This post was originally published on this site.
Ten days ago, I threw a challenge into the void. I went to The Feed and asked, in full Stephen Crowder fashion, for someone to change my mind on the idea that the Suns should stand pat as the trade deadline approaches.
And I am still right where I was then. I like this team as it is built. I like the depth. I like the balance. Power forward remains an area of opportunity, sure, but I do not see anything out there that feels both attainable and worth disrupting what they have going.
Before we dive in, I want to say this sincerely. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to think through it, to type it out, and to engage with the exercise. I know how much work that is, because I live in a keyboard most days. You all brought thoughtful ideas and real effort.
So now let’s get into it. Let’s walk through what the community had to say, and I will explain where I agree, where I disagree, and whether anything actually moved the needle for me. Let’s explore.
jrm2020: Lauri Markannen
Several of us have been advocating for acquiring Lauri Markenen from Utah for the past several weeks. To repeat some of the rationale presented: fills the Suns biggest position of need with size, experience, proven scoring and rebounding (currently averaging more PPG than anyone on the Suns), and is around the same age as core vets like Booker, Brooks, and Allen. It would be a serious all-in win now move that would immediately raise the team’s ceiling to what I believe would be the level of a true contender. Also, the Jazz have a serious incentive to tank enough to guarantee a top 8 pick so to avoid it being conveyed to OKC. Would definitely requiring sacrificing something of real value to get him, and the Suns probably don’t have enough of the draft capitol that Utah probably primarily wants, but maybe by involving a third team something could be cobbled together to satisfy them. I’m not aware of the Jazz’s position on moving him now, but he’s certainly been rumored as being a target for other teams, so why not us?
I am not anti-Lauri Markkanen. I like him as a player, and I understand the appeal. On paper, his addition feels like a clean next step in properly building around Devin Booker. He grades out as a highly productive player on both ends per B-Ball Index, and from a pure roster construction standpoint, the fit makes sense. At least on the surface.
Where it falls apart is the cost. That is the real hang-up. And jrm2020 nailed the key issue. The Suns probably do not have the draft capital Utah would want. That is correct. But it goes deeper than picks.
Markkanen is making $46.4 million this season. Even with a third team involved, you are talking about moving real money and real depth to make the math work. I am not there yet. Not with how this team feels right now.
This is the type of move you revisit in the offseason. Especially once you have clarity on Jalen Green. He is the kind of financial piece that could eventually help grease the wheels on a deal like this. But right now, the timing is off. The Suns do not have the draft assets to realistically land Markkanen, even with creative accounting and extra teams involved. Neither player is on an expiring deal either. Green would still have two years left after this season. Markkanen has three, with his contract climbing to $53.5 million by 2028-29.
The idea makes sense. The reality does not.
Making this move now would be a full pivot. One that strips depth to chase a single outcome. Utah would want picks. Phoenix does not have enough. Other teams can beat that offer easily. Exploring it right now feels like an exercise in futility.
I would rather let this season breathe. Evaluate Jalen Green. Ride the momentum. Cashing in every chip for a move like this, right now, feels premature.
Mind changed? Interesting theory, but I’m standing pat.
Jtasher: Bobby Portis
The one person I am interested in is Bobby Portis. Good size PF who is tough, can shoot the three and has that mad dawg personality that will fit with the rest of the team. Also someone who has nba experience in the playoffs. But I do not think green should be traded for him and I do not think either o Neal or Allen are enough to get him (without expending draft capital). For the bucks, I think he is available to maybe convince Giannis to stay (if they get an upgrade) or if they blow every thing up. If so a third party may be needed to give them the return on what they want or us to get him.
Bobby Portis is a really interesting name, because he checks a lot of the boxes for what this team could use at the power forward spot. He’s 6’10”, at 30 he fits the timeline, and brings the toughness and edge this team clearly values. He plays with aggression, rebounds with intent, and can stretch the floor. The shooting is the eye catcher. He is hitting a league-best 47.4% from three right now, which is absurd.
He is making $13.4 million this season with two years left, the final year being a player option. From a math standpoint, you can build a deal that works. What does that look like?
It is not complicated. Milwaukee gets some financial relief and a first-round pick, even if that pick has been passed around so much it barely feels real anymore. Maybe you sweeten it with another asset and call it a day.
This is the type of move I can at least talk myself into. But there are roadblocks. The first is that what the Suns have at that position has actually been working. Portis would fit, but disrupting what is clicking always gives me pause.
The bigger issue is Milwaukee. They are struggling at 18-24, but they are in the East. With Giannis Antetokounmpo, a run is always on the table. I am not sure they want to rock the boat that hard.
And then there is the draft reality. The Bucks have fewer picks than the Suns after years of pushing chips in for Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard. If Portis ever truly hits the market, Phoenix should absolutely knock. The problem is other teams will likely have more ammunition to force that door open.
Mind changed? My skepticism is wavering.
Headz77: Jeremy Sochan
O’Neal for Sochan. I think it works straight up, and makes sense for both teams. Might even get the Suns out of the luxury tax?
First off, why can nobody spell Royce O’Neale’s last name correctly? Seriously. It is not only the community. Our own writers battle with it regularly, and I swear I have spent an unreasonable portion of my life editing those letters back into the proper order.
Now, Jeremy Sochan. He has never really done it for me. Yes, he plays hard. Yes, he brings toughness. If you are a team starving for edge and effort, I get the appeal. The Suns are not that team. They already have that. Other teams need Jeremy Sochan. Phoenix does not.
He is shooting 25.7% from three this season and sits at 28.7% for his career. In this hypothetical, you are giving up an elite three-point shooter for someone who hustles, rebounds a bit, and brings energy. That has value. It does not have value here. He would not start. He would come off the bench. At 6’8”, without a three-point shot, living on effort and physicality.
And that is where I get stuck. Do we not already have that guy? His name is Ryan Dunn.
Mind changed? If anything, the needle just moved the other way.
sdhx19: Jalen Smith/Grant Williams
I have 2 names in addition to Portis, who might be the best case. One is our own Jalen Smith, who is in top 50 in rebounds per 36, can protect the rim, shoot the 3 and is somewhat buried in Chicago. The big Q is is he quick enough to defend consistently on the perimeter but either way I think he can be very useful here. 2y ~9m per year.
The other is just returning from injury, Grant Williams from CHA. He is tough, can reb and shoot the 3, not the quickest feet but will provide if healthy. As we know we do business with CHA regularly. he has 2y ~13m per year so he is obtainable.
You really did get a two-for-one here.
Time is a flat circle, right? The guy drafted instead of Tyrese Haliburton and Devin Vassell. The guy who actually fit what the Suns needed at the time, then never got a consistent runway. Jalen Smith. He is making $9 million this season, which makes acquiring him incredibly easy from a math standpoint.
On a middling Bulls team, he has played 36 games, started 6, and is putting up 9.4 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting a respectable 34.7% from three.
When it comes to Stix, I keep coming back to the same question. Why? Is it because we think we need a bigger body? If that is the case, I would rather funnel those minutes into Oso Ighodaro or Ryan Dunn, both cheaper, both already here, both still in the development phase. I want to see what they actually are instead of bringing back a retread because we talk ourselves into needing size.
The only way I can sell this to Chicago is as a financial reset. You pitch it as expiring contracts. Nick Richards expires. Nigel Hayes Davis expires. You frame it as freeing up money instead of paying Smith $9.4 million next year for a player you are not fully invested in anymore.
And here is the real problem. Chicago does not do things like this. They never have. They never seem interested in getting better or cleaner financially. It is honestly impressive in its own way. Every year it is the same cycle. Hover around the Pla-In. Lose. Run it back. No aggressive trades. No draft maneuvering. Unless Sacramento is calling, the phone stays quiet. They are not rebuilding. They are not contending. They simply exist.
Mind changed? Status quo: preserved.
Now Grant Williams. Is the goal here to become the most hated team in the league? Because if that is the mission, we are halfway there already with Grayson Allen and Dillon Brooks. Should we complete the villain arc and bring Grant Williams into the mix, too? And while we are at it, is Charlotte the only team we are allowed to trade with anymore?
I have zero interest in Grant Williams. Start with the ACL. That stuff lingers, and it usually takes a full season after the return before a player looks like himself again. Then add the rest of the résumé. Undersized. Loud. Has rubbed locker rooms the wrong way everywhere he has been. Boston moved on. Dallas moved on. Now he is parked in Charlotte, drifting.
Would he fit the culture? Maybe. But I do not want to give up anything this team currently has to make room for Grant Williams wandering around the rotation. And can you imagine him and Dillon Brooks sharing the floor? That is not defense. That is a complimentary free-throw package for the other team. Fouls. Technicals. Whistles nonstop. Candy on Halloween. Hard pass.
Mind changed? That logic doesn’t live in my neighborhood.
That was a fun exercise, and I landed in the same place I started. Bobby Portis is the one name that genuinely makes me pause and think. Outside of that, nothing I have seen feels strong enough to change how I view this team or what it is becoming.
This roster is built to compete right now, and I did not expect to be saying that at this point of the season. I am thankful that I am. But I do not believe in making moves for the sake of making moves. This team has depth. It has flexibility. Yes, power forward remains an area where size could help, but depth matters, and any addition risks disrupting that balance.
The Suns are not hunting the way the Sixers are for perimeter shooting. They are not scrambling the way the Lakers are to prop up an expensive top end with duct tape depth. This team is balanced. It knows who it is. I have no appetite to upset that right now.
They can compete. They can disrupt. They can make noise in the playoffs without touching a single button. And being in that position, unexpectedly, is a really good place to be.