https://www.hoopsrumors.com/Pacific notes, Suns rumors, Caruso, Clippers, Powell, Barnes
January 27th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams
Within a look at some of the potential trade targets who have recently been linked to the Suns, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports reports that a source close to the situation has described Phoenix as “very confident” about its ability to make a competitive offer for Hornets forward Miles Bridges. Bourguet adds that Charlotte center Nick Richards is also a target, but that the team would likely only be able to acquire one Hornet or the other due to salary-matching considerations.
Bourguet also confirms that Nets forward Royce O’Neale is a legitimate target for the Suns, observing that O’Neale is more attainable than Dorian Finney-Smith due to his expiring contract and smaller cap hit.
The Suns would almost certainly need to use Nassir Little ($6.25MM) as their primary outgoing salary piece in any trade and would need to get to within 10% of the incoming salary, so acquiring a player who is earning much more than O’Neale ($9.5MM) would be tricky. Phoenix would presumably need to add one or two minimum-salary players and multiple second-round picks to its package for either Bridges or O’Neale.
The buyout market could also prove fruitful for the Suns, Bourguet writes, even though they’ll be prohibited from signing a player whose pre-waiver salary exceeds $12.4MM. P.J. Tucker would have interest in Phoenix IF he’s bought out, according to Bourguet, who says the team has also been in touch with center Bismack Biyombo, a current free agent.
A few points on this that I have though:
1- I don't believe that Gerald Bourget is right regarding not being able to also trade for Nik Richards. I mean did he forget that we have BOTH a $5 million trade exception AND/OR a $6.5 million trade exception that we could absorb Richards salary into?? And additionally attach two 2nds to in the deal? Very simply, we'd only need to do two separate deals here:
Trade #1Little/ Eubanks or Metu for Bridges. And then follow it up with our $5 million trade exception
+ 2 2nds for Richards.
Trade #2Our $5 million trade exception (dario trade)
+ 2 2nds perhaps?
This way, Charlotte would get a young promising wing player and a backup center option for Bridges rather than just losing him for nothing altogether. And 2 2nds and a cheaper replacement center option for Richards.
2- I wouldn't at all pay 2-3 2nds in a deal for O' neale as he's really only moderately better than Okogie due to his shooting. So unless Okogie would be outgoing in the deal, we'd be giving up assets for redundancy. And as much as people may have genuine interest in O'neale, we could just as easily outright sign Stanley Johnson for the vets minimum without having to give up assets that could be used to acquire/fill other positions of need. And Johnson by the way already has experience with Vogel from his time on the flakers, AND Johnson just happened to shoot 45% from three while playing for the Spurs in 2023 while having similar or better size at 6'6 242 lbs.
3- Biyombo is a very solid consideration (defensively) for a regular season buyout option consideration. BUT He'd be useless to us in the playoffs due to his atrocious free throw struggles as he'd be hunted endlessly in "hack a shaq" type schemes to our detriment. We need legit options we can play without those glaring target weaknesses.