North Carolina point guard Coby White – the Bulls’ No. 7 pick – was doing his NBA draft media session when the Suns chose North Carolina forward Cameron Johnson No. 11.
I recommend the video to see White’s emotions, but the the transcript captured his words:Q. Cameron Johnson just went 11th. How do you react to that news?
COBY WHITE: Cam went 11th?
Q. Yeah, it’s right on the screen right there.
COBY WHITE: Wow. Wow. Wow, bro! That’s crazy. That’s so low, bro. Y’all know Cam? You don’t know how hard Cam worked. There’s a lot of people that doubt him. But wow, that’s crazy, bro. Wow, that’s so crazy. I’m so happy for him right now. Y’all don’t understand how happy I am for Cam. He proved it night in, night out that he deserves to be in the conversation for a lottery pick, man. He shot the ball like anybody I’ve never seen before in my life or played with. Wow. I’m getting chills up here.
I had a similar reaction – minus the deep happiness for Johnson, whom I’ve never met.
I was stunned.
Johnson ranked No. 27 on my board, and that wasn’t a major outlier. Johnson was a fifth-year senior who does little besides shoot. (At least he shoots very well). There are also long-term health concerns.
Suns general manager James Jones is definitely putting his stamp on the franchise. He traded T.J. Warren and the No. 32 pick to the Pacers, traded the No. 6 pick to the Timberwolves for the No. 11 pick and Dario Saric, traded for No. 24 pick Ty Jerome (another upperclassman) and gave undrafted Jalen Lecque an unusually large guarantee.
Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Brewster Academy’s Jalen Lecque has agreed to a four-year, undrafted free-agent deal with the Phoenix Suns, with two years guaranteed, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2019
Of all those moves yesterday, drafting Johnson so high was the eye-popping one.
It’s very cool White shared his joy for his teammate. That showed their bond and looked like a genuine moment.
But White also displayed a shock many of us were feeling, and that will probably be what gets remembered.