The All-Star game is in progress and if you take a look at the Western Conference team, you’ll notice that the Suns are not among the teams represented. Phoenix is 17-36 and their splash page of their website invites fans to come and get acquainted with the Suns players, which is a great idea in October, but says quite a bit about the state of the team in February. There are bright spots for the Suns, however, and Jared Dudley is among them.
Dudley’s contract is a solid value as he’ll earn $4.25MM per season through 2014/15 with a player option for the same amount in the following year. His game may be unspectacular, but he brings hard-nosed play and quality outside shooting at a reasonable price, making him an attractive bench piece for several teams. The Knicks, Jazz, and Grizzlies are all said to have varying degrees of interest and it makes perfect sense for the rebuilding Suns to listen on offers.
However, as a rebuilding team, its not always easy to find quality players that, you know, actually want to be there. While many players in Dudley’s position would probably be pushing hard for a mid-season trade, the forward said this weekend that he wants to help turn things around in Phoenix.
“I don’t care what anyone tells you. If you’re on a team that’s losing the way we are, people should be frustrated, annoyed, but still upbeat at practice to want to get better…I am frustrated that we’re losing. I’m tired of seeing the same mistakes. But I’m willing to put the work in to make those mistakes be very limited, if not at all,” said the 27-year-old.
As a quality, reasonably-compensated complementary piece, Dudley holds a good amount of trade value. At the same time, he’s exactly the kind of player (and contract) that a rebuilding club would probably like to keep around. Should the Suns trade him this week?
It depends what they’re offered. If the question is if Dudley should be available, I think he should be. A team like the Suns should consider any of their players a trade candidate if it means improving the team in the future. Dudley for Shumpert would be a nice trade for both teams.
Can “who cares about Jared Dudley or the Suns” be a poll option? Dudley for Shumpert is a horrible, horrible trade for the Knicks by the way.
Unless he is a piece in a major move to help rebuilding, I don’t see why you trade him. The Dudley and a 1st round pick for Shumpert would be a horrible trade for the Suns. Shumpert is a nice player, but that isn’t a secondary move that a rebuilding team should be making. Keep the 1st round picks to package to try and get better 1st round picks or established players you can build a team around.