The Suns have an impressive young core four: Devin Booker at the two, Mikal Bridges at the three, Josh Jackson at the four, and Deandre Ayton at center.
The hole: Who will be the point guard?
The Suns like Elie Okobo of France a lot. They drafted him 31st overall, the top pick of the second round, but they will give him a first-round style contract with two guaranteed seasons and two team options after that, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
The Phoenix Suns and No. 31 overall pick Elie Okobo of France have agreed on a four-year, $6M rookie deal, league sources tell Yahoo. Okobo's deal will be guaranteed in first two seasons, with team options on Years 3 and 4.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2018
The Suns hinted they were going to do this, and it’s a smart move at a fair price if they can develop Okobo (even as a backup).
Okobo has potential. Last season, at the highest level of the athletic French league he averaged 13.2 points on 57 percent shooting (38 percent from three) plus 4.4 assists per game. Okobo is an NBA level athlete who has all the tools to be a good NBA point guard — and he already knows how to score (he had 44 points in a playoff game this season). He’s going to have to round out his game and adapt to the NBA style, but the Suns think they have something.
And they are betting they have with a nice sized contract.