3 players from the NBA Finals who could be realistic targets for the Suns next year

With the NBA Finals now set, all the Phoenix Suns can do is lie in wait and plot their next assault on the Larry O’Brien trophy. The manner of their six game series defeat to the Denver Nuggets continuing to look more bearable when you consider just how good the Nuggets look heading into the finals.

They are the best team in the league, while the Miami Heat have defied the odds with a ragtag bunch of players all postseason. The Suns would do well to take a page out of the now famous book of the Heat, and try and convert some second round draft picks or undrafted players into key rotation pieces in future.

That is not the only way the Suns can look to improve ahead of next season, and in actual fact there are three players who are part of the finals who the team should look at acquiring this summer.

None of them are superstars, and two of them likely won’t see any court time at all during the showpiece event. Unless they are playing some garbage time minutes. But that is the position the Suns find themselves in right now. With four players making over $30 million next season (for now at least), the organization are going to have to get cute with how they improve their roster.

Thankfully for the team, some of their own players got better during the course of the year, meaning they can either step into a bigger role next season, or perhaps be used in trades with teams like the Nuggets and Heat to make their roster better. Just because roster flexibility is tough right now, it doesn’t mean the front office can’t get creative in how they improve.

Which is why the following three players should be considered in the context of where the Suns are at right now. Their depth issues are obvious, and they have several backup positions that need to be filled urgently. Think about these players not as the guys who will have the ball in their hands next May, but rather who could competently play 20 minutes in Charlotte in December.

3 players from NBA Finals who could be realistic targets for Suns next year.

3. Thomas Bryant

Big man Thomas Bryant has barely gotten a look in since the Nuggets acquired him from the Los Angeles Lakers back in February. This makes sense, when you consider he is vying for minutes with the best player in the world right now in Nikola Jokic, a two-time league MVP.

Bryant is yet to play at all for the Nuggets during their run to the finals, and he also has DeAndre Jordan on the bench trying to find any time at all that he can on the court. Why then would the Suns be interested in a player who can’t get a look in with the Western Conference champions? Timing and location are everything in the NBA.

Current Suns starter DeAndre Ayton looks set to continue as the man in the paint next season, unless there is some unforeseen move coming this summer. This season he was backed up by Bismack Biyombo, and the impressive Jock Landale. In an ideal world, Landale would come back as the number two for next season on a cheap contract, while Biyombo would be let go.

Landale is also a restricted free agent this summer, so the ball is firmly in the court of the Suns. But Bryant is still only 25-years-old and has averaged over 10 points and five rebounds throughout his career. Landale certainly had his postseason moment, against the Nuggets in the final game of the season with Ayton out injured. He also comes across as an excellent teammate.

On that occasion he had 13 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes of acton, but he has played less games (123) than Bryant has started (134) in the league. The queue to acquire Bryant, who himself is an unrestricted free agent, is not going to be long this summer. But this is a player who only a few years ago was putting up 14 and six a night as a starter for the Washington Wizards.

If the Suns want to remain competent defensively, and not change their scheme up too much when Ayton is on the bench, or worse yet injured, Bryant looks like the ideal player to go after to have as the backup. He would bring the best of both worlds of Biyombo and Landale. A hard worker who doesn’t need a lot of touches and rim runs diligently on a team-friendly deal.

3 players from NBA Finals who could be realistic targets for Suns next year.

2. Christian Braun

Continuing the trend of Nuggets players who have not been a big part of their postseason success, and rookie Christian Braun falls into that category. Unlike Bryant however, Christian Braun has played 14 times so far in the playoffs, playing just shy of 12 minutes per game on each occasion.

It is clear head coach Mike Malone trusts Braun to come in and make a couple of shots, before departing again for the rest of the game. Equally as clear though is the fact Braun right now is not a good defender, who is easily outmuscled and brushed aside when bigger players are making moves to the basket.

It is unclear what the Nuggets have in mind with Braun, but the Suns should pick up the phone and test their willingness to hold onto him. The Nuggets are going to be contenders for the next half decade, and that is not the kind of place for a young player to try and make a name for themselves.

The Suns are also in contention, but don’t have the loaded roster the Nuggets do to try and get over the hump. So the idea of adding a player on a rookie deal would appeal to the front office when trying to make the money work. In terms of on court production, Braun would be an excellent spot up shooter next to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

There can be no better feeling than playing with Jokic and knowing that he will always find you if you’re open. But sharing the court with Booker and Durant, who demand so much attention from opponents, wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. Braun shot 35.4 percent from deep during the regular season, although he took less than two attempts per night.

The Suns have Terrence Ross, T.J. Warren and Torrey Craig coming off the books this summer. Landry Shamet is under contract for three more years, and although he had some moments during the postseason, the Suns would move the remaining $33 million or so they owe him if they could. Braun would be a cheap player to add to their rotation who looks like he will only get better.

3 players from NBA Finals who could be realistic targets for Suns next year.

1. Gabe Vincent

We’re entering the realm of dreams here, but why not see what is possible? Gabe Vincent has been one of the standout players for the Heat on their run to the finals. He went undrafted in 2018, and since then has worked tireless to put himself in the position that he finds himself in now.

In a seven game thriller against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, Vincent put up 15.8 points per game while shooting a ridiculous 51.6 percent from deep on over five attempts per game. It speaks volumes that in the one game he missed in that series because of a sprained ankle, that his loss was telling from the jump.

Vincent is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and you can bet the Heat are going to send a lot of money his way to keep him. This is something the Suns cannot do, but would the Heat be interested in Chris Paul in a sign-and-trade deal? You would think not, although 37-year-old Kyle Lowry may not be there next year.

It is clear that an ageing point guard can thrive with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, head coach Eric Spoelstra and the often talked about “Heat Culture”. Paul may have fallen off during the regular season, but he’s still a better player than Lowry and if a team had to choose between the two, Paul would come out on top.

Again, the Heat aren’t likely to want Paul and financially the Suns are in no position to do this. The Heat wouldn’t even want Ayton as a result of having Adebayo on the roster. But the Suns are going to make moves this summer, and if Ayton was traded for depth and Paul was moved to get his mammoth contract off the books, who knows what can happen?

Vincent would be an ideal scrappy guard next to the superstars already who would defend at a high level and could put up 15 points per game. His ascension in the league has been nothing short of remarkable, and he has gotten a wealth of postseason experience this year. He would be an incredible backup, but is overqualified. Vincent would also be an excellent starter for this group.