We’ve got some activity in the second round!
The Phoenix Suns were busy during the first, selecting Duke center Khaman Maluach while also trading the 29th overall pick and a 2029 first-rounder for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams.
They haven’t stopped there, reportedly dealing two future second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for No. 36 overall on Thursday.
Phoenix now has Nos. 36, 52 and 59 to work with in the second round.
In a throwback to our 29 for 29 series when Phoenix had a pick at 29th, a solid handful of those prospects are still available.
Taking need into account with how heavy Phoenix’s roster is built around centers and shooting guards, here are the five best targets for No. 36.
5. Kam Jones, PG, Marquette, 23 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-5, 202 pounds, 6-foot-6 wingspan Stats: 19.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.9 APG, 0.3 BPG, 1.4 SPG, 1.9 TPG, 48.3 FG% (16.3 FGA/G), 31.1 3P% (6.1 3PA/G), 64.8 FT% (2.6 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 46, The Athletic: 33, The Ringer: 35, Yahoo!: 43
A point guard would be a great benefit to the Suns right now. Collin Gillespie, currently a restricted free agent, is the only one who could be back. Jones would be a help.
The adage of a player being “a coach’s dream” goes for hoopers like Jones. Suns general manager Brian Gregory was a college coach for two decades and at any point would have traded his entire starting lineup to coach a player like Jones.
It’s always great to see four-year players take a big jump somewhere, and Jones went from undersized do-it-all wing to floor general last season, putting up a tremendously productive senior season. Markelle Fultz and Ja Morant are the only two NBA Draft picks in the last decade to put up Jones’ averages of 19.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game, per Stathead. Let’s double-check our work here, but I believe that’s the No. 1 pick in 2017 and No. 2 pick in 2019. Not bad.
Jones jumped from 2.4 assists per game to nearly six a night — he took on a lot more with the NBA exit of point guard Tyler Kolek. He did so with ridiculous individual creation for his own shot as well. So for him to go almost 59% on his 2s is laughable shot-making at the collegiate level, considering this is not a guy with an explosive first step.
The polish and poise he has compared to just about every other guard in college is an outlier. His assists skyrocketing also resulted in his turnovers bumping from just 1.4 to 1.9. That is rare.
Marquette guard Kam Jones in a win over Maryland:
▪️ 28 PTS ▪️ 10-18 FG ▪️ 3-5 3PT ▪️ 4 REB
Potential player of the year season loading⁉️ pic.twitter.com/qVlpFRXhy1
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) November 16, 2024
Jones’ 3-point percentage from this year might trigger a warning alarm, but he was at 36.6% over his career, and vitally, jacked up an unheard-of 6.3 a night across four years. It’s 861 attempts and he will become just the ninth draft pick in the last 25 years to clear 850, according to Stathead. While Jones can be streaky and the free-throw percentage (67.1%) is worrisome, that’s too much volume and accuracy to brush aside.
He does a little bit of everything in other parts of the game, too, all with this high-level, lead-guard resume.
Age (23) and athleticism (blah) are the only things really holding him back. Given how Jones is firmly outside the first round for most evaluators, scouts must be pretty confident that the lack of serious burst is going to be one hell of a wall he smacks into, because his profile screams valuable third guard with a chance to be more.
4. Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke, 21 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-6, 183 pounds, 6-foot-7 wingspan Stats: 12.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.1 BPG, 0.8 SPG, 1.1 TPG, 45.2 FG% (9.6 FGA/G), 40.5 3P% (5.8 3PA/G), 68 FT% (2 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 43, The Athletic: 36, The Ringer: 33, Yahoo!: 45
Proctor is more of a combo than a pure point and scarily meets the same physical measurements and athletic profile of like half the members of the Suns roster. With that said, he can run offense and provide a needed skill set elsewhere.
Playing for Duke was the best thing to happen for Proctor, and at the same time, by walking through that blue door, he never got a full look at what was behind the red door of his full potential. Is that the blue or red pill in the movie? Whatever.
The Blue Devils were led by three future lottery picks in Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Maluach. They were supported by tremendous ancillary pieces like Proctor, Sion James and others to be the most complete team in college basketball.
Proctor’s role on the team was very clear-cut. He got everything into shape for Flagg or Knueppel, shot lots of 3s to space and filled in the dirty work from there. His assists per game dropped from 3.7 to 2.2 with this on-ball reduction and that allowed his 3-point percentage to jump a full five points.
The opening he could wiggle through is as an off-ball guard, doing enough secondary playmaking while covering the 3-and-D tracks elsewhere. Proctor came into Duke lauded for his passing ability and that could work playing off a primary scorer by being another ball-handler option. Think a different version of when Lonzo Ball was at his best before the injuries, a “point guard” with size that doesn’t do enough individual scoring to command an offense consistently.
Proctor will need to be a good shooter and on-ball defender to meet that billing. He was in college. Again, though, that’s a tight squeeze. If either part of his game falters or making the reads as a pick-and-roll ball-handler take too much time, he could sink quickly. And perhaps, much like the blue pill, his situation at Duke masked the flaws that would have been exposed in a more high-usage role and will be in the NBA.
The Aussie, however, did show glimpses going back to his freshman year before he was overshadowed by future draft picks. Everything you just read about his profile would not lead you to believe he had outings like this in his arsenal.
Tyrese Proctor is so crafty as a scorer. 16 points yesterday and hit some really difficult shots. Also added six assists.
In line for a monster Sophomore season should he return. pic.twitter.com/MkAMAiIetm
— BlueDevilStop (@BlueDevilStop) March 19, 2023
There is a lot of value to be had in what he can do if the right situation finds him, with a chance for more to develop. Boards are not properly accounting for that value and should have placed him in the first round.
3. Rasheer Fleming, F/C, Saint Joseph’s, 20 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-10, 232 pounds, 7-foot-5 wingspan Stats: 14.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.4 SPG, 1.5 TPG, 53.1 FG% (10.1 FGA/G), 39 3P% (4.5 3PA/G), 74.3 FT% (2.9 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 27, The Athletic: 32, The Ringer: 34, Yahoo!: 35
There is a case to take Fleming off the board here despite having him No. 1 when we were considering the 29th overall pick’s big board. Some of his value ties into playing the 5, and Phoenix has four centers after Wednesday’s first round. Fleming, however, is a great bat swing on what he could be as a 4.
Fleming is an odd shout in general. He’s a three-year player at a mid-major, and yet, his profile reads more like a raw freshman who showed why he was a five-star recruit. He also could benefit from more seasoning.
The upside here is great in two different facets, which is why Phoenix would be wise to take a chance on him.
Fleming’s wingspan allows him to have some viability as a 5, and his great mobility would unlock every type of ball-screen coverage. He’s a terrific rim runner and lob threat, with that 3-point percentage (39%) coming on 4.5 3PA/G. His lack of self-creation is a hurdle awaiting him as a 4, but at the 5, he can be a line-drive threat for sure. That’s the total package for an accentuating big on offense.
His size facing true 5s individually would be an issue, but he can at least spend some time as a center without a doubt.
With a 7’5 wingspan, and a chiseled frame, Rasheer Fleming is a prototypical NBA big man physically, with strong finishing and floor-spacing prowess. He filled up the stat sheet with dunks, 3s, rebounds, steals and blocks, making highlight-reel plays with his exceptional length. t.co/ExcuHdrAP8 pic.twitter.com/DkvqWKDErp
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 11, 2025
With that in mind, the team that drafts him would want to make sure he isn’t a modern power forward and give him a chance to expand his game. With the way the Suns’ roster has shaped in the last 24 hours, they would be doing that.
As previously covered, Fleming has just about the perfect base attributes as a two-way big alongside a true center, and what he could offer as a complimentary rebounder and rim protector to that 5 is appetizing. He would just have to be a certified good shooter, and his dribble drives off closeouts would have to develop more consistency.
It’s all about the interview and workout process, if a team speaks with him and believes he will put in the work to get smarter on the floor. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie notes “on-court processing as the biggest concern.” You can watch young players and see when the game is a step ahead of them, instead of vice versa, and those are the flashes you see from Fleming as a ball-handler and an off-ball defender. It is not for a lack of effort, as Fleming’s got a good motor.
The landing spot for Fleming needs to be an organization that has the flexibility to work with his development, both positionally and in terms of living with his mistakes, too. He might splat into the rookie wall of picking up the NBA game on a contender or with a stingy coach, but give his skill set to head coach Jordan Ott after the work he did with Evan Mobley this past season and you’ve got a great match.
2. Noah Penda, F, Le Mans, 20 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-9, 218 pounds, 7-foot wingspan Stats: 10.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.9 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 1.7 TPG, 44.7 FG% (5.7 FGA/G), 32.2 3P% (3.1 3PA/G), 66.7 FT% (3.3 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 31, The Athletic: 21, The Ringer: 18, Yahoo!: 32
The Suns desperately need another big wing. Ryan Dunn is the only guy on the roster who’s above 6-foot-6 and has some real size and athleticism to him. That far and away makes Penda and the next name the best options available.
Penda has some big-time fans, with two of those big board placements you see above putting him right around the top-20.
A lot of what to like here is the combination of Penda’s physical profile with his feel for the game. National draft experts love how he dissects things in a two-way facet. The Ringer’s Danny Chau offers more of that here:
Penda hasn’t reached those heights just by having young legs; more often than not, he wins on defense with advanced pattern recognition and hand-eye coordination. That’s not to say he isn’t athletic—his functional strength and movement skills serve as the chassis for his processor. He is comfortable diagnosing plays on the spot, communicating assignments, and seamlessly rotating and recovering to fill gaps on defense. There is immense value in simply knowing where to be and how to get there as urgently as possible. Penda’s spatial awareness is one of his greatest gifts on offense, too.
Noah Penda is still available in this 2nd round of the 2025 Draft and could be an interesting piece for many teams
The 6-7 Forward shows that he can integrate any system with his basketball IQ, connecting attributes and also his defensive versatility. In French 1st League, he… pic.twitter.com/z2j8h0C6dZ
— Symbiose (@SymbioseBB) June 26, 2025
Having a high-IQ athlete on the wing while the rest of Penda’s skill game offensively comes together is a great fit for how Phoenix’s roster is lined up.
His shooting and off-the-dribble game are incomplete, a work in progress. That’ll work fine as long as he’s in the right place and fills in the gaps.
1. Adou Thiero, F, Arkansas, 20 years old
Measurables: 6-foot-9, 242 pounds, 7-foot wingspan Stats: 15.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.7 BPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.7 TPG, 54.5 FG% (9.4 FGA/G), 25.6 3P% (1.6 3PA/G), 68.6 FT% (6.5 FTA/G) Big board rankings: ESPN: 32, The Athletic: 31, The Ringer: 27, Yahoo!: 27
The Suns needed size coming into the draft in a desperate way. Phoenix’s front office massively miscalculated how much of a detriment it would be on a night-to-night basis for its five most important guards/wings to all be 6-foot-5 or smaller with mostly limited athleticism. They coincidentally doubled down on that with the Durant trade.
The centers were both slow and lacking explosiveness, too. Bradley Beal was the only real plus athlete, and beyond him, the 36-year-old Durant served as the best presence from an athletic standpoint.
The implementation of the rookies, Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, should have helped fight that balance. The arrival of Nick Richards and Cody Martin helped some.
But the addition of Maluach and Williams, along with someone like Thiero, would really begin sharpening the identity.
Thiero should be looked at as the best athlete in this class, a tremendous lateral and vertical mover at his size. There are not many guys you can watch in college and confidently say they will be able to defend any perimeter scorer from a speed/strength standpoint. He is one of the few.
Watching Thiero is like playing a video game where your character is always fully supercharged, ready to unleash your ultimate ability, finishing maneuver or gamebreaker at any moment. He’s using that gift everywhere on the floor with a wonderful motor.
Adou Thiero: the most athletic wing prospect since? pic.twitter.com/7FnYbxr63R
— Mohamed (@mcfNBA) May 11, 2025
Thiero’s development into a 15-point-per-game scorer was all about his drives, leveraging his absurd strides to get in the paint and draw fouls. The key for him offensively won’t be his jumper right away, because that’s going to be a process no matter what. It’s whether he can be selective and smart enough with his drives as an off-ball player, producing good looks consistently so that it is a positive from the jump.
It’s fair to say this is a similar pick to Dunn and question if that should make Thiero redundant, given the needs on the roster elsewhere. But the Suns are starting from the ground up on the wing, and having those two represent that reclamation project, even with some offensive concerns, could prove worthwhile.
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