Trades didn’t go against the Suns
With all the recent speculation surrounding star players Kristaps Porzingis, Paul George, and Jimmy Butler, as the Suns ended up not being in the mix to trade for any one of them, it was a great relief that none of them were moved to the Division on draft night – although there is no guarantee that at least one of them might not end up in the Pacific Division before all is said and done.
Although the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, and Kings were not reportedly in talks for Porzingis, in today’s NBA you never really know. There was always the off chance that the Suns missed out on the budding superstar and that he was either moved for the equivalent of what the Suns may have been offering, or that another team in the Division overpaid and now the Suns would have to face him four times a year.
Now that we know that Jimmy Butler has been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves (and for far less than he would have gone for at any point last season – including to Phoenix) Suns fans can rest easy that he too will not a nuisance to Phoenix four nights a year as the Suns gradually grow back into a Western Conference powerhouse.
His placement in Minnesota makes both perfect sense, and the young roster is a much better team today than they were last season. However, knowing that he is not in Los Angeles where he could have caused the most damage to the Suns, fans can actually look forward to facing him in Minnesota, as those matchups – presumably with Josh Jackson guarding him – will be a lot of fun for several years to come.
Finally Paul George.
While it still seems like he will end up in Los Angeles this offseason before all is said and done, the fact that the Suns and their fans do not already have to plan and worry about George and Lonzo Ball together and can instead focus fully on the positive additions of Jackson, Reed, and Peters, is a godsend.
Even if George ends up a Laker before the start of the season, that type of a move will come at no surprise to fans, and thus will not really move the meter very much. It even still seems likely that the Boston Celtics might pay pennies on the dollar to acquire him and try to rent him for one season to finally get past the Cleveland Cavaliers and possibly even the Golden State Warriors. From there, if they are successful you never know if George chances his mind and decides to stay with them long term.
Either way, being able to move forward for now with the knowledge that the Lakers didn’t really improve their team after the shipping off of De’Angelo Russel to Brooklyn and the addition of both LaVar and Lonzo Ball, the Phoenix Suns are both a better team moving forward, something that should make Suns fans ecstatic.