Alex Len pick shows new Suns don't care about sizzle

• Phoenix Suns%2C led by new general manager Ryan McDonough%2C took Alex Len with No. 5 pick in NBA draft
• Len doesn%27t have name-recognition or high upside of Nerlens Noel%2C Ben McLemore%2C both available
• McDonough and coach Jeff Hornacek made statement in draft they won%27t be shooting for quick fixes

A new era begins with a second guess. Ryan McDonough and his Phoenix Suns staff must not believe in honeymoons.

The new general manager wielded the franchise's first top-five pick in 26 years. He was gifted with a draft board that crumbled before his eyes, playing right into McDonough's hands.

Then he selected Maryland's Alex Len. No sizzle, no oomph, no star power. And the decision was unanimous.

"A no-brainer for us," new Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said.

You can make an argument that Len was a better choice than Nerlens Noel, the 6-11 center from Kentucky who blew out his knee late last season. Len is bigger, can protect the rim nearly as well and has tangible offensive skills.

Problem is, Len wasn't good enough to make Maryland a decent team. By contrast, Kentucky fell apart when it lost Noel, whose drive and will to win are off the charts by most reports. And Noel's knee doesn't seem so risky when placed in the hands of the Suns' vaunted medical staff.

But the biggest regret might be passing on Kansas star Ben McLemore, who was the highest-ceiling player in the draft. McLemore is a fabulous shooter. He can create his own shot. He could've been the go-to scorer the Suns sorely need.

Noel and McLemore were drafted in the two slots immediately following the Suns' pick. And according to The Sacramento Bee, this is what Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said to his fan base immediately after: "He was our No. 1 choice. And we were frantically in the war room trying to trade up to the No. 2, 3, 4 slot. We were willing to pay a lot of money to get Ben and we got him at 7.

"As I said before, seven is my lucky number. When I was with the (Golden State) Warriors, we got (Stephen) Curry and (Harrison) Barnes at 7. My birthday is on the seventh. The mayor (former Suns All-Star Kevin Johnson) was picked seventh. He wore No. 7. And we got the best player in the (draft) at 7."

Meanwhile, analyst and former Suns star Rex Chapman said McLemore was the second-best steal of the draft, behind the selection of Michigan's Trey Burke at No. 9.

So why not McLemore in Phoenix?

"If Len's not on the board, then maybe you look at those guys," Hornacek said.

Look, I want to believe in the new direction. I yearn for a revival at US Airways Center, where basketball was once a prime source of electricity in the Valley. One of the smarter basketball men I know swears McDonough is on the cutting edge of the information era in basketball, destined to become a rock star among general managers.

He's obviously in the right place. The Suns are one of 10 teams that have installed a high-tech camera system that accumulates reams of performance data on players. They are fully vested in world of analytics.

But sometimes, basketball isn't that complicated. Sometimes, you have to trust your eyes. And when McLemore began sliding down the board, no less of an authority than LeBron James had his back.

Analytics or not, good players generally can spot good players. And McLemore's potential means that his career might become an ongoing focal point in Phoenix, one of six teams that passed on him.

Other than that, it was an entertaining draft. The unpredictability compensated for the lack of overall talent. Outgoing NBA Commissioner David Stern tried to make the moment all about him, continually gesturing for more vitriol from the fans in attendance.

"We had to explain to our international audience that the boo is an American sign of respect," Stern said at one point.

They weren't booing in Phoenix, new home for Len. But they weren't celebrating, either.

Let's hope the rock star GM knows what he's doing.

Dan Bickley writes for The (Phoenix) Arizona Republic