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Phoenix Suns trade up, take Washington forward Marquese Chriss with No. 8 pick in 2016 NBA Draft

Posted at 5:35 PM, Jun 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-24 20:41:07-04

The Phoenix Suns traded their No. 13 and 28 overall NBA Draft picks, a 2020 second-round pick and international forward Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Sacramento Kings for the No. 8 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday, according to multiple reports.

With that pick, the Suns selected Washington power forward Marquese Chriss.

Chriss is considered a boom-or-bust pick, but many draft experts predicted the Suns would select him with the fourth overall pick. Instead, they used that pick on Croatian forward Dragan Bender.

Chriss averaged 13.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game at Washington last season, and he set a freshman school record with 55 blocks. The 6-foot-9, 225-pounder is just 18 years old.

NBADraft.net describes Chriss as "a freakish athlete, arguably the most explosive frontcourt player in the draft and one of the best overall."