The Phoenix Suns have yet to make any moves ahead of the NBA's trade deadline in early February, although they continue to be linked with two players above all else. The first is backup center Nick Williams of the Charlotte Hornets - who despite being an obvious upgrade over Jusuf Nurkic - wouldn't solve all of their problems.
That is the main problem with being in the second apron, the likes of Richards are about as good as it is going to get in the trade market for the franchise. Ditching Nurkic would be half the appeal here anyway, but there's no doubt Richards would make the center rotation in Phoenix better alongside Oso Ighodaro and Mason Plumlee.
Then there is Jimmy Butler, who the Suns have eyed for weeks now.
There are several issues stopping that trade from taking place - even if Butler and the Suns appear to want to come together - and they revolve around Bradley Beal. The Miami Heat have no interest in adding Beal, and he appears unwilling to waive his no-trade clause to go to a different destination.
Should the Suns ever find a way to land Butler however, he wouldn't be joining a roster that is completely new to him. Surprisingly he has suited up with two current Suns players in the past, although neither were with the Heat.
2. Tyus Jones
Probably the more obvious of the two, Jones and Butler played together for the Minnesota Timberwolves across Butler's entire tenure there between 2017-19. That run only lasted for 74 games - including the playoffs - and we all know how that one ended. Teaming up with the bench unit to beat the starters, before going on national television to talk about it.
We'll never know what happened on that day- but considering Jones only managed 34 starts across 251 games played for the Timberwolves - it is safe to say he was alongside Butler for the ride on that day. That's certainly the kind of memorable experience that could bond some players, although perhaps leaving Minnesota under that kind of cloud should be a warning to the Suns as well.
Either way, the idea of Jones playing with Butler again is an exciting one. The fit next to Beal before he was moved to the bench was awkward, with the team giving up a lot of size on the defensive end. Butler would remedy a lot of that, and mask the issues that playing an undersized floor general in Jones can have.
With Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and a center not named Nurkic rounding out the starting five, fans would have to feel good about the ability of that group on both ends of the court. It would also take some heat off Jones, who has come in for some criticism recently because of what a negative he is on the defensive end.
1. Josh Okogie
If Butler is ever going to play with Josh Okogie again, he needs to get to The Valley quick. As things stand Okogie remains one of the organization's more likely trade candidates, although he also continues to play hard enough defensively to also warrant extra minutes. Ironically this is exactly the kind of teammate that Butler thrives off.
He's nowhere near as polished offensively as even Royce O'Neale or Grayson Allen, but that defensive saavy has been sorely lacking in Phoenix this year. The two only played together for 10 games in 2018-19, before Butler was shipped off to the Philadelphia 76ers. This was also Okogie's rookie season, and he started a surprising 52-of-74 regular season games played.
In fact that number represents the most starts Okogie has had in his career to date, and on his current trajectory that doesn't look likely to change either. It is not that Butler saw the best of Okogie - and although the two have a couple of similarities in how they play - Butler took off in a way Okogie never has while with the Chicago Bulls.
If the Suns are looking for ways to improve defensively however, then having Okogie stick around to play in some rotations with Butler looks like a great idea. Throw Ryan Dunn into the mix alongside two elite scorers like Booker and Durant and all of a sudden you have another very different way to beat opponents. We're still some way of that happening, but these two are a pairing that intrigue.