The Phoenix Suns become instant championship favourites
The Suns do give up depth in this trade, but they add one of the best scorers of all time and another whose shown the capacity to average 18-20 points per game. Let’s revisit the Suns part of the deal, with a mammoth seven players involved.
"Phoenix Receive: Kevin Durant and Bojan Bogdanovic Phoenix Lose: Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Landry Shamet, Dario Saric, Cameron Payne, four first-round picks"
This is a superstar league – to get Durant without giving up any of their top three players would be a massive win for the Suns. To get Bogdanovic, another starting calibre player, is simply a steal alongside the two-time Finals MVP.
Phoenix finished fifth in offensive rating during the regular season, combining with a third ranked defense to finish with a league best record 64-18.
Adding Durant and Bogdanovic might give the Suns the best offensive starting lineup of all-time, even surpassing that of the Golden State Warriors across the three seasons Durant was in The Bay.
The two would partner with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to provide four players capable of producing at least 20-25 points on a nightly basis. Who else would you want facilitating the quartet than perhaps the best passing point-guard of all-time, Chris Paul?
While losing Bridges and Crowder would likely prove a stepback defensively, it would matter little with the offensive firepower the new lineup would possess.
This deal also allows the Suns to keep Cameron Johnson as one of the league’s premier sixth men, although the franchise would need to make some additional moves to replenish their depth.