Dario Šarić is joining his third NBA club, though his arrival to the young and powerful Phoenix Suns dims the hopes of another Croat in the Phoenix ranks, Dragan Bender, reports 24 Sata on June 21, 2019.
Dario Šarić is a new member of the Phoenix Suns! The Croatian representative was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves hours before the draft for the sixth selection in the first round. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Šarić, the No. 11 NBA draft pick, for the No. 6 pick in the draft.
Thus, our Croatian basketball star will defend the colors of his third NBA club next season, after bouts at the Philadelphia 76ers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 25-year-old Šibenik-native arrives at the Phoenix Suns to a young and powerful team where the main stars are Devin Booker (22) and last year’s first draft pick Deandre Ayton (20). The Phoenix Suns thanked T.J. Warren for his time with the Suns before his trade to join Bojan Bogdanović at the Indiana Pacers, thus opening a sport for Šarić in the starting five.
The Phoenix Suns have a number of young but quality players like Kelly Oubre (23), Mikal Bridges (22) or Josh Jackson (22), and there is still the experienced 39-year-old Jamal Crawford. The arrival of Dario Šarić has unfortunately dimmed the hopes for another Croat in Phoenix, Dragan Bender, who had a somewhat modest season.
The Phoenix Suns were the weakest team in the Western Conference for the last three seasons, with only 64 victories in 246 matches. However, the team is young and is still under construction, and with good picks, they could catch the playoffs in a year or two. But for now, this seems like an impossible mission.
Recall, Šarić was transferred to Minnesota in November as part of a trade that sent Jimmy Butler to the Philadelphia 76ers. He didn’t lock in the best season with Minnesota, averaging only 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds throughout his 68 games with the Wolves.
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