NBA Trade Rumors: As we inch closer and closer to the NBA Trade Deadline, the Phoenix Suns may be closing in on at least one splash deal.
To say the least, it's been a rocky last couple of months for the Phoenix Suns. While it would be easy to place all the blame on their struggles so far this season on injuries, that would not be fair. Overall, this roster has left much to be desired for the better part of the past two seasons. At 19-19, the season isn't completely over for the Suns but if they're going to get back on track and emerge as a contender down the stretch, you'd have to imagine this team is going to need a mid-season boost.
That's exactly what the front office is scrambling to find as the trade deadline quickly approaches. While most of the talk involving the Suns and the trade deadline has revolved around their clear desire to trade for Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal's no-trade clause (and the Miami Heat's overall stubbornness to trade the All-Star wing) could end up being too big of a hurdle to cross.
But no matter what happens on the Jimmy front, it does appear as if the Suns are making progress on another front. According to recent reporting, the Suns continue to work toward another splash deal ahead of the trade deadline that would center around Jusuf Nurkic. In the rumored deal, the Suns would trade Nurkic and probably one of their tradable second-round picks or two to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Nick Richards.
This is just a deal that has been discussed. At least for now, it's not something that sounds close to being completed but with smaller trades like this one, this is the type of situation that could get done at any given moment between now and the deadline. At the very least, it's certainly something to watch over the next couple of weeks.
Trading Jusuf Nurkic needs to just be the start for the Phoenix Suns
For as solid of a deal as the Nurkic for Richards swap may appear on paper, this just has to be the start for the Suns heading into the trade deadline if they're going to have any shot to salvage their season. Ranked 10th in the Western Conference standings, it's pretty clear that this team has their work cut out for them heading into the second half of the season.
To be quite honest, I'm not even sure if a move for Jimmy would solve all the issues that the team has run up against so far this season. But, at this point, it's probably worth the try. Jimmy may not be a foregone conclusion for the Suns heading into the deadline but maybe there's another splash deal that could be coming for Phoenix. Make no mistake, the Suns are going to be active heading into the trade deadline; that much can be assumed pretty confidently.