The Phoenix Suns may be coming off the heels of a huge blowout victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on national television, but it’s clear that they have plenty of room to improve the depth of their top-heavy roster in preparation for the stretch run.
With the trade deadline only less than a month away, it will be interesting to watch how the Suns try to make the most out of the limited assets they have at their disposal.
A cursory look at the Suns roster may give the impression that what they need to acquire is a point guard to try and reduce the playmaking burden on the team’s three stars. But according to Chris Haynes of TNT during the Suns-Lakers broadcast (via Shane Young of Forbes), Phoenix would prefer to trade for an “athletic wing”, as they don’t want to acquire anyone that will “take the ball out of” Bradley Beal and Devin Booker’s hands.
The Suns clearly trust Beal and Booker’s ability to make plays, hence their decision to trade away even more draft picks as well as Chris Paul this past offseason to try and up the star quality of the roster. The only nominal point guard that they have on the roster is Jordan Goodwin, and he’s a point guard who’s in more of a 3 and D mold instead of a playmaking one.
The presence of Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and especially Kevin Durant, could be enough to stress defenses, with the three able to stretch the floor, drawing plenty of double coverages throughout the game that would make life easier for their teammates. This is what the Suns are clearly banking on to compensate for their lack of “true” point guard play.
Nonetheless, as interested as they may be in an “athletic wing”, they do not have much assets to acquire players of Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neale’s caliber. Literally all the Suns have at their disposal are five second-round picks, and they don’t have the salary-matching assets as well to swing a deal for an impact wing. But a lot can happen between now and the trade deadline.
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