3 Phoenix Suns players whose trade value increased in 2023

Although the Phoenix Suns fell short of expectations this season, that does not mean the entire campaign was a disaster. This was the year when a new owner in Mat Ishbia took over, and immediately put his own stamp on the team by trading for Kevin Durant.

Having one of the best 20 players of all time in the building gave fans a massive boost, even if Durant himself had very little time to settle in his new home. This showed once the playoffs began, with the player looking too passive at times and deferring to Devin Booker when he should have been more aggressive in looking for his own shot.

This was to be expected, and although the trade value of Durant is a known commodity, there were others on the roster who improved their own value.

Playing with Durant, Booker, Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton seems like an enviable place to be, but it is not as simple as filling in the blanks around superstar teammates. The reality of the situation is sacrificing a ton of touches and shots, in favor of working hard and covering the few deficiencies these players have.

To that end several guys succeeded, and in doing so gave the Suns the opportunity to potentially trade them this summer if the right deal comes about. This is now a rotation that is lacking in depth, and although the draft may be able to cover up some holes, a single second round pick can only do so much.

Throw in the fact the team will have a new head coach very soon, and there is no telling what direction the roster will be taken in. It is a blessing then, that some players stepped up to the challenge in 2023, and the hope is that they will either be back next year to help the Suns win it all, or else be traded for the missing pieces to a championship puzzle.

3 Phoenix Suns players whose trade value increased in 2023.

3. Devin Booker

We will get the obvious out of the way early, but Booker was phenomenal in the postseason. Before getting stopped by the Denver Nuggets in six, he was having the kind of run that has ended in a parade for other players in the past. It wasn’t just that Booker averaged over 33 points per game throughout.

He did whatever the team needed him to, and he caught fire most nights to help the Suns beat the L.A. Clippers in five, before hanging around with the Nuggets longer than anybody else in the Western Conference could manage. Those 47 and 45 point nigghts versus the Clippers were special.

https://twitter.com/KEVlNGARNETT/status/1661249899894300672

Booker would repeat this trick, pouring 47 and then 36 in back-to-back wins to help his side out of a 2-0 hole versus the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is that good, and right now it is looking like his year. But to write off what Booker did would be ridiculous, and despite seemingly being around forever, he is still somehow only 26-years-old.

He is a top 10 player in the league who the Suns wouldn’t trade, so why is he here? Well, Booker is now so good and has reached yet another level that it would not be ridiculous for him to headline a trade for any other player in the league. Not that Suns fans want that to happen, but even if he isn’t going to be traded anytime soon, his value still increased.

Let’s say Giannis Antetokounmpo decides he wants out of the Milwaukee Bucks. Booker straight up is now a place to start the conversation, and that has not always been the case. Put another way and the front office likely wouldn’t trade him for Joel Embiid. You know, the guy who just won the MVP award this year.

Booker is special, and we are about to embark on his prime years. He’s not for sale at any price, but the price still went up a notch off the back of his playoff performances this season. He is the perfect player to have next to Durant, offensively at least, and his value is most certainly as high as it has ever been.

3 Phoenix Suns players whose trade value increased in 2023.

2. Landry Shamet

Hard as it is to believe, Landry Shamet is even younger than Booker, at 25-years-old. That in itself is encouraging, because he had his moment during the postseason with the Suns, and there is no reason to think he won’t be able to do that again in future.

Shamet’s increase in value is twofold however, and it goes beyond his modest on court productivity. He certainly has deficiencies on the defensive end, and is more a player who can excel in the right matchup. During the slog of a regular season, he is going to go through peaks and valleys, but is always capable of popping up and pouring in 20 points on any given night.

What Shamet does have is a ton of confidence, and a willingness to move without the ball and spot up in the corner. These are skills that mesh well with the likes of Durant and Booker, but which are also coveted throughout the league. In that game four win over the Nuggets to even the series, Shamet had 19 points and shot over 60 percent from deep.

He still has three years left on his deal, but the final year is a team option, and he will never make more than $12 million in a season. In other words it is the kind of contract that can be moved relatively easily, and so Shamet’s value increased not only because the Suns know they can count on him to hit big shots in the playoffs. But he also gives them some much needed roster flexibility.

Shamet has never averaged more than nine points in his time with the Suns, but he has made over 40 percent of his shots from deep while with the team. With Durant now along for the ride, the strengths of Shamet are going to be highlighted on more nights, and if this leads to more points scored or an increase in trade value to the point he is traded, both are positive outcomes.

3 Phoenix Suns players whose trade value increased in 2023.

1. Jock Landale

If this was a popularity contest, center Jock Landale may just win this in a landslide. He quickly became a cult hero with the Suns, and had his moment in the postseason which cemented his place on this list.

That game coming in the final outing of the season for the franchise, as they were felled by the Nuggets. Landale started that game in place of the injured Ayton, and had 13 points and five rebounds in over 30 minutes of action. Over double the amount of court time he saw each night during the regular season.

Landale finally supplanted Bismack Biyombo as the backup big man, and in doing so he presented a troubling question for the organization to try to answer in the coming months. Landale is restricted free agent, and the Suns would be wise to ditch Biyombo altogether and have the Australian come back as their backup.

That in itself is proof of his value increasing, but the series against the Nuggets also brought up the uncomfortable reality that perhaps Landale was better than Ayton in certain situations. To be clear, Ayton is much the better player. But Landale has the kind of no nonsense, diligent rim-running attitude that works so well with star players like Durant and Booker.

Ayton rightly wants touches and to be able to take shots, and he will also make over $30 million a season for the next three years with a figure that will continue to rise. If you are able to get a player who is much cheaper and who is happy to defer to others, while also providing a level of hard work and defensive play that helps the team, then you go in that direction.

The reality however is that Landale will only ever work for the Suns as somebody who plays hard for 20-25 minutes. But given where he was to start the season, to be even having this conversation is a remarkable turnaround for a player who has certainly found a role for himself in the league. It is fortune that the Suns were the ones who benefitted.