NBA Trade Rumors: Are the Phoenix Suns ready to make a radical move during the offseason?
For the second year in a row, the Phoenix Suns‘ season has ended in the conference semifinals, this time at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Similarly, for the second offseason in a row, the Suns are tasked with some big questions.
With a loaded cap sheet, the Suns must figure out how to effectively improve the roster around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. While there could be some predictable avenues toward making that happen, it won’t be easy by any means.
Looking at the Suns’ roster, one easy way to retool the supporting cast around KD and Booker is by trading Deandre Ayton. At this point, considering the history between the two sides, I think it’s safe to say that the Suns will at least explore that option this offseason. And the recent reporting seems to back that up.
If Phoenix does end up trading Ayton this offseason, I don’t think that would be all that surprising. However, there is another similar report that would be at least somewhat shocking to hear – and it’s that the Suns are expected to “aggressively” shop Chris Paul this summer.
Trading Chris Paul could be easier said than done for the Phoenix Suns
As you would expect, the Suns could run into some issues in their attempt to trade Paul. For one, I don’t believe there are going to be many teams lining up to acquire an often-injured 38-year-old undersized point guard. For as great as Paul has been throughout his career, one of the best point guards to ever play the game, he’s past his prime and his production has taken a real hit over the last couple of seasons.
Add in the fact that he’s due $60-plus million over the final two years of his contract and you can probably count the teams that would be interested in him on one hand.
Nevertheless, without many avenues to improving the roster this offseason, it’s certainly something that the Suns will have to explore.
The good news is that the Suns appear to be in good hands with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on the roster and locked up for the foreseeable future. The challenge for the team now is to surround their dynamic duo with a championship-caliber supporting cast. The journey to accomplishing that begins this summer for the Suns.