Conclusion
The broad assumption is that Alan Williams will be re-signed and is at least the team’s backup center for the foreseeable future. Therefore if the team does not want to house three capable centers on the roster moving forward, either one of Tyson Chandler or Alex Len will have to go.
It seems most prudent that Alex Len should be retained moving forward and that General Manager Ryan McDonough finds a new home for Tyson Chandler.
It must be noted that this is also predicated on whether or not Len receives an offer as a restricted free agent this offseason that blows the Suns’ budget out of the water. If his salary can be kept at or under $15M (especially if it floats around the $10M range) it seems illogical for Phoenix to allow him to leave. However if another team comes in offering $17M+, it seems hard to believe that the Suns would match.
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Alex Len is simply too young to give up on. The former number five overall pick still has plenty of
game to learn and plenty of physical attributes to develop. If they let him walk and next season he averaged 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks for another team, the entire Valley of the Suns would be kicking themselves for missing out on developing a young talent with his entire prime left ahead of him.
Furthermore, the trading of Tyson Chandler with two years remaining on his contract would at
least return some value back to Phoenix. There are probably several contending teams who would be pleased to find a way to add Chandler’s salary to their books if it means adding his defensive and rebounding talents to their rotation. At the moment the idea of receiving a first-round pick or first-round talent in return for a 34-year old might seem far-fetched, but the Suns must necessitate finding something of value in return for Tyson, rather than keeping him and letting Len walk for nothing but an open hole on the roster.
As this young team grows, it would be far more prudent for Phoenix to allow Alex Len to continue to grow with them. It seems entirely implausible that Len has already reached his peak at 23-years old and so will continue develop into a regular, successful, starting center in this league for many years to come when finally given the full-time responsibility and opportunity.
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