If the Suns are going to pay, they should go Evans all the way
While Tyreke Evans has been known to be on the trade block for some time now, it finally came to a head on Wednesday afternoon when the Memphis Grizzlies announced that he would no longer suit up for the team while they attempt to trade him.
As trade discussions involving Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyreke Evans intensify, front office plans to sit him out until a deal is completed, league sources tell ESPN. He'll start sitting vs. Pacers tonight. Trade deadline is next Thursday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2018
Why? Because they don’t want to win.
Memphis is seeking a first round pick, which the Suns have a plethora of over the next few seasons, although he, like Avery Bradley, is an unrestricted free agent this summer so acquiring him via trade probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
That being said, Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough has said that he is looking to be aggressive in free agency, so making a push to sign him this summer would make sense. If the Suns are going to pay a non-star money and are hoping to improve enough next season to finally make it back to the playoffs, Avery Bradley’s perceived superior defense is not reason enough to pay whatever is necessary to acquire him.
Across the board Tyreke Evans will make the Suns better, specifically by making Devin Booker better.
Next: Should the Phoenix Suns' number one draft target be Trae Young?
Now that the league knows that Evans is on the trade block, it is possible that the team he is traded to will make a concerted effort to re-sign him this offseason. However, the NBA is a capitalist league and these are capitalist men we are talking about, so money talks. If the Suns are looking to spend money and want to add a good scoring player to the backcourt to help take pressure off of Devin Booker, there is no doubt in my mind that that player should be Tyreke Evans.