Phoenix Suns: A Karl-Anthony Towns trade would solve all their issues

Acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns would solve a lot of the Phoenix Suns’ current issues. Though, it’s not something that can be easily pulled off

If you’ve followed the careers of Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, you’d know that they are really good friends both on and off the court.

Their relationship dates all the way back to when they first met each other at a NBPA Top 100 Camp in Virginia. It wasn’t until they went to Kentucky where their relationship blossomed into a lifelong friendship.

Booker will surely welcome KAT with open arms if the Suns were able to pull off this blockbuster trade, but what would it take to bring him to Phoenix?

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The Minnesota Timberwolves shouldn’t start any trade discussions without hearing the name: Deandre Ayton. It only makes sense for the centerpieces of a trade of this magnitude be centered around two former No. 1 overall picks who play the same position.

This would make the switch seamless for both teams, but the Timberwolves wouldn’t do a swap straight-up.

To sweeten the deal, the Suns would have to throw in another young piece, like Mikal Bridges. A young controllable asset, who is long and can switch to guard multiple positions on the perimeter.

The Suns will surely have to throw in some draft compensation as well, luckily they have a bunch. They could offer the Wolves their first-round pick in 2019 and Bucks first-round pick in 2019 (top 7 protected.)

The only thing left to do for the Suns would be to match the incoming salary with the outgoing salary. Towns has an incoming salary of $27 million that balloons by $2 million every year until 2023-2024. This is when the expiring contract of Tyler Johnson comes into play.

Johnson is in the last year of his contract which will pay him a little over $19 million. His time in Phoenix hasn’t been a memorable one, but he is still only 27 years old with a 36 percent career shooting percentage from three and six seasons of NBA experience under his belt.

So in totality, the Timberwolves would be acquiring Ayton, Bridges, and Johnson, plus two first-round picks for their star Karl-Anthony Towns.

This deal would make the Wolves worse in the short-term, but their not winning anything with or without KAT; long-term they could build their future around Ayton and hope he turns into the player that KAT was, while surrounding him with other young players from the NBA draft.

The trickiest situation is what to do with Andrew Wiggins. Still only 24 years old and having the best season of his career, they can ride with him until you know whether he is the No. 1 option on a really good basketball team. Not to mention his contract is essentially the same as KAT’s.

Wiggins will make $27 million this year and it will balloon the same way KAT’s does until 2022-23. If he proves to finally live up to No. 1 overall selection as a legit All-NBA player, like the experts projected when he was coming out of college, then you can keep him and have different, but familiar dynamic duo.

Or they can try to trade him, but no team is going to take on that massive amount of money, until they know he can put this kind of season together consistently.

Now, how would the Suns benefit from this blockbuster? For all intensive purposes, the Suns could have the modern-day Shaq and Kobe. The only difference being their age, since Booker is 23 and Towns is 24, and them actually being comrades.

Shaq and Kobe took the league by storm to the tune of three rings and four finals appearances. The only thing that could stop them was their faulting chemistry that seemed to weaken with each banner hung.

Booker and KAT would have a headstart in that department, considering they have already played together in college and we know they have a genuine relationship off the court. Granted, both their games have changed since the college days, but they are perfect complements to each other.

Both players have the skill set to succeed in the modern NBA, while showing they are not afraid to share the load.

Towns did take a backseat while Jimmy Butler was in Minnesota which resulted in a playoff appearance. Booker currently has his lowest usage percentage, since his rookie while keeping his assist average practically the same as last year.

Both players want to win and they are not afraid to share the spotlight to do so. It’s also easier to share the spotlight when it’s someone you’ve known since childhood.

This is a move both teams need to make with recent whispers (via The Athletic, subscription required) of KAT being unhappy in Minnesota and Booker openly talking about his frustration with losing. If both teams don’t want to lose their stars down the line for no compensation, then the Suns need to move heaven and earth to bring KAT to the valley.

There is plenty that would need to happen for this trade to come to fruition, and a big part of it is the Wolves’ front office deciding that it’s time to move in a different direction in regards to its current core. And while there’s no real signs of that happening, nothing is ever out of the realm of possibility in the NBA.