7 season-defining questions for the Phoenix Suns to answer
By Luke Duffy
2. Will they make any other trades?
It seems hard to fathom in this moment, but the Suns will still be players ahead of the trade deadline. Any more they make this season is going to be around the fringes, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try and see if they can gain any small advantage ahead of the playoffs. If they can, they will.
As optimistic as everybody is about the likes of Gordon, Bates-Diop and Watanabe, there is no guarantee all three will work out the way the organization needs them to. So it could be that an opportunity comes up to trade for another player on a minimum or expiring contract throughout the year, in hopes they can give the Suns more.
It’s gonna be interesting to see who the Suns inevitably trade Bradley Beal for. He’s a great scorer and guard so people assume Phoenix will keep him. If they don’t win the title this year, I predict they flip him for lots of other role players and some draft compensation
— Michael Redd (@trytodebate) October 15, 2023
Less exciting, but no less important, is the opportunity to recoup some future draft picks. This is not likely to be a first round pick, and more likely some seconds that are always available and can be gotten on the cheap. The focus may be entirely on the present, but the front office would be wise to collect some picks to use in the future, no matter how late in the draft they are.
It doesn’t hurt right now, but the Suns did draft a player in the second round in Toumani Camara this summer who was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the Ayton deal. He has looked lively for them, having also been impressive for the Suns during Summer League play. Hardly a guarantee he’ll pop, but if he turns into anything, the Suns need to draft well again in future.