The Phoenix Suns should stand pat at the trade deadline

With an early trade deadline on February 7th, time is running out for the Phoenix Suns to make a trade. However, after already making one trade this season it might be best for them to sit out the deadline frenzy this year.

In many ways the Phoenix Suns are in the same position as they were last year as the trade deadline approached. They have a strong grasp on 15th place in the Western Conference and nothing close to a real starting point guard. Last year, they decided to make a small investment in Elfrid Payton that proved to not work out. This year though, they would be better served to sit out completely.

The Suns are already playing pretty much the youngest roster in the NBA and have no chance of making the playoffs so the rest of the year should be dedicated to development. The only trade that should be made is a swap of young assets between teams. However, with over two-thirds of the league competing for the playoffs, it will be hard to add a quality young asset without giving up one of their own.

This is also the time when the Suns would be looking at trading in some of their big trade assets to try to acquire a “star” type player like Mike Conley. The biggest problem with this is the availability and quantity of players of that quality. Why limit yourself to Conley now when you could potentially go after someone like Jrue Holiday in the off-season? Also, the Suns can afford to be patient because the rest of this season is already lost.

In the summer, more teams will be willing and able to trade bigger parts of their team that the Phoenix Suns might be interested in. Along with the fact that it will go from no teams having cap space to nearly every team having some flexibility. Given that the Suns have a high pick, the hype around players in the draft, particularly Zion Williamson, will only continue to grow and increase the value of the Suns’ best trade piece.

Obviously if a team comes calling offering a young power forward or point guard for cheap the Suns would be silly to not pursue it. There is also the possibility of being a third team that makes money work in a deal in exchange for an extra draft pick, something that is unlikely but could still work for Phoenix.

Given how the Suns team is set up now, and the situation around the league it would prove to be difficult to move any of the Suns main 8-10 rotation players in any meaningful way. Without a desirable veteran player on the Suns roster, there might not be any impact players even on the trade block come February 7th. This would limit their options even more. All of this plus the Suns record it makes the most sense for them to have a quiet trade deadline and get ready to make big moves in the summer.