Potential Fit
I know what you’re thinking, Suns fans. Oh boy! Another wing player! While you’re not wrong for feeling unenthusiastic about the idea of adding another wing to a core that already includes Brandon Knight, T.J. Warren, Archie Goodwin, P.J. Tucker, Marcus Morris AND Danny Granger, let’s keep in mind that no one on this roster right now is off limits.
To that end, if Winslow were to be available for the Suns’ taking, they’d be completely foolish to pass him up simply because of positional overlap. General manager Ryan McDonough has said many times that the Suns will draft the best available player; if Winslow is somehow still on the board when Phoenix is on the clock, he’d be that player.
Unfortunately, there’s a 99 percent chance Winslow is not on the board at that point. Crazier things have happened in the draft (remember when everyone thought Nerlens Noel was a lock for the No. 1 pick and the Cleveland Cavaliers foolishly took Anthony Bennett?), but Winslow dropping to the bottom of the lottery would be a major shocker.
Duke's Justise Winslow will work out for the Knicks on Monday, league sources tell Yahoo. New York is examining him closely at No. 4.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 6, 2015
Bearing that in mind, it seems like the only shot Phoenix has at snagging Winslow is trading up in the draft. By doing so, they’d have to give up some current assets. The Morris twins could be involved here due to their team-friendly extensions, but their trade value is also pretty low at the moment as they await resolution to felony aggravated assault charges.
A number of deals could be worked out since the Suns have so many young, promising, talented players, not to mention all of their future draft picks and a couple of extra ones from Cleveland and Miami. But you get the picture: Phoenix would probably have to give up something good to work their way up in the pecking order.
Trading for Winslow would signify a changing of the guard. The Suns are too good to bottom out, but they’re also too young/not quite good enough to compete for a playoff spot in the loaded West.
Depending on the assets Phoenix would have to give up to move far enough up to take Winslow, it’d be another setback in the rebuilding process and fans are getting sick of being patient after missing the postseason for five straight seasons.
Winslow has the potential to be any team’s two-way small forward of the future, but for the Suns, they’d have to really love Winslow to derail the current rebuilding plan in favor of yet another long-term play.
Next: Conclusion