3 non-Kevin Durant trade targets for the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix Suns should target Josh Richardson

A relatively acquirable trade target, Josh Richardson would certainly improve the backup shooting guard or small forward position for the Phoenix Suns. Richardson remains a good defender at NBA level, racking up 1.3 steals per 75 possessions last season (ranking him in the 87th percentile).

On top of this, Richardson ranked in the 88th percentile in Basketball Index’s ‘off-ball chaser Defense’, measuring a player’s off-ball activity on the defensive end. Richardson also shot one of his highest marks from downtown, with the former Tennessee-man shooting 41.5% from three-point range on nearly four attempts per game.

Richardson has bounced around the league in recent times, but did re-discover some of his best from after being traded from the Boston Celtics to the San Antonio Spurs mid-season. He averaged 11.4 points on 44.4% three-point shooting in 21 games under Gregg Popovich.

With the Spurs seemingly committed to rebuilding in the wake of trading Dejounte Murray, acquiring the 28-year-old Richardson shouldn’t be a hard task should general manager James Jones set his sights on him.

Richardson has one-year and $12 million remaining on his contract, meaning the Suns should be able to aggregate salaries to match. However, even if a trade weren’t to be completed, Richardson may present as an ideal buyout candidate that the Suns could acquire for nothing asset wise.