Many fans might not like the idea of it, but the Phoenix Suns should consider trading the popular Kelly Oubre. Here are some options.
The pre-bubble Phoenix Suns were ranked 15th in offense and 22nd in defense. After eight undefeated games in the bubble, the Suns’ season average jumped up to 10th in offense and 20th in defense.
Again, the Suns went 8-0 without Kelly Oubre, who will become a free agent at the end of next season. The bubble play of Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, and the rest of the squad shows us that the time to get something for Oubre should be now.
Based on last July’s NBA free agency, Oubre’s next contract will pay him between $20 to $22 million per season for four years. Next season Cam and Mikal will make $8.6 million combined! This 10-year long rebuilding “plan” is nearing its end thanks to James Jones, and it now begs the question, while having Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges, should the Suns spend $80+ million (over 4 years) for Oubre or should they improve the team in other areas of need by trading him?
Kelly Oubre is a solid player, but he has deficiencies that hurt the team. Most notably, he’s not as great of a defensive player as advertised.
In the NBA plus/minus category defensively, Oubre ranks 95th at his position, whereas Bridges comes in at 14th.
On offense, Oubre has tunnel vision on his contested drives or 3-point shots and he doesn’t kick it to an open player which goes against Coach Monty Williams’ system.
Once decisions are made on the Suns’ roster, I project the Suns will have at least $26 million in cap space to fill five spots. If you look at the above season stats, you will see that the greatest area of need right now for the Suns is a 3-and-D power forward, and another shooter in the backcourt to pair with Devin Booker.
There are only a few players that make trading Kelly Oubre a good option. If those trades don’t happen, look for the Suns to wait until the trade deadline to move him and still get something in return.
So what options do the Phoenix Suns have? I feel they have three:
The Phoenix Suns could trade Kelly Oubre for a higher pick in the draft
The Phoenix Suns could trade Kelly Oubre to move up in the draft. Even though there are a couple of players who would be worth bringing in for the long term, this is a very week class compared to most seasons. The players worth bringing in are in the top two or three.
The Suns could send Oubre and the #10 pick to the hated Golden State Warriors for the #2 pick or to the Timberwolves for their #1 pick. Both teams have good reasons to do this, but ultimately, I admit, this is a low ball offer for that I would not attempt to improve upon to get it done. Most any draft pick later than three isn’t worth moving Kelly Oubre.
So, draft improvement is one option, but what else is out there? Let’s move to the sign and trade options, as free agency starts three days after the draft.
Phoenix Suns sign-and-trade option for Fred VanVleet
In typical fashion, the Phoenix Suns will have to overpay if they want to get better free agents, but this year is different in that they have the pieces to trade. They will need to entice a team to help recruit one of their player(s) to accept a trade to the Suns. One team that fits this goal, the Toronto Raptors.
Going forward, the Raptors have a problem as three of their starters are free agents after the bubble: Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Fred VanVleet are going to look for bigger paydays this off-season than the Raptors can afford.
The Raptors are paying $30.5M next season for Kyle Lowry and $28.75M to Pascal Siakam. Logically, that allows them to sign one, maybe two of those three players, and still be able to fill out the rest of their roster.
The Phoenix Suns could trade Kelly Oubre and Elie Okobo to the Toronto Raptors for a sign and trade deal for combo-guard, Fred VanVleet. For the regular-season, VanVleet averaged 17.6 pts and 6.6 assists per game and 39 percent from 3-point range.
In addition, VanVleet was third in the league in steals and 30 more steals than Kelly Oubre. VanVleet’s free-agent contract will be in the same range as Malcolm Brogdan who signed with the Pacers last summer for 4 years, $21.25 million.
A rotation of Devin Booker, Fred VanVleet, and Ricky Rubio would be an elite backcourt and would allow the Suns to trade Rubio next offseason or just cover them if/when Book or Rubio get hurt at any time.
Phoenix Suns sign-and-trade option for Serge Ibaka
The second sign-and-trade option I feel would work for the Suns is sending Kelly Oubre and Frank Kaminsky to the Raptors for power forward/center Serge Ibaka, who will be 31 years old next season.
This season Ibaka averaged 15.4 points and 8.2 rebounds and shot 38.5 percent from three. With a three-year (team option third) at $15 million per year, with his defense, he would take the forward position to the next level for this Suns team and would be an excellent backup center.
A rotation of Ayton, Ibaka, Cam, and Bridges would be more than a solid rotation that would give the Suns the defense they need so badly. Don’t forget that with these deals, the Suns would still have $20 million to $26 million to upgrade their positions and depth.
As for Toronto, they are getting a high quality starting small forward in Oubre which they have not had on their roster since Kawhi Leonard left for the Clippers.
If the Suns can’t a deal for Oubre, it’s okay. They will still have a solid player, a fan favorite, and a really fun team to watch next season.