Top-Five Plausible soon-to-be free agents the Phoenix Suns could target in trade
By Adam Maynes
Tristan Thompson
Tristan Thompson is the only player on this list who not only has playoff experience, but championship experience. While this doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot in terms of the Phoenix Suns becoming a championship contender this season (it wouldn’t), it does mean a lot to the likes of Booker and Ayton as they can pick his mind as to not only what the process was like getting all the way to the pinnacle, as well as working and playing with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving – the two players who truly did the heavy lifting in the Cavaliers winning their lone title.
On the court, Thompson is still a tremendously effective player, averaging a double-double for the second straight season – the only two times in his career.
Granted, he is a full-time starter with the Cavaliers (averaging 31.0 minutes per game – the first time he has averaged over 30 minutes per game since 2013-14), but like Derrick Favors, transitioning him to come off the bench behind Ayton will help solidify an otherwise terribly weak-in-terms-of-depth front court, making the second unit that much more formidable.
At only 28-years-old, Thompson still has plenty of prime left in his game, and as he is playing for another contract himself, his willingness to play hard and do whatever Monty Williams needs of him – potentially being a cog in the piece that helps to claw the Phoenix Suns into the playoffs – will play very well in his likely desire at a long-term contract elsewhere.
One plausible trade the Phoenix Suns could make with every team in the league. light. Trending
While none of these players guarantee a tipping of the scales into the direction of the playoffs for the Phoenix Suns, being that they are all in the final years of their current contracts, James Jones would be able to add depth with any of their acquisitions without potentially giving up too much.
The theory behind the acquisition of any of these five players too is the fact that none of them will be re-signed by Phoenix, so Jones retains his over $30 million dollars in cap space this offseason, continuing to provide him with the flexibility to make a truly splashy move (or moves) come this summer.