After an abysmal showing in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, it's safe to say that the Phoenix Suns are due for some serious roster reshuffling during the 2022 NBA offseason. With Deandre Ayton and the Suns still far apart on a new deal, this may lead to Phoenix parting ways with their young center.
His value to the team has been vital over the past few seasons, but if the two sides cannot come to an agreement then the best course of action would be a trade. During their last game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Suns were drastically outplayed on both ends of the court. One thing that became evident during their loss was a lack of perimeter scoring and 3-point shooting.
If the Suns want to get more help for Chris Paul and Devin Booker and improve offensively, then one player they should consider trading for is Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star power forward Karl-Anthony Towns. With that, let's take a look at the perfect trade offer Phoenix should make to Minnesota for KAT.
Proposed Trade:
Suns receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, D'Angelo Russell
Wolves receive: Deandre Ayton, Dario Saric, Jae Crowder, Cameron Payne, and future first round draft pick
In this hypothetical trade scenario, the Suns gain an offensively skilled big in KAT who can help them space the floor better and provide them with more low-post scoring. Towns' 3-point shooting, rebounding and ability to finish strong at the rim would make Phoenix a more complete offensive unit.
Towns has also mentioned his strong desire to play with Booker several times in past, and this would have him playing side-by-side with his long-time friend. Add to that the dynamic play of All-Star combo guard D'Angelo Russell who would give Phoenix another reliable shooter, ball-handler and facilitator. Russell would lessen Paul's playmaking load and take some of the scoring burden off of Booker.
Granted Russell didn't have a strong showing for the Wolves in this year's playoffs and saw his numbers take a dive from his regular season stats. During their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies, Russell averaged 12.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game while shooting just 75 percent from the charity stripe. On the up side, D-Lo still shot 38.7 percent from three and averaged 1.5 steals per game.
In Phoenix's up-tempo offense, he could see those numbers go up playing alongside Paul and Booker. The only catch here is that the Suns would be sacrificing a ton of defense for a couple offensively skilled players who tend to be liabilities on that end. However, with elite defenders like Paul, Mikal Bridges and JaVale McGee still on the roster and Monty Williams' commitment to a system built on killer defense , Towns and Russell could vastly improve in this area.
With a new-and-improved offense and a continued commitment to defense, the Suns could boast the most complete starting line-up in the NBA with Paul, Booker, Russell, Bridges and Towns leading the way for them.
On the other end of this deal, the Wolves would gain a promising young center in Deandre Ayton who could form a lethal 1-2 punch with rising superstar Anthony Edwards.
Plus with proven veteran talents like Dario Saric, Jae Crowder and Cameron Payne, Minnesota would get a deeper rotation along with some extra draft capital. With Patrick Beverley's aggressive play and veteran leadership already in place, bringing in more established vets who have a ton of playoff experience would give the Timberwolves a tougher rotation.
This would also open the door for Malik Beasley to become Minnesota's starting point guard. A starting five of Edwards, Ayton, Beverley, Beasley and Crowder would give the Timberwolves a lethal mix of young stars and seasoned veterans. Overall, this trade would be an absolute win for both teams.
In the Suns' case, though, this is a much-needed trade that would keep their title hopes alive heading into next season. Coming off one of the worst losses in postseason history, Phoenix knows that they're current roster just won't cut it. This is especially true if they're hoping to return to the NBA Finals and win the title in 2023.
Follow Us
Subscribe