Koa Peat’s decision to remain in the NBA Draft paid off. Not only is he now a first-round draft pick after all, but he gets to stay home.
The Phoenix Suns traded up to select the Arizona star with the final pick in the first round of the draft on Tuesday night, thanks to a late three-team trade with the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Knicks ended up receiving two second-round draft picks and cash for sending Peat to the Suns. They dealt Sergio De Larrea, who they selected at No. 25 after a separate trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, to the Mavericks in the first place for the No. 30 overall pick.
Peat averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this past season while dominating at Arizona. The four-time state champion from Chandler, Arizona, averaged more than 17 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament while leading the Wildcats to the Final Four, too. Peat led Arizona to a convincing win over Florida in November when he dropped 30 points in his first college game, which ended up being his career-high.
The 6-foot-8 freshman opted to remain in the NBA Draft at the last minute. He opted to forgo his remaining eligibility to stay in the draft even after sliding down in most mock drafts. Yahoo Sport’s Kevin O’Connor had him going No. 24 in his final mock draft on Tuesday.
But as the night went on, Peat remained on the board. His decision to remain in the draft and not return to college would have been called into question even more if Peat slid into Wednesday’s second round, too. A second, stronger college season would have undoubtedly boosted his draft stock a year from now.
Yet finally, with the final pick of the night, the Suns made the move to land their hometown star.
Peat is the only selection that the Suns made in the first round of the draft on Tuesday. The organization went 45-37 last season, the first under coach Jordan Ott, and fell in the first round of the playoffs.
The Knicks, fresh off their championship, landed the No. 47 overall pick in the deal. So they now have that, along with the No. 31 and No. 55 selections on Wednesday. The Mavericks, with new head coach Dusty May, also landed Morez Johnson at No. 9.
There’s little doubt that Peat would have ended up in the league eventually had he slid out of the first round. He’s a talented player with plenty of NBA potential. But now, that speculation doesn’t matter. Peat, as he hoped when closing the door on his college career, made it into the league in the first round.
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