Washington Huskies forward Marquese Chriss. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns possess the fourth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday night and speculations were out that they could narrow down their selection to either Washington's Marquese Chriss or Croatia's Dragan Bender.
The two 18-year-old's recently had undergone solo workouts with the Suns as the team is said to be looking closely at each teenage big man's strengths, weaknesses, and also their fit in the current roster and system of head coach Earl Watson out in the desert.
ESPN reported that insider Chad Ford believes that Phoenix is more inclined to take Huskies power forward Chriss as the no. 4 pick as they hope to grow him up to in the mold of former Suns player.
"Given how strong the West is and how far the Suns have to go, I think Phoenix can wait on Chriss to develop and hope his career path follows another famous Sun: Shawn Marion," Ford noted.
Chriss is a virtual unknown in college hoops actually, but his outside shooting, speed, and agility in his 6-foot-9 and 233-pound frame, considering the current NBA teams' penchant for small ball play these days, had made professional scouts notice him.
In his only season in Washington so far, the Sacramento, California native had averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 shot blocks in 24.9 minutes per game, playing in 34 games as a starter for Coach Lorenzo Romar.
SB Nation indicated that the Suns are expected to focus "solely on a big man with the 4th overall pick" as the team presently has "no power forwards under contract" for next season and either Chriss or Bender will be on their crosshairs.
With all the versatility that Chriss has, the report said that his weakness would be rebounding, but Tyson Chandler and Alex Len at the center spot is said to be able to compensate.
Meanwhile, Bender was compared to a young Toni Kukoc, a 7-foot-1 guy that is able to bring the ball down, shoot from the outside, pass, and make plays like a point guard.
However, his weakness would be his lean 225-pound frame and lack of strength that will give him a lot of difficulty banging with bodies inside the paint.
