The Phoenix Suns have never had the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and there's a chance they might not have it this year either. 

Despite winning the lottery and earning the top pick in June's NBA Draft, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough said on Friday that he would be open to trading the pick for the right player. Via ESPN:

"We're certainly open to that. We'll consider it," McDonough said. "Obviously, we'll have more information closer to the draft than we do today, after we go through the workout process and the interview process and we get the medical physicals. So we're open to that.

"I think if you look around the NBA, as far as the veteran players, there are probably a few players we'd consider trading the pick for, outright, just pick for player No. 1. So it'll be a busy month for us."

Last year the Celtics swapped the No. 1 pick for the No. 3 pick and a future asset, only to wind up taking Jayson Tatum, whom they say they valued as the best player in the draft all along. But McDonough specifically mentioned trading for a veteran, not other assets, which makes sense given the Phoenix roster.

If the Suns aren't totally sold on a potential franchise-changing player, it would be smart to unload the top pick for one of the veterans they may have their eyes on, assuming it's an All-Star caliber player. Deandre Ayton is the consensus No. 1 pick right now, but as McDonough mentioned there are still plenty of chips left to fall between now and the June 25 draft, and plenty of holes to be poked in each prospect's resume.

Another reason to trade the pick is that the Suns have plenty of young players already. They've won less than 25 games in each of the past three seasons, including 21 last season -- the fewest since the Suns' inaugural NBA season in 1968-69. They have a young, potential star in Devin Booker and solid young pieces in Josh Jackson, T.J. Warren, Elfrid Payton and Dragan Bender. Adding another 19-year-old to that mix would mean sentencing themselves to another three or four years of futility without a guaranteed payout. And if the top pick never develops, whether it's Ayton, EuroLeague star Luka Doncic, or someone else, then the Suns won't be competitive for a very long time.

This all depends, of course, on which veterans are available. Kawhi Leonard immediately comes to mind, given his tenuous situation with the San Antonio Spurs, but that's probably a stretch. The Suns have the bloated contracts of Brandon Knight, Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley to make the salaries match in pretty much any deal, so it really just depends on who's available and who they feel can make them relevant in the near future.

Names like Mike Conley or Marc Gasol make sense if the Grizzlies decide to blow it up and start their own process. Memphis currently has the No. 4 pick, and would get its rebuild off to a nice start if it added the top pick as well. For example, the Grizz could deal Gasol for Chandler, Dudley and the No. 1 pick.

Or if you really want to get crazy, let's say LeBron James decides to leave Cleveland, creating a fire sale for the Cavaliers' veterans. Kevin Love for the same package would give the Cavs the top pick again, and would ensure another high lottery pick in 2019 as well. In return, the Suns would get a proven All-Star who could pair with Booker for an effective one-two punch.

The point is, there are options. If the Suns are in love with Ayton or Doncic -- sure, go for it. But if they're not passionate about either of them, it would behoove them to explore all possibilities, which it sounds like they're doing.