With all the changes going on with the Phoenix Suns, the franchise should embrace its youth and should trade almost all of its veterans.
To say the Phoenix Suns have had a rough start to the regular season is a big understatement. Earl Watson was relieved of his head coaching duties and Eric Bledsoe is being actively shopped by the team after he had posted a tweet that could be taken as a plea to leave Phoenix.
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With Bledsoe’s time in Phoenix seeming to end at some point this season, the team will only have two active players with five plus years of experience in Tyson Chandler and Jared Dudley. Brandon Knight would be the third player, but he is out with injury for the season. With only Chandler and Dudley left as veterans whenever Bledsoe is traded, the Suns should embrace their youth movement and only keep one of the two veterans. Dudley has much more to offer the rebuilding team at this point and should be kept over Chandler.
This is not a bust on Chandler or to even say that either player is better than the other. Moving Chandler will help out the Suns much more than moving Dudley. Even though, the Suns could probably get the same value in return for either player at this point.
Chandler still starts for the Suns and earns a decent amount of minutes. This in turn takes away playing time from young players like Alex Len and Dragan Bender at the center position. Not to say that either Len or Bender are the answer at center, but getting those young players more time on the court should be a high priority for this rebuilding season. Having Chandler on the roster could have a bigger impact on the team’s record than Dudley. They may have the same amount of years left on their contracts, but Chandler has the larger salary. If the Suns want cap flexibility for next season then trading Chandler would make more sense.
Dudley is younger than Chandler which means he could stay with the team’s young core longer as a player. He views himself as a team leader and encouraged the team in it’s first win of the season. So far this season, neither Marquese Chriss or Bender have been consistent enough to earn big minutes. With that in mind, having a three man rotation at the power forward position could be best for the two young players right now.
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Trading Chandler and keeping Dudley will cement the focus on all the Phoenix Suns’ young players while still having a veteran in the locker room.