You know when dogs do the cute thing and begin digging into their dog bed, even though there’s nothing to dig? My dog does this incessantly. It is entertaining until he claws a hole through the bed and into the fluffy stuff inside. The fluffy inside gets all over the house, I have to go buy a new dog bed and I’m out $30.
The Phoenix Suns are digging in their already-made bed.
Except as they get into the messy, fluffy insides, there are NBA rules that will stop them from going out and buying that new bed. In fact, there are rules against how easily it is to clean up the mess before getting a new bed is an option.
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They don’t have tradeable draft picks to do much after firing off three second-rounders for one in the Nick Richards trade.
Phoenix (20-20) only owns a 2025 second-rounder by way of Denver and its 2031 first-round pick, which according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has been floated in Jimmy Butler trade talks.
None of this has apparently detracted from the Suns’ willingness to fix their roster via trades. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons suggested the Suns are “annoying” the rest of the NBA with their frequent phone calls.
Perception doesn’t matter if players still see Phoenix as an appealing destination, but perception in league circles matters for, you guessed it, actually pulling off trades.
“Everyone knows about the Stepien Rule (that limits how many first-round picks a team can trade),” one executive told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I don’t know how this is all going to play out, but depending on how that KD trade ends up, there might be an ‘Ishbia Rule’ proposed where new owners can’t make a trade for six months after buying the team.”
With that, let’s approach how Phoenix realistically should handle the near future in a decision-making flow chart type of way.
Going back to the dog bed metaphor for a second, there is one way to clean this mess up and go shopping for that new dog bed: trading Kevin Durant or Devin Booker. I am assuming neither of those things are on the table.
Moving on:
If the Suns don’t blow it up, they should convince Bradley Beal to be traded
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Beal covets the no-trade clause remaining on his contract.
Convincing him this isn’t going to work is indeed their only out, and it appears they’re quite aware.
It’s hard to say whether convincing a player to go away is more difficult than finding a trade that would work for Butler or otherwise.
Assuming the Miami Heat haven’t suddenly decided the Beal no-trade clause is OK to bring in, other teams would be needed in a Butler deal.
The Suns’ front office, from the sound of it, is probably doing the gruntwork for other teams.
It’s Phoenix that must convince the Detroits of the world why they should want Beal to help them make a playoff push.
It’s Phoenix that must tell the Heat why getting Khris Middleton from the Bucks and Ron Holland from the Pistons will be worth getting rid of Butler. The Suns would then pay Miami a 2031 first-round pick for solving the Heat’s problem.
That’s how deep the Suns are in it.
A Butler trade does not necessarily change the root of Phoenix’s problems from a basketball perspective. But it would give them that missing competitive edge. And since we’re here for a show, why not see what chaos, good or bad, comes from it.
If they do not deal Beal, the likely path forward isn’t one of optimism
Step 1. Players-only meeting. I know they probably have a lot of these, but you have to do it and leak it to the public for this to count.
Step 2. Trade or make peace with Jusuf Nurkic this year so he remains a viable rotation option or trade asset.
Step 3. If there’s somehow a trade to be made in February, that incoming player better be willing to fight somebody. The Suns need an influx of energy and fight.
Step 4. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, trade rookies Ryan Dunn or Oso Ighodaro. Don’t do it!
Step 5. See what you got with this team and this coaching staff. Maybe it goes like last year. Maybe they finally use this turmoil to find themselves. Either way, it’s time for the Suns to lay in the bed that they made.
from Arizona Sports https://ift.tt/CI8Sk7j
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