for a sixth straight season making it the longest drought in franchise history surpassing the five straight misses from the 1970–71 NBA season to the 1974–75 NBA season. However, rookie Devin Booker went from being a sixth-man off-the-bench player for Kentucky to future impact player after the injuries to Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. He earned the team's first NBA All-Rookie Team honors since Amar'e Stoudemire back in 2003. Earl Watson officially became the full-time head coach on April 19, 2016, with his new assistant coaches Jay Triano, former Suns player Tyrone Corbin, Marlon Garnett, and Scott Duncan replacing most of the assistant coaches from the previous season. During the 2016 NBA draft, the Suns drafted the 18-year-old Bosnian-born Croatian forward-center Dragan Bender, Washington power forward Marquese Chriss, and Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis; Chriss was acquired by trading the Suns' 13th and 28th selections, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the Pistons' 2020 second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings. During the 2016 free agency period, the Suns regained former players and fan-favorites Jared Dudley and Leandro Barbosa under new deals. While the Suns ended the 2016–17 season with only a slight improvement from their previous record despite the return of Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker continued to improve in his second season with the team, leading the team in points scored at 22.1 per game. Marquese Chriss was also named to the All-Rookie Second Team that season. In the 2017 NBA draft, the Suns dropped to the 4th pick in the draft and selected Josh Jackson from the University of Kansas. On October 22, 2017, head coach Earl Watson was fired after a 0–3 start that included two losses of 40+ point deficits, which led to Jay Triano being promoted to interim head coach. On November 7, Bledsoe was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Greg Monroe and a protected first- and second-round draft pick. The Suns ended the season with the second-worst record in franchise history at 21–61. After the season concluded, the Suns let go of interim head coach Triano and hired Igor Kokoškov as the team's new head coach. The Suns earned their first no. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft lottery after ending the season with the league-worst record that year. With the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Phoenix selected Deandre Ayton. They would also trade up into the top 10 that year