Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The Suns should trade for DeAndre Jordan

By Adam Maynes

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 22: DeAndre Jordan #6 of the Los Angeles Clippers blocks a layup against Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the basketball game at Staples Center February 22, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 22: DeAndre Jordan #6 of the Los Angeles Clippers blocks a layup against Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the basketball game at Staples Center February 22, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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But they still can’t beat Golden State!

OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 23: DeAndre Jordan #6 of the LA Clippers dunks against the Golden State Warriors on February 23, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – FEBRUARY 23: DeAndre Jordan #6 of the LA Clippers dunks against the Golden State Warriors on February 23, 2017 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Sure. That is probably true. And so long as Kevin Durant is on the Warriors, no one will ever be able to beat them. Therefore the Suns should disband for the time being and save disgruntled fans from consistently falling short over the next few years.

Or, they should compete!

There is no sense in floundering around at the bottom of the league’s standings for many years never taking a significant step forward and never giving Devin Booker or Suns fans reasons to celebrate.

What if Golden State or Houston slips up? What if the Suns are that team that by design are talented enough to sidle by and take advantage? I look to the Houston Rockets, who on three occasions were able to do so, and they even managed to win two championships by placing themselves in the situation to compete:  in 1985, when they upset the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and then their title years in 1994 and 1995 when they were able to take advantage of a Michael Jordan-less league. Had they attempted to wait Boston, Los Angeles, or Chicago out, each absolutely dominant during the 80’s and 90’s, they would have never been prepared to take advantage of those three years in particular and win.

That 1985 series in particular is worth noting. The Rockers were heavy underdogs as this was the height of the great 80’s Lakers/Celtics rivalry, and the Lakers had by far  been the dominant Western Conference team that year and for five years prior. Not only was Los Angeles the defending NBA champs, but they had won 62 games and were entirely healthy during that series.

At some point over the next 2-3 years that very situation can happen again, this time with the Warriors (it almost seems an inevitability, in fact), and if Phoenix prepares itself accordingly, there is no reason to believe that they can’t be that team to eventually slip by and shock the world (it almost happened in 2010 too, didn’t it).

What too if the Suns wait too long to build around Booker and other teams calibrate themselves to take on the Warriors during their ultimate slide, putting themselves ahead of Phoenix for many years just when the Warriors finally became vulnerable?

Minnesota is a legitimate and viable candidate for such a team.

Instead, the Suns should begin to speed up their currently slow and arduous rise to contention by making a move that would immediately take them one step closer to their ultimate goal.

By beginning to build a roster around Devin Booker that can compete, not only will his incredible talents no longer go entirely wasted on bad teams, but he will have reason to continue to remain in Phoenix in perpetuity, and help in the recruitment process as they continue to build talent around him.

The timeline is dead. Whether or not the Suns land a star player in the 2018 draft is irrelevant. Seeking a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for DeAndre Jordan, a star-caliber player, still in the prime of his career and with age and skill worth utilizing, adding to the core of a big-3/big-4 right now, whilst not giving up too much to acquire him, should be a trade too good to pass up.

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