The Phoenix Suns are growing a good young core, however team management should trade Marquese Chriss this offseason if they want any type of value for him.
Most teams wouldn’t give up on a player that was selected eighth overall just two years after drafting him, however that’s exactly what the Phoenix Suns should do with Marquese Chriss. The Suns have a great young core with Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, T.J. Warren, Dragan Bender and Elfrid Payton, but Chriss’ track record should have him out of the team’s future. Suns’ general manager Ryan McDonough and the club’s front office should look to trade the former lottery pick this upcoming offseason.
To put it bluntly, Chriss has played very poorly for the majority of the season. He has shown major regression from his first season.
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January may have been his lone bright spot this season, that’s honestly not saying much compared to the rest of his season thus far. Chriss has proven that he can’t start yet in the NBA this season and moving him to the bench hasn’t really helped his game either. To be fair to Chriss, he has struggled with injury for a portion of this season, so some of his struggles aren’t his fault.
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Earlier this season, Chriss admitted that he was trying to get back into shape after getting out of shape during the last offseason. On top of that, he was disciplined and suspended for one game after getting into a confrontation with an assistant coach, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN. McDonough didn’t have too harsh of a reaction towards Chriss in regards to the situation, reported by Scott Bordow. Even though it appeared that McDonough had Chriss’ back in that situation, it’s obvious that the power forward is having a hard time growing up in Phoenix.
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McDonough will have plenty of hard decisions to make this upcoming offseason. Deciding Chriss’ future with the franchise should be near the top of his list. With the regression in his play and lack of maturity, the Phoenix Suns should trade him this offseason before his value decreases so low that it will be hard to get anything of worth for him.