan was taunting him about his mother, who tragically passed away in 2017. Manager Torey Lovullo said after the game that the fan was ejected, and frankly, I hope he’s banned for life.

Leah and Petey!: If you didn’t catch Leah and Petey on yesterday’s PHNX Hockey podcast, make sure you check it out. They covered a lot of ground, from the Roadrunners’ future in Tucson to the future of NHL hockey in Arizona, including some incredible insight from insider Scott Burnside.

Tip Of The Hat By Branded Bills

Insight, insight, and more insight!