The NBA season has yet to fully start, but the Phoenix Suns have managed to be the first opponent to bat. A trade to Bradley Bell included Chris Paul, Landry Shamet and four second-round picks sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for three-time NBA All-Stars.
The brazen deal comes as a new collective bargaining agreement, intended to punish teams that dig deeper into the luxury tax, begins to unfold. Instead, they did their best to build the best team money and purchases could get.
They, of course, drafted Devin Booker in 2015, but recently acquired Kevin Durant in a deal that saw them field four first-round picks. Now they have a star-studded roster with four players under maximum contract, including Deandre Ayton, but almost no draft picks.
Phoenix has no margin for error.
According to NBA writer Sean DeVene, the Suns won’t own their pick until 2031 thanks to the Durant and Beal deals. While this does not mean that they will not have any picks because they are required to have a first round pick in every other draft, pick swaps mean that another team will have the final say on where they choose.
That’s incredibly risky for any team, especially one whose arguably best player, Durant, is 34 while Bell is 31. Thankfully, Booker is only 26 but will be 34 by the time the Suns can recruit using their own picks. If, for some reason, these new big three don’t work out, Durant and Bell likely won’t even come close to the value Phoenix gave up to get.
Without any backup options, the Suns face added pressure to win now or risk another potential decade-long drought. Even with that added pressure, they still had three top-flight scorers and a newly appointed championship coach in Frank Vogel. This gives them a potential high ground and, if all goes well, a championship ceiling.
- Posted on 06/24/2023 at 16:00 PM
- Last updated on 06/23/2023 at 14:00 PM