Suns GM Brian Gregory working on proving to fans he was hired on experience not friendship
“I’m going to be held accountable to the success of this team,” Brian Gregory said.
Phoenix Suns fans were prepared for the nightmare, but it didn’t arrive in its most obvious form.
The Houston Rockets, who held the Suns’ first-round selection, had a very slim chance (3.8%) at winning the May 12 NBA Draft Lottery, and, in keeping with the odds, drew the No. 10 pick.
Disaster avoided, right?
Well, another Suns rival in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks, had an even slimmer chance to win the lottery. The Mavs cashed in on its 1.8% chance, winning the right to select generational talent Cooper Flagg, who played at Duke.
Many NBA analysts ripped the Luka Doncic to the Lakers trade earlier this year, and now, many NBA conspiracy theorists have made their opinion clear: The NBA “thanked” the Mavericks for propping up the league’s cash cow by giving Dallas the top pick in the June 25, 2025, draft.
The Suns’ PA announcer, Vince Marotta, issued a thinly veiled post on X.
The Suns, who have their own challenges, must face what surely appears to be an even stronger Western Conference. They saw the Lakers gain a life preserver in April, the Mavericks gain a likely superstar from the lottery and the San Antonio Spurs gain the No. 4 and No. 12 picks in the 2025 draft.
The Rockets, who claimed the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference this season, are still young and hungry, and the Minnesota Timberwolves sure appear capable of winning 55 games next season.
And then there’s the Warriors, Clippers and the NBA Finals favorite Oklahoma City Thunder to consider.
Before the 2025-26 season, Phoenix is likely to see some major changes that push toward improving on its 36-46 record in 2024-25. Best case might be competing with Memphis, Sacramento and New Orleans for a play-in position.
Still, as challenging as the Suns’ immediate future appears, the news on draft lottery night could have been worse.