The Phoenix Suns need to trade for Kristaps Porzingis
The first thing the Suns should do is trade for Kristaps Porzingis. He is dripping with talent even despite his up and down injury history and remains relatively young at just 26-years-old.
Through 26 games this year, he finds himself averaging 20.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. The ability to slide from power forward to center could be huge for the Suns down the road as well to give guys like Ayton and Crowder some rest.
At this point, the Mavericks are far and away from being a contender even with one of the best players in the game in Luka Doncic. They should be looking to move on from Porzingis to gain picks, younger players, or salary dumps.
The Suns currently sit with the fifth most space available and in moving some of their larger contracts by attaching them to picks in the trade, they should be able to take on Porzingis’s deal. His contract is at $31.6 million this year and $33.8 million the next, but a player option follows after.
This move could not only win Phoenix a title, but in the offseason, they could flip Porzingis back for picks in this upcoming draft, which seems to have quite a lot of depth, and find an eventual successor for Chris Paul.
Having the ability to take some pressure off the frontcourt and get a guy who can win a game by himself is insurance in multiple ways. If Ayton or Crowder go down, they can also use Porzingis to take time away from them so they can be fresh in the playoffs.
It is rare to go out at the deadline and get an All-Star, but if the Suns want to compete with a healthy Warriors and the upstart Grizz, they cannot go at it with their current roster as it stands.