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The only other team besides the Lakers known to have worked out James was the Phoenix Suns.
In fact, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, James had two workouts for the Suns leading up to the draft.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Wednesday that the Suns “continue to be mentioned” as having interest in drafting James.
Even though the Suns might have interest in James, their ability to potentially draft him is complicated by the fact they don’t have a second-round pick. It was forfeited due to tampering violations involving Drew Eubanks during free agency last offseason.
The Suns are in a very interesting spot with their roster right now. They are extremely top heavy with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal all playing on max contracts. Their draft capital is severely limited because of the deals they made to bring in Durant and Beal.
After trading the No. 22 pick in the first round on Wednesday night to the Denver Nuggets, the Suns don’t have another first-round selection until 2031. The Houston Rockets could have as many as three of the Suns’ first-round picks between 2025 and 2029 after a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.
Houston made the deal with an eye on potentially trading for Durant in the future if the Suns decide to break up their big three at some point in the near-future, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Drafting James would be a long-term investment for a Suns franchise that doesn’t have many long-term assets to build around right now.