The offer
It’s going to take a whole lot to even get Daryl Morey on the phone for a legitimate conversation about any of the key players on his roster, let alone James Harden.
His problem though in breaking up the tandem and trying to sneak as much back as possible is the two star’s age differences: Chris Paul is already 34-years-old (with a ridiculous $124+ million over three years on his deal), whereas James Harden will play the 2018-19 season at 30 (although with $169.344 on his deal over the next four years).
While Harden will be paid more over the life of the deal, a team will not only get a younger superstar, but get that superstar for longer.
Literally every team will look at the two and question whether they eventually want a 37-year-old Paul or a 34-year-old Harden.
The answer is clear.
Which is why the Suns should offer to trade for James Harden.
If the Rockets reach a point where they cannot enter next season with the two players together on the same roster, they are definitely going to want substantial talent in return. In return, Morey will undoubtedly demand an All-Star, young players, picks, etc.
Basically he’ll ask for the Moon and see who flinches.
The Phoenix Suns can do that; within reason.
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While they do not have an All-Star on their roster, they do have Devin Booker.
Booker and Chris Paul would be a fantastic duo, probably similar to the one of Paul and Harden.
The issue with that is: there is no way that James Jones is going to want to lose eight years on his star player as Book is only 22.
Phoenix could offer Ayton, but there is no way that that is either enough, nor is he the kind of player that would excel most in Mike D’Antoni’s offense.
So while the Suns cannot offer quality, per se, they can offer quantity, in that they can basically offer everything else they have – and boy can they make a large offer in that sense.
James Jones could offer a massive package which in a way similar to what Mike Ditka’s 1999 eight-for-one trade for running back Ricky Williams.
The Phoenix Suns could offer: T.J. Warren, Josh Jackson, Mikal Bridges, Tyler Johnson (for contractual purposes), number 6, number 32, Milwaukee’s 2020 first round pick, and a Suns 2021 first round pick.
Houston does not receive an All-Star in return, but they do get three young wing players, each of whom with Chris Paul on their side and in D’Antoni’s system will improve over their current statistics (the D’Antoni Effect is real), and four draft picks including three firsts.
Hey, look at that: eight-for-one.
The Godfather of all Godfather trades.
When you consider that the Rockets gave up Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, two firsts and one second to acquire Harden, they are getting back much more than they had initially traded away.
The Phoenix Suns, on the other hand, get a superstar to pair up with Booker and Ayton, and will arguably shoot from worst in the Western Conference, all the way to first, in one offseason.