The Suns gave fans in Phoenix something to cheer about on Tuesday night as they rallied from a 23-point second-half deficit against the Clippers to get back in the win column.
But it has been has still been a miserable stretch for the team — since the start of February, the Suns have lost 11 of 15 games and have fallen from eighth place in the Western Conference to 11th, three games out of a play-in spot.
Even Tuesday’s comeback victory wasn’t without some drama, as star forward Kevin Durant had to answer questions after the game about a heated exchange with head coach Mike Budenholzer that occurred during the first quarter.
A slew of injuries in Dallas have opened the door for the Suns to potentially catch the Mavericks for the No. 10 seed and make the play-in tournament. But accomplishing that feat won’t be easy, given that they have the most difficult remaining schedule in the NBA, per Tankathon. And even if they can get to No. 10, nothing the Suns have shown this season suggests they’re capable of winning two play-in games on the road, then upsetting the top-seeded Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
As Zach Harper of The Athletic writes, the Suns have the NBA’s most expensive roster ($214MM+) and project to have the fourth-highest luxury tax bill in league history ($152MM+). Their defense is one of the league’s worst, ranking ahead of only Utah, New Orleans, and Washington. They have a -2.5 net rating when their “big three” of Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal share the court together.
It all points to a roster in desperate need of a shake-up, and it certainly seemed as if the Suns were aware of that fact ahead of last month’s trade deadline, though the team’s second-apron position made it difficult to navigate the trade market. The front office spent weeks trying to find a way to acquire Jimmy Butler using Beal as an outgoing piece, but found no takers for the guard’s unwieldy maximum-salary contract.
In the days leading up to the deadline, Phoenix pivoted to exploring the trade market for Durant, which “blindsided” the team’s top scorer. Back in the fall, Suns owner Mat Ishbia expressed confidence about signing Durant to an extension during the 2025 offseason, but a summer divorce now seems to be a far more likely outcome, given how irked the 36-year-old was to be put on the trade block without his knowledge.
Appearing on ESPN Countdown on Sunday (Twitter video link), Shams Charania suggested it will be an eventful offseason in Phoenix.
“Unless there’s a significant run here into the playoffs for the Phoenix Suns, league sources believe that there will be real changes in Phoenix coming to the Suns,” Charania said. “From a roster standpoint, that likely starts with Kevin Durant.
“… From my understanding, what it would look like is the Suns and Durant would work together on any potential trade to a contender. I would expect four to six contending teams with some serious involvement in Durant. He’s still playing at a really high level. He is extension-eligible in the offseason too, and as we know with the Jimmy Butler situation, the extension plays a big factor.”
As Charania points out, we may not get clarity on what the group of suitors for Durant would look like until later in the spring, since early postseason exits or deep playoff runs could make certain clubs more or less inclined to pursue a maximum-salary star entering his age-37 season.
Of course, if major changes are afoot in Phoenix, we shouldn’t necessary assume that Durant will be the only key player the team makes available. Beal figures to be back on the trade block, though his contract and his no-trade clause will continue to make it difficult for the Suns to find a taker.
The belief is that Booker will remain off the table, with Phoenix looking to build around him going forward, but Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link) wonders if the Suns might reconsider that stance in the summer, arguing that the franchise would be better off with a full reset.
We want to know what you think. What should the Suns be looking to get back in a trade for Durant? Will it be possible to move Beal? Should Booker be made available? Having traded away control of all of their own draft picks for the next seven years, does a rebuild make any sense for the Suns or should they be looking to quickly retool and remain in the playoff hunt?
Head to the comment section below to share your two cents!
Strip the roster bare except Beal, who cannot be traded. Do not acquire any SG’s but get a higher quality defensive roster, including a proper #1 option, around Beal. Make Beal the only bad defender in the 5, get him focused on scoring.
Ideally they will trade KD for Jimmy Butler 1-1 and Booker for a similarly-tiered star or couple of high-quality rotation pieces, ideally a C and PF. Flip everyone else until you have a team who plays defense again.
There you go again Davey. No matter how badly you want it, KD isn’t going back to the warriors.
Where is your proof?
A possible Butler for Durant trade will probably only be considered by the Warriors if they fail miserably down the stretch or in the post season. Otherwise they’ll go with Jimmy next season since the trade seems to be working out so well so far.
I mean to be fair on Draymonds podcast where they had some really cool conversations about the nuances of ball he basically said the real real but talked more about moving. He said right at the beginning of that segment that he didnt like what a team would be left with after having to give up a bunch for him. He might want to return to GSW as a sign and trade or at least in the summer when the team could fill out the roster easier. He doesnt want to go to a team thats been stripped to the studs to get him.
You might be the only guy who posts love letters about players and then 5 minutes later create some plot where they get traded
@Davey J why would the Suns trade KD for Buttler? They’ll want either a young upside player or a bunch of draft picks, specially if they’re trading Booker too.
It seems to me that most of the Suns’ problems occurred because they (starting with Mat Ishbia) were impatient to win a championship and were foolish/arrogant enough to think they could bypass the essential steps of creating a healthy culture and patiently building a winning team.
I seriously doubt that all of a sudden they have seen the error of their ways and will have the humility and patience required to undo their many mistakes.
And, even if they do, Beal’s contract is virtually untradeable and most of their draft picks are gone. I think it will take many years to undo the mess they’ve created.
So, I expect that they will trade Durant and maybe try to get under the second apron. But Durant will be 37 before the next season and the Suns will get back much less than what they traded to get him in the first place.
Find a way to move Durant and Beal and get something of value back.
Bleak…
No room to do anything and Tyus hasn’t moved their needle… Whoch was their big hope headed into the season…
Just another mediocre team with an All Star or 2…
Which of these current/former Suns would you rather have on your team from rookie season to retirement?
Tyus Jones, Tom Gugliotta, TJ Warren, Boris Diaw, Grayson Allen, Truck Robinson, Jason Richardson or Ryan Dunn?
Rank a top3 if possible
Truck
Diaw
Gugliotta
I’m old enough to remember Truck Robinson when he broke in with Washington. One helluva player.
My dad played hs ball with him in Jacksonville in the 70s. One of the greatest rebounders ever. I can def dig you having him 1st
Googs & TJ both NC State legends. Possibly my 2 fav Wolfpack players ever tbh. But I def take TJ over Googs.
I still remember one of the greatest basketball quotes of all time when someone referred to Truck Robinson as a small forward, and his reply was, You can call me many things, but small ain’t one of them.
Teams do not need 2 or 3 bonafide superstars to win and put a great product on the floor. The Beal trade may be the worst trade in the past five years because he’s always injured, can’t score at an elite level, plays very little defense, and cost a lot to obtain. He’s a lesser version of Booker, who can light it up and involve teammates when he’s motivated. Phoenix was fine with Booker and good players around him.
The best case scenario is that Phoenix can trade Durant for a couple of good players and a couple of first round draft picks that will land in the top 15 somewhere. Durant is still an efficient scorer who will be able to shoot over anyone for some time. Defensively, he can hold his own, so he will be in demand from teams like Minnesota, Miami, New York, Houston, etc. Take the package that yields the best combination of draft pick compensation and players who compete defensively.
It is a pipe dream that Phoenix can trade Beal. Any team who takes him will want draft pick compensation due to his contract. Perhaps when he is in the last year of his contract Phoenix can acquire another player with some value who has several years left on his contract, but with the no-trade clause, that is unlikely. Phoenix has to play him as much as possible when he’s available.
It would be great to see what OKC might give up for Durant if they falter in the playoffs before the Western Conference Finals. Would make for a great story and they have plenty of valuable draft picks from other terrible front offices to trade.
Echoing what I said in my first post. Phoenix’s best route is to keep Beal because they have to, but then burn the entire roster down as much as possible and start over with Beal and the low paid guys as the only holdovers.
I did not say burn the roster. I said surround Booker with more options who play defense because he is a superstar who seems to take a back seat to Durant.
But you cant keep having Booker and Beal together, they are simply not working out due to poor defense from both. Beal is the only one you keep because you are forced to, and Booker has massive trade value, ergo, Booker gotta go for one or a few of a PF/C/wing/true PG
Agree. May be the Suns best trade partner for Durant.
They didn’t give up anything for Beal …..
Just a bad mix ….
Once again, new-owner syndrome rarely works in professional sports.
KD will bring back good value. Suns can start the rebuild. Its their best move really.
Diaw gugliotta Jones
Diaw was a great passer