The Phoenix Suns should target Andre Drummond
By Adam Maynes
The Trade
If the rumor that the Pistons are willing to accept an expiring contract and protected first round pick (as was rumored to have been the deal considered with the Atlanta Hawks), then the Phoenix Suns would easily have the package necessary to pull off a similar deal with Tyler Johnson and Baynes as the necessary contracts, while making the pick top-10 protected for now, and top-5 protected next year.
By not losing a single, major piece of the roster, the addition of Drummond instantly makes the Phoenix Suns a better team, the kind of improvement that could actually slip the team into the 8th seed of the Western Conference Playoffs this season, with the bottom-half of the West so tightly packed together.
Monty Williams has been bringing Ayton off the bench recently, and while the kind of demotion is depressing from the perspective that the second-year player was the first overall pick and you would hope that he would have developed a little bit quicker to demand his position as the starting center, by bringing him of the bench behind Drummond – the front court nevertheless has become much better.
The Pistons get the cap space that they want, and the draft pick that they covet.
Phoenix will be forced to make it less protected than probably desired, however it is going to be necessary to guarantee that the offer is the strongest that the Pistons will receive.
Aside from the Atlanta Hawks, rumor has it that the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, and Toronto Raptors are all interested in acquiring him.
Phoenix is potentially the worst of the bunch, and is likely to remain so, at least in regards to where they will be selecting in the draft this summer, even with a potential acquisition of the center.