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PHOENIX — It’s trade season in the NBA and a lot of moves could potentially be made ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
The hottest names right now are Ja Morant, Michael Porter Jr., Anthony Davis and Jonathan Kuminga among others after one of the wildest trade deadlines in NBA history a season ago.
As for the Phoenix Suns, who currently sit at 24-17 on the season, they have a decision to make whether to be buyers or leave their team pretty much as is and try to duck the luxury tax.
How Will Phoenix Suns Approach Trade Deadline?
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported in The Stein Line Thursday on Phoenix’s thinking:
“But what about the Suns and Trail Blazers? Both teams are known to have made a center available for trade: Nick Richards in Phoenix and Robert Williams III in Portland. Curiosity is bubbling, though, about the Suns or Blazers emerging as sneaky buyers at the deadline. Both teams possess various mid-tier contracts that could be aggregated to go after various players on the market. Which has rival executives mentioning these two as teams to monitor.”
Richards seems more likely than not to be traded having fallen out of Phoenix’s rotation and on an expiring $5 million contract, but is no longer a major trade piece that could land the Suns a win-now player(s).
These mid-tier contracts Fischer is referring to likely mean Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale, who have both been in trade rumors since the summer and are having career years so far this season with Phoenix.
The 29-year-old Allen is making $16.875 million this season, and O’Neale (32) is owed $10.125 million. Both players have two years remaining on their contracts, so they would be longer term commitments for whichever team were to land them.
The only players making more than Allen and O’Neale are Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia has publicly said Brooks won’t be traded, while Booker will certainly not be moved as well, and Green seems highly unlikely to be despite only playing one full game this season because Phoenix is very high on his potential.
If the Suns were to move Green, they could go after bigger names such as Morant, Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jaren Jackson Jr., but swinging for the fences also seems very unlikely after Phoenix failed to find success after making blockbuster trades for Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.
Going back to Allen, Richards and Richards, Phoenix could combine around $35 million of salary if it were also to include a lower salary player like Nigel Hayes-Davis who is owed just over $2 million.
This would allow Phoenix to target players with higher salaries on the market, but at the same time the Suns would have to get creative with trades and likely involve multiple teams because most teams that are willing to trade key players are rebuilding and would not want to take on veterans like Allen or O’Neale who are not on expiring deals.
The Suns could also just trade one or two of Allen, O’Neale and Richards, which would be the scenario in most cases if they were to target most of the players rumored to be available.
The power forward position is the one glaring need the Suns have approaching the deadline.
Here are some names that could make sense (ordered by salary) if the Suns were to be buyers excluding players Phoenix is reported not to have interest in (Kuminga) and only including players making above $13 million in salary:
Michael Porter Jr. – Brooklyn Nets (6’10”, 218 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $38.33 million; 1 additional year remaining ($40.81 million)
Porter is in the midst of the best season of his career in his first year with the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 25.7 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 40.1% from 3-point range.
The Suns would have to exhaust all of Richards, Allen and O’Neale and potentially more to get Porter, who is one of the hottest trade targets in the NBA this season.
This would likely have to be a multi-team trade because the Nets would be unwilling to take on multiple years of Allen and and O’Neale.
Porter’s catch-and-shoot ability and length are what the Suns need from the forward spot.
Jerami Grant – Portland Trail Blazers (6’7″, 213 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $32 million; 2 additional years ($70.62 million left)
Acquiring Grant would be one of the riskier moves Phoenix could make with players on this list, as the 31-year-old has only played 26 games this season and has a lot more offensive than defensive upside.
Grant is averaging 20 points and 4.3 rebounds in the games he has played this season.
Phoenix would have to trade away all of Allen, O’Neale and Richards to acquire him.
John Collins – Los Angeles Clippers (6’9″, 226 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $26.58 million (expiring contract)
Collins is a very modern power forward who has elite athleticism and also can shoot the ball offensively.
The 28 year old is averaging 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds and shooting 41.2% from deep in his first season with the Clippers, who have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA as of late, after being acquired from the Utah Jazz in the offseason.
If the Suns were to trade for Collins, they would have a tough decision whether to make whether to extend him or not in the offseason, as they also have to decide on extensions for Collin Gillespie and Mark Williams.
Cam Johnson – Denver Nuggets (6’8″, 210 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $21.05 million; 1 additional year ($23.06 million)
Could the Suns reunite with one of their more beloved players in recent years?
It’s unclear if Denver would be willing to move Johnson in his first season with the team, but the Nuggets have seen several younger players that play his position stepping up without Johnson, who has been out since Christmas with a hyperextended knee.
The 29-year-old Johnson is only averaging 11.7 points with the Nuggets after a career-high 18.8 last season with the Nets, but is shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range.
Santi Aldama – Memphis Grizzles (7’0″, 215 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $18.48 million; 2 additional years ($34.01 million left, team option 2027-28)
If the Grizzlies choose to trade Morant before the deadline, they could end up selling off a lot of players with Aldama being one of them.
Even at 7-foot, the 25-year-old Aldama plays power forward the majority of the time and is averaging a career-high 14.1 points while shooting 35.1% from 3-point range.
Aldama would bring a unique mix of length, scoring and defensive versatility to the Suns.
Jonathan Isaac – Orlando Magic (6’10”, 230 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $15 million; 3 additional years ($41 million left)
Isaac is averaging career lows in points (3.0) and minutes per game (10.4), so the Suns would be taking a flier on him joining their rotation while giving up a rotation piece in either O’Neale or Allen.
Isaac’s length and athleticism would be a fit, but it’s a matter of if the Suns believe he would be a big part of their team.
Onyeka Okongwu – Atlanta Hawks (6’10”, 240 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $15 million; 2 additional years ($32.98 million left)
Okongwu plays both the 4 and 5, but his improved 3-point shooting (36.2%) and career-high average of 16 points per game makes him a fit in bigger lineups for Phoenix.
After trading away Trae Young, it’s hard to know if the 25-year-old Okongwu will be available, but he would seemingly mesh well with the Suns.
Obi Toppin – Indiana Pacers (6’9″, 220 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $14 million; 2 additional years ($31.02 million left)
Toppin only appeared in three games this season before suffering a partial stress fracture in his right foot that required surgery and is supposed to hold him out until at least next month.
The 27-year-old Toppin played a huge role in helping the Pacers get to The Finals last season.
Toppin’s energy, shooting, athleticism and defensive effort are all things that the Suns need, but they would have to hope he could fit in after his injury and be at the risk of losing a rotation piece for him.
Bobby Portis – Milwaukee Bucks (6’9″, 250 lbs)
- Salary This Season: $13.44 million; 2 additional years ($30.11 million left)
The Suns are rumored to be eying Portis, who would bring a lot of energy to Phoenix as he has brought to the Bucks.
The 30-year-old Portis is shooting a remarkable 47.2% from 3 this season on four attempts per game, and his style of play fits exactly what the Suns need.
It might be tough to trade for Portis straight up with the assets Phoenix has, as Milwaukee could try to instead trade him as part of a bigger package of outgoing salary to try to get another piece next to Giannis Antetokounmpo.