- The Suns‘ 13-1 performance in January earned head coach Monty Williams his second Coach of the Month nod of 2021/22, the NBA announced on Wednesday (via Twitter). Williams was also named the Western Conference’s Coach of the Month for October/November. J.B. Bickerstaff, whose Cavaliers had an 11-4 month, was the East’s Coach of the Month for January.
Although a January report stated that the Rockets are leaning toward keeping Eric Gordon through the trade deadline rather than moving him in the next eight days, the veteran guard’s name continues to pop up in trade rumors.
The Suns, who are believed to be seeking an upgrade on the wing, have been mentioned by league personnel as a possible suitor for Gordon, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who notes that Phoenix continues to shop injured forward Dario Saric.
Gordon has played in the past with Suns point guard Chris Paul and his ability to stretch the floor and make three-pointers would appeal to a Phoenix team that currently ranks 22nd in the NBA with 11.6 threes made per game.
The Cavaliers have placed calls on Gordon and Pacers swingman Caris LeVert, says Fischer, but the asking prices on those players have been higher than Cleveland is comfortable paying at the moment.
According to Fischer, Cleveland is hoping to acquire a player like Gordon or LeVert using Ricky Rubio‘s expiring contract and a pair of second-round picks, but Houston believes it can get a first-round selection for Gordon and Indiana is seeking at least one first-rounder, if not more, for LeVert.
Gordon is also drawing interest from the Pelicans, according to both Fischer and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Fischer suggests New Orleans has been “repeatedly linked” to the Rockets guard in conversations he has had with league sources, though the Pels are believed to have their eye on a handful of other wings too.
Any team interested in acquiring Gordon will have to be able to take on his $18.2MM salary for 2021/22. He’s also owed a guaranteed $19.6MM salary in 2022/23 and is on the books for $20.9MM in 2023/24, though that figure is non-guaranteed.
That ’23/24 cap hit can become fully guaranteed if Gordon’s team wins a championship in either of the next two seasons and he plays at least 500 minutes, which is a factor that a serious contender like the Suns would have to consider if they pursue the 33-year-old.
The 40-9 Suns currently sport the best record in the NBA, thanks in large part to the All-Star performances of guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker, as well as terrific play from center Deandre Ayton, small forward Mikal Bridges, and a revamped roster with additional depth. John Hollinger of The Athletic reflects on the team’s season thus far and considers some trade possibilities for Phoenix in an extensive new article.
Hollinger wonders if the Suns may look to improve their reserve guard slots behind Paul and Booker. He floats the possibility of offloading trade packages including intriguing young center Jalen Smith, injured big man Frank Kaminsky and a future first-round pick in exchange for veteran shooting guards like Norman Powell or Eric Gordon.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Suns center Deandre Ayton and power forward Jae Crowder are returning from injuries to suit up for Phoenix tonight against the Nets, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Ayton has been sidelined for seven straight games with an ankle injury, while Crowder has been grappling with a mild wrist injury for the past four contests.
- The 24-27 Lakers have not enjoyed the level of success they expected after making an all-in trade for point guard Russell Westbrook during the summer of 2021. Bobby Marks of ESPN outlines exactly how difficult it will be for Los Angeles to make significant roster changes by the trade deadline this season. L.A. is currently just the ninth seed in the Western Conference, thanks in part to various injuries incurred by All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis throughout the season so far. Marks cites Westbrook’s exorbitant contract (he is owed $91.3MM across these next two seasons, an All-Star salary for sub-All-Star production), the Lakers’ lack of future draft picks, and the team’s lackluster depth as factors for what he anticipates to be a relatively quiet deadline.
- Athletic third-year Warriors swingman Juan Toscano-Anderson will take part in the 2022 Slam Dunk Contest at this season’s All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link).
Suns reserve shooting guard Landry Shamet will miss one-to-two weeks of game action due to a right ankle sprain, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (Twitter link). Shamet initially hurt his ankle during the second half of Phoenix’s 115-110 victory over the Spurs on Sunday.
According to Gambadoro, the hope is that Shamet will be able to return before All-Star Weekend. Phoenix’s last game before the break is on February 16.
In his first season with the Suns, Shamet has been a bit underwhelming as a shooter. He is averaging 7.4 PPG on .370/.353/.852 shooting, along with 1.9 RPG, 1.6 APG and 0.5 SPG across 45 contests (19.8 MPG). For his career, Shamet holds shooting splits of .408/.390/.837.
The 40-9 Suns, winners of 10 straight games, are currently the top seed in the Western Conference, and recent rumors suggested the the team could be looking to shore up its perimeter shooting bench depth beyond Shamet this season, in part due to his underwhelming output.
After nabbing Shamet from the Nets in an offseason trade, the Suns opted to ink him to a four-year, $43MM rookie scale contract extension. The team also extended starting small forward Mikal Bridges, widely regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. Starting center Deandre Ayton, however, failed to reach a contract extension deal with the Suns in time, and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
The Suns have signed forward Justin Jackson to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Last month, Phoenix signed Jackson to a 10-day deal via a hardship exemption, as the team had several players in the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols at the time.
The Suns don’t currently have any players in the protocols, but they also have a full 15-man roster. It seems likely that Phoenix was granted a more traditional (non-COVID) hardship exception due to its injury situation. Dario Saric, Frank Kaminsky, Abdel Nader, and Cameron Payne are all currently sidelined with longer-term ailments.
Jackson, 26, was selected with the No. 15 pick in the 2017 draft out of North Carolina in 2017 and spent his first season with the Kings. He next suited up for the Mavericks, Thunder, and Bucks.
Earlier this season, Jackson signed a 10-day hardship exception deal with the Celtics, appearing in one game for Boston. He then joined the reigning Western Conference champs in Phoenix in January. Across three games with the Suns, Jackson is averaging 4.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 7.7 MPG, shooting 71.4% from the field and 60% on 1.7 looks from the three-point line per game.
In 252 total NBA games, the 6’8″ tweener forward holds career averages of 6.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 1.1 APG, with shooting splits of .428/.323/.799.
Suns coach Monty Williams and his staff will coach Team LeBron (James) at the All-Star Game in Cleveland, according to an ESPN report. Phoenix is guaranteed to have the best record in the conference before the cutoff date of February 6. Williams will coach in the All-Star Game for the first time, and he’ll be the first Phoenix head coach to do so since Mike D’Antoni in 2007.
Suns guard Chris Paul and Sixers center Joel Embiid have been named the Players of the Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
Paul led the Suns to a 4-0 week from January 24-30, averaging 22.3 PPG, 12.8 APG, and 7.5 RPG on .542/.588/.714 shooting in 38.5 minutes per contest. He posted his second triple-double of the season on Friday vs. Minnesota, with 21 points, 14 assists, and 10 boards.
The 76ers, meanwhile, enjoyed a 3-0 week, with their star center leading the way. Embiid put up 34.7 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 5.7 APG in victories over over the Pelicans, Lakers, and Kings. He’ll get a breather following his big week, sitting out Monday’s game vs. Memphis for rest purposes. It’ll be the first game he has missed since December 13.
Both Paul and Embiid would likely show up on plenty of MVP ballots if the season ended today, so it’s a little surprising that neither star had won a Player of the Week award yet this season. Embiid was named the East’s Player of the Month for December.
Devin Booker, Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic, and Karl-Anthony Towns were this week’s other nominees in the West, while Jimmy Butler, Darius Garland, Jayson Tatum, Franz Wagner, and Trae Young received consideration in the East, according to the league (Twitter link).
The Suns and Grizzlies, two of the top three teams in the Western Conference standings, haven’t been mentioned often in trade rumors in recent weeks, but both clubs are keeping an eye on the market for potential upgrades around the edges of their rosters, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column.
According to Stein, the Suns have discussed the idea of pursuing another shooter.
Phoenix has a top-five offense, but ranks just 25th in three-point attempts (22nd in makes). Landry Shamet, acquired in the offseason to improve the team’s outside shooting, is hitting just 37.0% of his shots from the floor, including 34.9% of his threes — those numbers are well below the .416 FG% and .397 3PT% career rates he brought into this season.
While Stein doesn’t name any specific targets on the Suns’ radar, Dario Saric and Jalen Smith are among the team’s most logical trade candidates. Saric is recovering from an ACL tear and his $8.51MM salary could be useful if the club targets a mid-level type player. Phoenix declined its 2022/23 team option for Smith, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are hesitant to make any moves that will hinder their flexibility in the offseason, but they’re on the lookout for more depth on the wing, says Stein.
Memphis has some good wing options already, including Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, and John Konchar. Even rookie Ziaire Williams has been contributing lately, starting the club’s last nine games.
Still, given how hard teams have been hit this season by injuries and COVID-19, it’s no surprise that the Grizzlies would want to stockpile as many reliable reserves as possible, just in case. Using Jarrett Culver‘s expiring contract and a future draft asset to shop for one more bench player might make sense for Memphis.
Suns GM James Jones received a multiyear extension this week and the team’s head coach and players voiced their approval, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports.
“I’m so happy for him, he deserves it,” said Chris Paul, who served on the NBPA’s executive committee with Jones when the GM was a player. “I’ve got a different relationship than everybody else because I know him personally. Been through labor negotiations with him. James is like part of my family. I think he deserves it, I’m happy for him and he should be in this league a long time for whatever executive position he wants.”
“I’m happy for him,” coach Monty Williams said. “Anytime you can hang around as long as he has, that’s a huge accomplishment. He’s earned it for sure.”
We have more on the Suns:
- Deandre Ayton is expected to return to action against San Antonio on Sunday barring any setbacks, 98.7 FM radio talk show host John Gambadoro tweets. Ayton hasn’t played since Jan. 16 due to an ankle injury suffered against Detroit. He’ll be a restricted free agent after the season.
- With the league investigation into owner Robert Sarver’s behavior still ongoing, the team is seeking to create a confidential internal hotline for employees to file complaints, Baxter Holmes of ESPN writes. The internal hotline is being created because employees haven’t been using the NBA hotline for fear of being revealed as a source.
- Devin Booker ranked fifth in the latest All-Star fan voting results among Western Conference guards and Williams calls it “laughable,” Rankin relays in a separate story. “I kind of laugh at the voting numbers when I see it at the bottom of the ticker and so many guys are getting so many more votes than him,” Williams said. “It’s laughable. When you look at what he’s done, not just of late, but all season long and the wins we have, he should be a starter on the All-Star team.”
Prior to sending Cam Reddish to New York, the Hawks discussed the framework of a trade with the Celtics that would’ve sent Reddish and Kevin Huerter to Boston in a deal for Marcus Smart, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
Huerter is one of 11 players affected this season by the poison pill provision, complicating salary-matching in any trade involving him, but the deal described by Fischer theoretically would’ve worked for both sides if Atlanta had included another minimum-salary player (likely Solomon Hill).
Smart ultimately stayed put, and Fischer says it would take “significant value” for the Celtics to move him in another deal in the next two weeks. According to Fischer, there’s a sense around the league that the Celtics will be better in the second half than they were in the first half, as long as they’re healthier and first-year head coach Ime Udoka gets more comfortable.
Here a few more trade notes and rumors from around the Eastern Conference:
- One team contacted by the Hawks told Bleacher Report that Atlanta wanted a “valuable” first-round pick and a starting-caliber player in exchange for John Collins. Other teams think the Hawks could get even more than that for Collins, says Fischer.
- According to Fischer, the Raptors and Pacers at least briefly discussed a trade involving Domantas Sabonis and Pascal Siakam, but those talks stalled. The concept makes some sense in theory, since it would allow Myles Turner to be the lone center in Indiana, and Toronto has long been in the market for a five.
- Since Brook Lopez‘s recovery timeline remains up in the air, the Bucks are “poking around” the market for a center, with Suns big man Jalen Smith mentioned as a possible target, per Fischer. Semi Ojeleye is considered to be available and Milwaukee has received inquiries about Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo, Fischer adds.
- A handful of teams have expressed some interest in Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman, including the Spurs, Hornets, Mavericks, and Bucks, writes Fischer.