Deandre Ayton might be going back to Arizona after all. The same can be true for Marvin Bagley III. Or maybe Luka Doncic gets to reunite with his past coach.

The Phoenix Suns have a trio of fine candidates for the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

In various ways Clayton Geathers Jersey , the team already has an element of familiarity with each one of them.

Ayton played his college ball at Arizona. Bagley, the Duke freshman star this past season, is an Arizona native. And Doncic, the Slovenian teen who has been tabbed a can’t-miss NBA prospect, won a title with new Suns coach Igor Kokoskov last summer – when they helped give the tiny nation its biggest sports win, a gold medal at the European Championships.

These are good days for the Suns, who have gone through three dreadful seasons and eight consecutive playoff-less campaigns. But they have a new coach in Kokoskov, a promising young core and after winning the draft lottery on Tuesday night, a chance to pick No. 1 overall at the draft in New York next month.

”It’s not a race,” said Josh Jackson, who just completed his rookie season with Phoenix and is part of that young group that the Suns believe will get them back into the playoff mix before long. ”We’re going to progress at our pace. Any progression is good progression, in my opinion. So wherever we are, hopefully we keep taking steps forward.”

This draft could be a big step forward.

Start with Ayton, who averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds in his one college season at Arizona. He came to the U.S. from the Bahamas Tavon Wilson Jersey , hoping for great things but never expecting this would be the cards he was dealt.

”It’s God’s plan,” Ayton said.

Bagley was the Atlantic Coast Conference player and rookie of the year, leading the league in scoring (21.0 per game) and rebounding (11.1 per game). Unlike Ayton, he’s expected to work at the draft combine that commences in earnest in Chicago on Thursday, and he will be on the Suns’ radar.

He said he would obviously welcome the chance to go back to Arizona, where he was born and raised.

”It would mean a lot if it were to happen that way,” Bagley said.

Doncic will get plenty of support from Kokoskov, and others who know his game well – like Miami guard Goran Dragic – insist that he has the ability and intellect to make a quick impact in the NBA.

”It’s been a good month for us, a good week in particular,” Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said. ”We targeted a three-year rebuilding window and I know it’s been a little bit controversial in some ways. … If you’re serious about winning a championship someday in the NBA, it’s really hard to build through the middle, so to speak.”

So three years ago, when they couldn’t convince LaMarcus Aldridge to come to Phoenix, the Suns decided it was time to push the reset button.

The results: They got budding stars in Devin Booker and Jackson Barry Sanders Jersey , wound up creating some cap space to spend on veterans this summer, and will not only have the No. 1 pick but also two others in the top 31 selections in this draft.

”The future’s bright,” McDonough said. ”And our hope and our goal is to be a lot better next year.”

McDonough left the lottery holding a placard with a big red ”1” on it, and Jackson left with the one bearing the Suns logo that NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum displayed when announcing that Phoenix won the right to pick first.

The Suns aren’t holding all the cards.

They’re just holding the most important ones.

”We have a small target grouping in mind, but we’re not going to rule anything out at this point,” McDonough said. ”I think we’ll have a great choice, no matter who we select.”

—



Chicago Cubs left-hander Jose Quintana did not want to be leave the game his last time out, but he did. Cincinnati Reds right-hander Luis Castillo does not want the ball to keep leaving the ballpark against him, but it does.

The NL Central rival Cubs and Reds continue their four-game weekend series at Great American Ball Park with an interesting matchup of two pitchers who have done well against their Friday night opponent yet are struggling of late.

Quintana (6-5) was nearly flawless his last time out against the Reds, limiting them to a Scott Schebler single over seven innings while striking out seven and walking four during a 10-0 victory in the second game of a May 19 doubleheader.

In the first game of that doubleheader, Castillo (4-8) didn’t get the decision as the Reds won 5-4 in 11 innings, but he held the Cubs to one run on six hits despite walking six in five innings. He is 0-0 in two career starts against Chicago with an impressive 0.82 ERA while limiting them to eight hits over 11 innings.

Similarly, Quintana is very good against the Reds, going 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA while striking out 16 in 16 2-3 innings over three career starts. He could use another good start Friday Reggie Wayne Jersey , as the Reds ran their winning streak to four games they’ve won seven of nine by overcoming a two-run deficit to beat Chicago 6-2 on Thursday night.

That’s what’s good for the two starting pitchers. Here’s what’s bad.

Quintana is winless in his last three starts, and he was lifted Sunday from a scoreless game against the Cardinals after two runners reached in the sixth. They came around to score against the Cubs bullpen, and Quintana ended up taking the loss as St. Louis went on to win 5-0.

“All the time, I wanted to keep going,” said Quintana, who was removed after throwing 86 pitches. “I feel like I pitched really good. It’s a tough game, zero-zero.”

Most of the Reds’ top batters struggle against Quintana

Eugenio Suarez is 1-for-9 (.111), Scooter Gennett is 1-for-8 (.125) and Joey Votto is 2-for-8 (.250).

Castillo also hasn’t been able to win lately, losing his last four starts while giving up an alarming six home runs and 16 earned runs over 20 2-3 innings. His velocity is down from his rookie season a year ago, and his ERA is way up from 3.12 to 5.77.

Too many of his pitches have been going up and out of the ballpark and he leads the NL with 17 homers allowed while going winless since May 24.

In his last start Saturday, a 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Castillo gave up two homers among his six hits allowed over five innings, one of them on a 93-mph fastball to Elias Diaz. A year ago, Castillo often touched 100 mph with a four-seam fastball that averaged 97.4 mph.

“I’m trying to do my best Shaq Thompson Jersey ,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “Every time I go out there, I give up like one or two home runs. I really don’t know what’s happening right now. I’m just going to keep working down in the bullpen (between starts).”

Castillo’s slump, and his apparent velocity drop, are concerning to the Reds because he was 3-0 in his previous four starts before beginning his slide.

Castillo’s low ERA against the Cubs is reflected in some of their top hitters lack of success against him. Javier Baez is 0-for-5 (.000) and Anthony Rizzo is 1-for-6 (.167).?

The Cubs didn’t do much offensively Thursday, either, as right-hander Matt Harvey (2-5) made the best of his eight starts with the Reds, holding Chicago to two runs and five hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked only one.

“He was really good. He just shut them down,” Reds interim manager Jim Riggleman said. “He’s getting better and better.”

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (5-7) breezed through the first five innings without giving up a run but was lifted after walking Suarez with the bases loaded to force in a run. Left-handed reliever Randy Rosario promptly gave up the first career grand slam by the left-handed hitting Jesse Winker, and the Reds added one more run in the inning.

“Some really great at-bats in the inning,” Riggleman said. “And the big hit speaks for itself.”

The loss dropped the Cubs one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
Miles Bridges Jersey ,