Evaluating two more prospects in the Suns’ draft range

A few final notes before the draft:

With only 2 days to the NBA draft, the Suns have been playing things incredibly close to the vest, with rumors they might want to move up into the first round, and Gambo saying they’re more likely just to move up into the 30s.

Pavle Backo, whom I covered in my last article as a dark-horse candidate at 47, withdrew from the draft and will return to Europe.

Kellan Olsen of the Arizona Republic mentioned two more names I hadn’t covered as possibilities: Braden Smith and Nick Martinelli, who both make some sort of sense. They’re covered here.

I’ve continually been updating my mock draft tracker, and we’re up to 17 mock drafts included in the data set.

There are X players in the Suns range that I like for the team, and have some reasonable possibility of being at 47 right now: Jaden Bradley (6.5%), Trevon Brazile (10%), Ugonna Unyenso (26%), Braden Smith (21%), Izaiyah Nelson (44%), Nick Martinelli (49%), Bruce Thornton (56.4%). I expect the Suns will take one of them if they keep the 47th pick, unless someone else falls precipitously and unexpectedly (Baba Miller, Karaban Jefferson are possibilities)

I’ll be putting out a final article before the draft that you can use while watching it to see the results of the draft tracker, and see what players are likely to be available at higher draft positions if the Suns trade up.

My final draft articles will be after the draft to scout the players selected, and mathematically determine which mock drafts were the most accurate.

Nick Martinelli (Northwestern, Senior, SF/PF)

Nick Martinelli is a highly productive, polished, and physical 6’6.5″, 225-pound forward who emerged as a standout scorer and Big Ten standout at Northwestern. Projected as an early-to-mid second-round pick, he is highly regarded for his high basketball IQ, interior craftiness, and ability to score through contact without relying on elite athleticism.

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Key Statistics

35.6 MPG, 23.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.2 stocks, 51.0 FG%, 41.7 3PT%, 80.9 FT%

Strengths

Elite Scoring Touch: Martinelli is a craft left-handed scorer who thrives in the mid-post and short…

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Publish date : 2026-06-22 01:00:00

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