There was plenty of optimism surrounding the Phoenix Suns' chances of competing for a championship in the 2023-24 season in the immediate aftermath of their blockbuster trade for Bradley Beal. Analysts wondered how in the world opposing teams would deal with three players in Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker who can score from all three levels and someone who can create a shot out of nowhere when the offense bogs down — a crucial skill for an offense to have come postseason.
However, the Suns had to surrender even more draft assets to get Beal, and they stuffed their cap sheet even further. This meant that the team was going to be extremely top-heavy. Now, they tried to rectify this top-heaviness by dealing away Deandre Ayton for Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen and by signing a few 3 and D players with potential to the veteran minimum. This, predictably, has not gone according to plan.
At present, the Suns have an 18-15 record, which is good for just eighth in the Western Conference. Bradley Beal's routine absences hasn't helped matters at all, and the Suns don't have the depth to cover for his absence, so it's not too surprising to see Phoenix have a middling net-rating (they currently rank 13th). The underlying stats for the Suns show that while they're a playoff-caliber team, they don't exactly belong among the league's chief contenders.
Now, the team still has a little over a month to try and get reinforcements on the trade market to bolster their chances of winning the title. With that said, here are a few predictions for what the Suns would do prior to the NBA trade deadline at 3 pm on February 8.
Suns trade away Nassir Little for some point guard help
It was a wise gambit for the Suns to acquire Nassir Little in the trade that brought Jusuf Nurkic to Phoenix. Little is a versatile 6'5 wing who's under contract for multiple years at a reasonable amount, and he has shown flashes of being a quality 3-and-D piece for the Portland Trail Blazers in the past.
Alas, Little has provided, um, little for the Suns in his brief stint in the Valley to this point. Head coach Frank Vogel doesn't trust Little with a prominent role in the rotation, which doesn't appear to be the most optimal use of resources for a Suns team that doesn't have too many ways to improve the roster given their dearth of assets.
All the Suns have are five second-round picks to trade; that won't be enough to acquire any needle-moving piece, especially when they don't have salary-matching assets as well. But packaging a second-round pick with Little to acquire, say, a Delon Wright-type point guard — a low-usage, defensive-minded player who excels as a glue guy — could give the team more roster balance and someone who can be a solid defender for the Suns at the point of attack.
Grayson Allen is prominent in trade talks, but stays in the Valley
As previously mentioned, the Suns don't have too many salary-matching pieces, unless they want to trade away their core four (they don't). The salaries of Grayson Allen and Nassir Little, when packaged together, adds up to around $14 million — which is enough to acquire the likes of Tyus Jones, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dennis Schroder, among others.
However, dangling Allen won't bring the return the Suns would want. Their lack of draft assets makes a trade for the players mentioned above quite unlikely, and losing Allen for someone who won't bring a huge upgrade to the team is a risk the Suns wouldn't want to take.
Grayson Allen has been playing at a high level for the Suns this season anyway, so expect him to stay with them until at least the end of the season, what with his contract being up at the end of the campaign.
Phoenix acquires one more PG
The Suns don't have to acquire a point guard, much less acquire two of them. The Suns' big three is more than capable of handling primary ballhandling and playmaking duties. However, in terms of team fit, the three of them play their best brand of basketball alongside true point guards.
A perfect piece for the Suns is an athletic, defensive-minded point guard who's on a veteran minimum so as to make acquiring them that much easier. To that end, perhaps the Suns try to find a way to acquire Dennis Smith Jr. from the Brooklyn Nets. Smith is a defensive livewire who contributes on the glass, and he is a willing mover of the basketball as well. With the Nets struggling as of late, perhaps they become more willing to trade away a few of their rotation pieces.
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