Phoenix forward Jared Dudley has seen his name come up in connection with several teams as the trade deadline approaches and it would make sense for the lottery-bound club to explore a deal. However, Dudley told Jim Coughenour and Kris Habbas of SB Nation that if he had his way, he says he'd stay with the 17-36 Suns.
If push comes to shove, the 27-year-old says that he'd rather go to a contender than another losing ballclub. But, in Dudley's mind, staying put after the trade deadline would be the best outcome possible.
"It's easy to be in a good mood when you're winning," he said. "When you're losing, you need to stay in the gym, stay on guys. You never want to leave. I'll be the first one to tell you that if I had to leave, I don't want to go to a team that's bad…Phoenix, city-wise, is one of the top five destinations to go to, so why not just stay here and just get better?"
Dudley has averaged 11.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 29.3 minutes per contest this season. Last week, Chuck Myron examined the Boston College product as a trade candidate. The Knicks and Jazz are among the teams that have been linked to Dudley.