By Gerald Bourguet

The 2026 NBA Draft is just a week away, and while the Phoenix Suns currently only have one distant pick at No. 47, recent history suggests there’s a strong possibility they move up on draft night.

Since general manager Brian Gregory first joined the Suns front office two years ago, Phoenix has been more active in moving up in the second round than any other team in the league.

In 2024, the Suns traded down six spots in the first round to take Ryan Dunn — who was going to be available there at No. 28 anyway — and picked up three extra second-round picks in the process. Then they traded No. 56 — one of the picks they had just acquired — along with another future second-rounder to move up to No. 40, where they got their other target, Oso Ighodaro.

Last year, the Suns entered draft week with Kevin Durant, the No. 29 pick and the No. 52 pick. They selected Khaman Maluach with the No. 10 pick they got from trading KD to Houston, but they also got five extra second-rounders out of that deal.

After trading No. 29 and a 2029 first-rounder for Mark Williams, they packaged two of their newly acquired second-rounders to move up to No. 36. From there, Phoenix flipped No. 36 and two more of those new second-rounders to move up to No. 31, where they got their guy in Rasheer Fleming. They also packaged their picks at 52 and 59 picks to move up to No. 41, where they took Koby Brea.

To sum up, the Suns don’t mind leveraging future second-rounders to get help now in the draft, routinely finding new ways to kick the can further down the road. That approach can be dangerous with first-round picks, but since other teams treat second-rounders as expendable fodder, and since the Suns have a good track record of finding talent in the second round lately, it’s a commendable approach to squeeze every last ounce out of the team-building process.

Even if Phoenix doesn’t bolster their meager draft capital by trading a Grayson Allen or a Royce O’Neale, they still have two future first-round picks that become trade-eligible on draft night, as well as two future second-rounders they can trade (their own in 2029 and 2033).

The Suns should hold those first-round picks close, especially in the wake of the NBA’s radical draft lottery reforms, but those future second-rounders could very easily be in play to help Phoenix move up for someone they like in this draft. Even better, because the Suns are no longer a second apron team, they can send out cash in trades again, giving them another effective tool that teams have historically used to “buy” their way further up the pecking order.

Basically, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for Phoenix to move up from No. 47. In fact, given Gregory’s recent history, it’d almost be surprising if they didn’t, and there are a number of teams with multiple picks who would make sense as potential trade-up targets. Over at Suns After Dark, we rattled through 20 different trade-up scenarios to paint a picture of what that might look like.

All of this means there’s a wide range of prospects to evaluate when trying to figure out the best draft fits for Phoenix. We’ve already covered some first-round candidates that might be worth trading up for, so leading up to the draft, we’re going to take a deeper look at a few names that might be called in the late first round/early second round, and why they might be good fits for this Suns squad.

Last week, we examined Trevon Brazile from Arkansas. This week, we’re diving into Cincinnati’s Baba Miller.

A look at Baba Miller’s game

Baba Miller is coming off a senior campaign for the Bearcats where he averaged 13.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 blocks in his 31.9 minutes per game while shooting 52.9 percent overall, including 60.5 percent on 2s.

There’s a lot to like about what he could potentially bring to the 4-spot in Phoenix.

Who among us doesn’t love a classic “growth spurt” prospect? You know, the smaller guys who developed guard skills early in their careers out of necessity, before puberty decided to hit the gas and sprout those short kings up like beanstalks? Baba Miller is one such prospect, given that he was 6-foot-2 at 14 years old and is now 6-foot-11 just eight years later.

That’s right: Miller measured nearly 6-foot-11 without shoes at the NBA Draft Combine, recording a 7-foot-2 wingspan and 9-foot-3 standing reach. Considering the ball-handling and playmaking he brings at that size, he’s one of the more unique prospects a team will find in the second round of this year’s draft.

Thanks to his late growth spurt, the Mallorca native is an exceptional passer for his position. Whether he’s in the short roll skipping the ball to the open shooter, driving and dumping it off with one-handed shovel passes, or reading the floor from the perimeter, Miller’s playmaking chops are a legitimate asset, especially at his height, which allows him to see over the defense:

Thanks to his upbringing as a smaller player with guard skills, Miller’s ball-handling skills enable him to get by a lot of defenders at his position too. 

On top of the size, he’s got great athleticism and length, which allows him to elevate for runway dunks, nimble layups when he’s challenged, and plenty of alley-oop lobs or finishes in the dunker spot where he simply overpowers whoever’s in front of him.

According to CBB Shot Charts, Miller shot 68.4 percent at the rim last year, and those looks at the basket constituted 54 percent of his shot diet. He shot 62.5 percent in the paint, was a perfect 29-for-29 in transition, and went 57-for-60 on dunks and alley-oop attempts.

Looking at the tape, it’s easy to see why he was so efficient at the basket — particularly on the break, but in the half-court as well. Just watch him size up defenders, hit them with a dastardly crossover or quick dribble move to give his long strides the advantage, then finish past them with a pretty finger roll around the basket! Enjoy the poster jams, the sweeping breakaway dunks in transition, and the lobs finished with authority!

At the NBA level, his offensive responsibility will start with being a play finisher and screen-setter, as well as another guy who crashes the offensive glass for easy second-chance points. As he gets more comfortable in the pros, he may be able to start mixing in some of the second-side attacks off the bounce and dribble handoffs and rip moves to get downhill.

On the defensive end, Miller’s a fairly versatile big with eye-popping shot-blocking abilities. Again, that type of length, intelligence and good anticipation make for an excellent rim deterrent, but Miller has also shown he can stick with guys on the perimeter and swat a number of jump shots.

If he can be a functional switcher on the defensive end at the NBA level, that would unlock another layer of versatility and athleticism for a coach like Jordan Ott.

Like 99.9 percent of rookies, Miller will have to keep getting stronger to carry all of this over the pros. But the mix of strength to hold his ground, long limbs to challenge the shot at the peak and verticality to avoid picking up fouls is a pretty potent blend:

According to CBB Shot Charts, opponents shot 54.2 percent at the rim with Miller on the floor, compared to 58.6 percent when he was off the court. He’s got active hands and good anticipation when it comes to playing passing lanes, and his ability to guard multiple positions while recovering for chase-down blocks (on or off the ball) could help with his switchability at the next level.

If the double-digit rebounding numbers didn’t give it away, he’s also a force on the glass, finishing second in the Big 12 in rebounding behind only JT Toppin’s 10.8 boards per game. Of Miller’s 10.3 rebounds per game, 7.9 of them came on the defensive glass, which is a glaring area for improvement in Phoenix.

There is a path to Miller becoming the type of versatile defender who can hold his own on the ball after getting switched onto the perimeter, end the possession with a chase-down block, or ignite the break with a grab-and-go rebound and functional ball-handling skills heading back the other way.

“I feel like the game is kinda made for guys like me. Taller guys that can do a bit of everything. So I think it’s going to be a good transition.”

-Cincinnati Bearcats forward Baba Miller shares why his game translates to the NBA, after his pre-draft workout with the Sacramento… pic.twitter.com/fOsYINtki0

— Kevin John (@heykevinjohn) June 15, 2026

By now you’re probably wondering, “Well if he’s so good, why is he a second-round prospect?”

Well, for starters, the Cincinnati product recently turned 22 in February. That’s not as much of an issue for a team like the Suns, though, given where they’re currently at. Targeting more established players in the second round is probably a more optimal path than risky projects anyway.

But if you’re looking for the biggest reason Baba Miller might still be available in the second round, we’ll have to paraphrase an old nursery rhyme:

Ba-ba, Mill-er, have you any 3s?

No sir, no sir, don’t make me shoot it, please.

Miller has substantial questions to answer still about his 3-ball. He only made 10 of his 52 attempts for the Bearcats last season, which is 19.2 percent on a meager 1.7 attempts per game. In fact, he only made 31.7 percent of his 120 attempted jump shots last year.

All of that, combined with his 65.8 percent shooting at the foul line — a career high over his four years in college — does not bode well for his trajectory as a shooter, even for a stretch-4 or stretch-5 who won’t be asked to take a ton of 3s.

There is reason for optimism, however. The eye test reveals a shooting stroke that looks functional and repeatable with a high release point, even though he dips the ball too low when he starts his shooting motion. Miller also made a more respectable 34.5 percent of his 3s as a junior, and that was on higher volume at 3.4 attempts per game. He was a sub-30 percent shooter for his first two years as well, but his free-throw percentage improved from one year to the next throughout his time in college.

Hopefully this is another area where the 22-year-old can continue to steadily improve, because make no mistake about it: Baba Miller still has room to grow, and he got better every single year in college.

The question is whether he’ll be available by the time the Suns are on the clock. It’s highly unlikely he’ll still be on the board by pick No. 47, because his stock may have gone up after impressing at the NBA Draft Combine. As The Athletic’s John Hollinger noted, Miller had a “strong two days” during scrimmages at the combine, tallying a combined 33 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists in two games while shooting 3-for-7 from 3-point range.

Most mocks projected him going somewhere in the 40s before his showing at the combine, and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie bumped him up from No. 43 in his May 10 mock all the way to No. 34 in his June 8 mock. Similarly, ESPN bumped Miller up from No. 41 on their May 19 mock to No. 34 on their June 15 mock.

The Suns already had Baba Miller in for a pre-draft workout, so there’s clearly a level of interest or at least curiosity in his blend of size, playmaking on both ends, secondary ball-handling and rebounding at the 4-spot. If he’s the guy they ultimately want, they may have to trade up a few spots to snag him.

For more of Gerald Bourguet’s Suns work, check back with Sports360AZ on a weekly basis, subscribe to his Patreon articles and podcast at Suns After Dark, or follow him on Twitter.