Valley of the Suns
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Phoenix Suns 2018 offseason plans Part 2: Trades

By Adam Maynes

PHOENIX, AZ - FEBRUARY 24: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 24, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ - FEBRUARY 24: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 24, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Drafting a superstar this June could make the Phoenix Suns contenders for many years to come. But making the right trade (or series of trades) can make them contenders immediately.

PHOENIX, AZ – FEBRUARY 24: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 24, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ – FEBRUARY 24: Brandon Knight #11 of the Phoenix Suns warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 24, 2018 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Phoenix Suns currently have one of the youngest rosters in the history of the NBA. Built almost entirely through the draft, Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough has amassed a core of players with a combined age younger than that of your grandfather, with a number of first round picks coming to him in the near future to help further bolster the core with youth.

But young players cannot win in the NBA by themselves. Sure, they can grow together and form a core that thinks almost cybernetically, but until they reach a level of athletic and intellectual maturation that can allow them to compete with the accomplished seasoned veterans of old, they will struggle to find their footing in a league built on stars, but won by veterans who know how to play the game right.

Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns /

Phoenix Suns

To pull off such a feat sooner rather than later, the roster needs to go through a change, potentially one of dramatic proportions. Those young players who survive may then be placed into a situation where they can both learn how to and start to win without going through the long slog that is the aging process, instead develop while surrounded by talent that can help teach the young players the ways of winning, while using their own skills to help cover up for the young player’s deficiencies.

With two veterans on expiring contracts who could help currently championship-contending teams get over the hump available to move, a veteran point guard with two years remaining and coming off of injury, two young, budding stars on very friendly contracts, and multiple future draft picks (many of which could end up being lottery selections), McDonough has plenty of pieces to use in his arsenal to help facilitate some moves. How many trades he makes and how impactful those trades are will be part of the puzzle that may build a competitive team right away.

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