Let’s say, for the sake of argument, every player and pick in the Suns’ possession right now was available for trade. How would they each rank at potential return? Who/what would net the Suns the most in a potential trade, and who/what would be garner the least?
Okay, so to answer the question of who/what would garner the Suns the most possible return in a trade is obvious: Devin Booker. I’m not going to trick or fool you there. We all know that and so does the rest of the league. But that doesn’t mean that there is a steep drop-off from there. As a young team, the Suns have a decent amount of players that if traded would net Phoenix a solid return. There does come a point where there is a drop-off, and then a second drop where players lack even first round value in return. Some of those players in the drop-off are disappointing because they once held much greater value. But all is not lost, because there are still ways of wringing value from a seemingly value-less commodity. It’s all in how a trade is worked out.
If Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough wants to make a splash on the trade market this offseason, he can. He has in his disposal some very valuable trade pieces. How he turns any of them into a positive return for Phoenix is the ultimate question – if anyone is even traded at all.