Tyson Chandler, T.J. Warren, and Jared Dudley
None of these three players have any pressing reason to be traded and likely stand a much better chance of staying on the roster than Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. However, there are reasons to trade each of them, should an acceptable situation arise.
Starting with Jared Dudley, his leadership and positive connection with the fanbase is more than enough reason to keep him on the roster for the duration of his contract. He is willing to accept a tiny role and wants to be a leader on the team offering help based on his own playoff experience. Yet, if the Suns have a chance at landing a player like Jimmy Butler whose contract will reach approx. $19.8 million in the 2018-19 season, Dudley would have to be included in a package of young talent with lesser salaries that the Bulls would want in return to even discuss such a deal.
Ryan McDonough will probably only consider – or even actively take offers on – T.J. Warren if he drafts Josh Jackson in June or is able to acquire Butler. Otherwise Warren has shown far too much growth in his career (and still has one more season under his rookie contract) to move on from him this early.
Although there are probably 28 other teams in the league that would love to have Warren on their roster, based on the leaked photo from a few weeks ago we know for a fact that the Orlando Magic are absolutely interested in potentially trading for him. If Ryan McDonough was in a position to trade Warren, it would be very interesting to know who the Suns might be willing to accept for him in return.
If Earl Watson is the Suns’ Head Coach for at least another three years, then Tyson Chandler might
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become an Assistant of Watson’s immediately upon retirement. Whether the Suns would consider trading him now then appears totally based on what they do with Alex Len. But even then, he is at least a defensive center that the team can count on moving forward, and a good leader both on and off the court.
Of every name mentioned already, regardless of his relationship with Watson, Chandler just seems to be the least likely to be moved. The Suns are unlikely to consider a salary dump of any kind with him, and the kinds of draft picks that the Suns would ask for for Chandler would likely not be available until the trade deadline next season when teams are more desperate to add talent of his caliber and expense as they are making a final push towards the playoffs.
It would be interesting to know how Boston would want to move forward in the East if they are knocked out early, and knowing that the Celtics were the 4th worst rebounding team in the league during the regular season, if they might be interested in Tyson as a backup to Al Horford, without giving up any talent in return. It also works in the favor of the Celtics to consider something like this now because they have five expiring contracts following the playoffs, plus the expanding cap.
In the end, there is a chance that at least throughout the off-season the Suns will not make a single trade putting forth a team in 2017-18 that aside from draft picks will look almost entirely identical to last season’s. Although splashy trades would be fun and interesting, in this rebuilding phase, they are not entirely necessary.
On the opposite side of that same token, Suns fans could be treated to an offseason of trades that would rival 2014 in number. If the Suns take a point guard with their first pick and find a taker for Brandon Knight, both he and Eric Bledsoe could be shipped off. If the Suns take Josh Jackson then Warren might be moved. Both Jared Dudley and Tyson Chandler could be traded in salary dumps, or as parts of a package that returns a superstar. Either way, as plausible as an offseason of very little movement might be, the exact opposite could be just as likely.
Next: Phoenix Suns Offseason Plans Part 3: Free Agency
Obviously, the whole of the Valley of the Suns is hoping to see improvement in 2017-18 and with another year under Devin Booker’s belt, that’s not going to be too much to assume. Whether or not they improve with any great significance will depend on what trades they make and whether or not the return on those trades are in the form of talent that can produce on the court next season, or mainly future draft picks.