Nico loves the thinness, DAL-PHX

[gswhoops]

I think the concern here with the value is that it’s, theoretically probably fine but it’s just a bunch of quarters and dimes for a dollar without yielding a true major value piece. If KD was going to Houston, for example, he could return a Jabari Smith or #10 which has considerably more upside than anything present. If he was going to Minnesota, he could return someone like Rudy Gobert which is a significantly better win-now talent than anything presented too. This trade is in the middle of both of those but in a non-beneficial, the Suns will likely stay mediocre for the long term way.

I think this is fair though. The Suns have signaled they want to be competitive so a deal that gives them solid players now and an unprotected 1st to be their upside swing feels in line with that.

But if Houston is willing to match salary without Green they can offer good players and immediate future value which I agree is better.

No idea how the Suns feel about a Gobert-centric package, but definitely a more impactful player than the Dallas guys here.

And of course where KD wants to end up is going to play a part too I would imagine.

There’s a difference of competing and being mediocre in perpetuity without really having a light at the end of the tunnel. Gafford and Washington are mostly who they are at this point as players which are solid role players. The only pick is years away. There are no real upside plays outside of it and those two wouldn’t move the short term needle enough. If Lively entered the conversation this would be a completely different discussion because he’s an upside play with staying power. But as is they’re likely getting worse but staying in that fringe playoff area and don’t have anything bright to look forward to until the LAL pick or a likely Booker trade.

I think this is ultimately a question of what WILL the Suns do vs. what SHOULD they do. I think this deal is a reasonable effort to meet the Suns' stated goal of remaining competitive post-KD trade. Whether that's a smart goal to pursue is a different question.

I don't think someone like Lively is going to be on the table for KD, unless whatever team is trading for him has some truly useless salary to use to match.