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Draft trade options for the Suns

Papa Joe new author
Roar Rookie
18th November, 2018
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Papa Joe new author
Roar Rookie
18th November, 2018
11

Craig Cameron, the Suns list manager, has been reported as saying that the Suns have not received any offers from other clubs to trade their top tier draft picks, and that any offers would need to be very good to be accepted.

This is fair enough. However, in my opinion, the option of live trading of draft picks presents an opportunity for the Suns to be proactive, rather than just be reactive.

Most commentators have Sam Walsh going at Pick 1 to the Blues and the Suns selecting Jack Lukosius at Pick 2.

Pick 3 is interesting however. Most pundits have the Suns either selecting Izak Rankine or Connor Rozee at Pick 3. Rankine has been rated by pundits as a 1-4 pick and Rozee as a 3-10 pick.

If, and only if, the Suns want to take Rozee rather than Rankine at Pick 3 (for whatever reason), then they could leverage this perceived disparity in draft value to increase the value of their draft hand.

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Trade option 1: Offer Pick 3 and Pick 24 to Port Adelaide for Picks 5 and 15. Presumably Port would then take Rankine at Pick 3.

The Saints will then likely take either Max King or Bailey Smith at Pick 4, and the Suns still get their preferred second pick of Rozee at 5, and also the better lower Pick of 15 rather than 24.

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There is a small risk that the Saints take Rozee at 4, but I think that this is unlikely with two strong Melbourne options still on the table. Port of course may say no, but there is no harm in asking.

Trade option 2: If Port say no, the Suns should consider pitching a three-way trade to the Saints and the Crows. Under this option, the Suns would give up Picks 3, 6, 24 and 29 and get 4, 8, 13 and 36. The Saints would give up 4 and 36 and get 6 and 24. Adelaide would give up 8 and 13 and get 3 and 29.

Under this scenario, the Crows get to take Rankine at Pick 3, the Suns take Rozee at Pick 4 and still have Picks 8 and 13 and the Saints take either M King or Bailey Smith at Pick 6 (whoever is not taken by Port at Pick 5). So neither the Suns nor the Saints are likely to miss their preferred top choices by dropping down one or two spots in the draft, but both would increase the value of their lower draft Picks.

I see this as a win-win-win. The Suns get their preferred top two picks of Lukosius and Rozee, plus two more picks in the top 13. The Saints still get either of their preferred top choices (M. King or Smith), but also get Pick 24 instead of 36.

For Adelaide, it depends whether they rate Rankine highly enough to give up Pick 13 for 29. [If they are remotely interested, they are likely to seek to counteroffer Pick 16 instead of Pick 13, and ask for Pick 24 rather than Pick 29]. This would reduce the value for the Suns and Saints, but could be considered.

Again, The Crows or Saints may say no, but there is no harm in asking. Of course, these scenarios only work if the Suns decide that they are just as happy to take Connor Rozee rather than Izak Rankine as their second draft choice.

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