Kyrie Irving's trade request certainly sent front offices around the NBA scrambling for their phones or laptops to convene on a conference call to determine if trading for the polarizing Brooklyn Nets point guard is worth the risk, given his penchant for off-court trouble, injury risk, and impending free agency. But for the Phoenix Suns, the risk-reward calculus weighs heavily towards their favor.

For starters, Chris Paul is already 37 years old, and his age is definitely beginning to show. Despite his ability to put up strong numbers on a nightly basis, there are some nights where Paul's decline in athleticism is apparent when he cannot gain separation from his defenders off the dribble. Moreover, the Dallas Mavericks (and to a lesser extent, the New Orleans Pelicans) showed that hounding Paul for 94-feet is effective in wearing him out.

And as the Suns know, having an elite point guard in town has always been an important recipe to winning. Steve Nash's presence guaranteed the Suns a playoff appearance for almost a decade. There's a huge reason why the Suns' rise to contention coincided with Paul's arrival alongside Devin Booker.

Thus, the reasoning behind the Suns' reported interest in trading for Kyrie Irving is crystal clear – they need a point guard to take over Chris Paul's mantle sooner than later. Nevertheless, it's unclear if the Suns could outbid other teams in what is shaping up to be an interesting next week or so as the Nets try to acquire as much value as they could for the mercurial point guard.

Even then, that should not preclude the Suns from putting their best foot forward in a potential trade. Here's the perfect offer the Suns must make the Nets for Kyrie Irving.

Suns trade Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, Landry Shamet, Dario Saric, 2023 PHX first-round pick to the Nets for Kyrie Irving and Cam Thomas

The Nets' hesitance in trading away Kyrie Irving is understandable. After all, before Kevin Durant went down with injury in mid-January, the Nets were rolling, looking like one of the most convincing title contenders in the league. Alas, in the NBA, you play the hand you're dealt. For the sake of the franchise, the Nets cannot turn a deaf ear towards Irving's pleas.

Thus, the Nets should do very well in acquiring a solid supporting pieces in Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder. Those two are wings with size to hang defensively against elite opponents – a potential lineup of Ben Simmons, Johnson, Crowder, Kevin Durant, and Nicolas Claxton should prove to be a solid enough unit on both ends of the court.

In addition, Dario Saric and Landry Shamet, despite being salary filler for the most part, could also fill some needs for the Nets. Saric could give the Nets a backup stretch big behind Claxton, while Shamet should make Joe Harris even more expendable. Meanwhile, the Suns' 2023 first-round pick would just be icing on the cake.

The Nets should also give up Cam Thomas to at least allow the Suns to replenish some of the depth they would relinquish in this deal. Thomas has found himself mostly lost in the shuffle amid the Nets' considerable depth at the guard positions, and he could very well flourish in a bigger role in the Valley.

Meanwhile, the Suns would most definitely want to keep Cam Johnson around. Johnson, despite hearing plenty of doubts regarding his draft position, has proven himself to be one of the league's most lethal marksmen. Moreover, Johnson's emergence as a starting-caliber forward effectively pushed Jae Crowder out the Suns' window.

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Nevertheless, the Suns would soon enough have to pay Johnson, what with his impending foray into restricted free agency. According to earlier reports, the sweet-shooting forward is expecting a contract worth more than $66 to $72 million, a reasonable number, even with Johnson's injury problems and general bouts with inconsistency.

Even then, shouldn't the Suns prefer to shell out a fat contract for Kyrie Irving, someone with an even greater track record of excellence?

It'll be interesting too to see Paul and Irving finally team up years after the Los Angeles Clippers squandered away the chance to pair those two in the early 2010s. Who could forget the time when the Clippers traded a first-rounder to rid themselves of Baron Davis' contract, only for that pick to turn into Irving?

The biggest concern for the Suns in the aftermath of this hypothetical trade will be their lack of depth and their lack of size on the perimeter, particularly defensively. Pairing up Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving in the backcourt may not the best idea on defense. Mikal Bridges will have to do the work of two people defensively for this to work. But one of the shrewdest things to do in the NBA is to bet on talent – which the Suns will be doing in this scenario.