3 Phoenix Suns players whose trade value improved in 2023

The Phoenix Suns have had a wild offseason. So much so that they are now a completely new roster than the one that exited the playoffs last year at the hands of the Denver Nugget, although they were the only team to take two wins off the eventual champions.

Bradley Beal is now on this roster and ready to contribute, and there is no telling what a full season from Kevin Durant can bring. Even center Deandre Ayton, long talked about as a possible trade candidate, is looking trim and engaged playing for the Bahamas in FIBA competition.

This makes ranking three players who improved their trade value on the team hard, because outside of the top end talent, everybody else is a new face.

That doesn’t mean we can’t attempt this however, while expanding the parameters to include players who improved their stock elsewhere last season — and in doing so convinced the Suns that they were worth signing. With eight players playing on minimum deals as well, it would be fair to say most some these guys didn’t get the financial rewards their play warranted.

A chance to change that comes in the form of helping this organization to win a first championship, and the Suns will need these players to build upon last season if they want to win it all.

3. Damion Lee

Despite being 30-years-old, it feels like Lee is finding himself now with the Suns. It only took six seasons in the league, four of which were spent with the Golden State Warriors, but Lee was exactly the kind of player the Suns needed last season, and will be again this year.

He came off the bench in 74 games (five starts), and put up 8.2 points and three rebounds per game. While that doesn’t seem like much, shooting 90.4 percent from the free-throw line and 44.5 percent from deep (career high) on 3.3 attempts per night, is much more like it.

In the postseason, Lee saw his minutes dip from 20.4 to 11.1, where he played in eight games. That is not a problem though, because the hope here is that Lee can contribute much more during the regular season, then he ultimately will once the playoffs begin.

It is not like Lee had the best year of his career statistically last season (although he wasn’t too far off it), although that is not the object of this exercise. He has improved his stock within the franchise, because they know they can count on him in spot minutes, and he is comfortable in his role. That translates to other teams also realizing Lee could do a job for them as well.

2. Bol Bol

Is there a more polarizing figure in the entire NBA than Bol Bol? Depending on who you talk to, Bol is either going to be the answer to all of the Suns’ regular season problems, or else he is going to be out of the rotation by December.

Even if the answer is more likely to be the latter, there is no doubt that he improved his trade value last season with the Orlando Magic. Which is also puzzling, because they had no problem sitting him down the stretch of the regular season as they chased the play-in tournament, and also waived him without any fuss either.

When the Magic were in need of a player to step up when their roster was decimated through injury, Bol answered the call. Offensively he did a bit of everything, from bringing the ball up the floor, having better passing ability than he gets credit for, and being able to knock down a 3-pointer.

The hope for the Suns here is that they can drastically reduce his role, and watch him excel in small bursts. They can afford to take a chance on him early in the regular season, because the payoff has the potential to be so big. Defensively he is going to be awful, but the hope is that the Suns have brought in enough defensive-minded players to survive the Bol minutes on that end.

No matter what you think of Bol though, for one of the true contenders in the league to take a chance on his talent shows a definite improvement in his trade value. The way the Magic cut him, especially as a young, up-and-coming group, is concerning. But having been an afterthought while with the Nuggets — to then rebuilding his stock with the Magic — is an upward trajectory.

1. Devin Booker

Could there be anybody else? Devin Booker is already one of the 15 best players in the league, and would place similarly in any list done on trade value. But after the postseason he just had, you can now make a case that he has entered the top six or seven of both discussions.

Booker was sensational in the playoffs, as he clearly took another leap forward. It wasn’t clear if this was possible given how good he already was, but at this point, it is completely reasonable to expect him to challenge for the MVP award next season.

In 11 playoff games last year, he averaged a league best 33.7 points per game, and shot an insane 50.8 percent from 3-point range on 5.5 attempts per night. To do this against the Nuggets and L.A. Clippers, when both were planning heavily for Booker’s offensive influence, is fantastic.

With last season in the books and a finals appearance in 2021, there is now no reason why Booker can’t be the best player on a team that wins it all. Even with Durant along for the ride, this is Booker’s team. The final step in his growth from young star, to learning from Chris Paul, to leading a group featuring Durant and Beal.

The list of players you would trade Booker straight up for is tiny. At only 26-years-old, he hasn’t even entered his prime yet. He is right there with Jayson Tatum, and has surpassed the brilliant Jamal Murray. In 2023 he once again improved his trade value, and in doing so went to a place that only a select few in the NBA have reached.