NBA draft: After Shaq trade, Suns could go big

PHOENIX — The impending trade of Shaquille O'Neal to the Cleveland Cavaliers could have the Phoenix Suns looking to go big in Thursday night's draft.

Multiple sources told The Associated Press early Thursday that the Suns had agreed to trade O'Neal to Cleveland for center Ben Wallace, guard Sasha Pavlovic, a second-round draft pick and $500,000 in cash.

With Wallace injury-plagued and nearing the end of his career, the Suns could go for a center in the first-round for the second year in a row.

The only real candidate is 7-1 BJ Mullens of Ohio State.

Before word of the trade came through, the Suns' potential pick was a mystery, and it still might be.

There's no doubt who is the top pick on Thursday. But after Blake Griffin of Oklahoma goes to the Los Angeles Clippers, the 2009 draft is a big guessing game.

"I have no idea where anybody's going after Griffin," said David Griffin, the Suns' senior vice president of basketball operations. "This is a very bizarre year for us. The draft is not as top-heavy as it is deep, so I think there's a group of players maybe 15-deep that can all be the same."

David Griffin says that, uncharacteristically, there are marked differences of opinion among team officials in evaluating the available talent.

If there's a split vote, the deciding tally will come from general manager Steve Kerr.

"This is really a wide-open draft," Kerr said.

Last year, he said, the Suns zeroed in on center Robin Lopez and two other players. Phoenix took Lopez with the No. 15 selection overall.

"We knew exactly where we were a year ago," Kerr said. "This year we're all over the map because there's not a clear delineation between the group. There's a lot of very intriguing players but where we're picking right now nobody has jumped out at us as our guy."

With the Phoenix roster a mix of old and relatively young, the Suns won't be looking to fill a position of need.

"I think our general philosophy is the best player available at this pick," Griffin said. "I don't think we're trying to address need as much as we are trying to build something with these guys as part of our core moving forward. We're a team of some veterans with some age on them, so you can play almost any position and become part of the core if you're good enough."