3 Minimum contracts the Suns should try to trade for this season

The Phoenix Suns have looked like a borderline cotender at times this season, but that has only happened when they've been fully healthy. That 8-1 start is hard to shake though - even after the subsequent skid down the Western Conference that followed - and it is why the organization should now look to be active in the trade market.

A slew of deals are going to become available to move later this month, including the likes of Josh Okogie, Royce O'Neale and even Bol Bol for the Suns. Not that the team has interest in moving any of these guys - or that there's a market out there for them - but it does mean they can at least enter conversations to try and improve their roster.

They're going to have to trade for minimum players to do so.

As Jake Fischer outlined in his latest piece, teams like the Suns who are in the second apron are going to have to hit that minimum market hard to try and improve their roster around the fringes. Right now moving a key rotation player like O'Neale or Grayson Allen makes no sense - as although they give them access to different players via trade - both are integral to what they're doing.

Being in the second apron isn't the awful predicament you might think either, and there are avenues to improvement here. It will involve the front office targeting individuals who are undervalued or else can't get a look in elsewhere, effectively turning the end of their own bench into a rotation piece in time for the playoffs. These targets make a ton of sense to go after.

3. Luka Garza

Perhaps an underwhelming place to start, but you have to remember how difficult it is going to be for the Suns to get something of real value back in a minimum contract. There's a reason adding point guard Tyus Jones for next to no money was the steal of the summer, and that's because it does not happen often.

Luka Garza of the Minnesota Timberwolves might evoke horrible memories of Drew Eubanks last season - and although there might be some similarities - Garza could have a much better impact offensively. He's taller than Eubanks - although not as physical - and is now buried on the bench in Minnesota behind Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Julius Randle.

Which is why it wouldn't take a lot to pry him away from the Timberwolves, and really any option the Suns can have that isn't Jusuf Nurkic is a positive one. Imagine Garza playing alongside Mason Plumlee, or backing up Oso Ighodaro for stretches of a game. Best of all, he's capable of making a couple of 3-pointers.

That's clearly the direction head coach Mike Budenholzer wants to go with all his bigs, and Garza fits the bill. For those who say this could be a disaster defensively, you're right. But although Nurkic does use his bigger frame against certain opponents in the paint, remind us again how last season finished with Nurkic manning the middle? Definitely worth a look.

2. Caleb Houstan

Having fun yet? Caleb Houstan is not a household name, and even hardcore fans of the league who have witnessed the rise of the Orlando Magic will know he plays less than five minutes each night, if he even gets on the court at all. Which is why the Suns should target him, because he'd cost very little to get to Phoenix.

The Magic have their core set for the future, and Houstan is not part of their plans. Neither is Cole Anthony - and while he'd be an intriguing option to pursue - it is too difficult financially to make happen. Houstan can occupy a forward spot, and last season shot 37.3 percent from deep at only 21-years-old.

That would be the other main reason to see if a deal can happen. Although the Suns need veterans to go on a deep run, they currently have plenty. Whereas rookies Ighodaro and Ryan Dunn have brought a real spark to the rotation during the regular season. Perhaps Houstan could do the same, although it is hard to see how he'd help during the playoffs.

Despite this, buying low on a guy like Houstan could pay off down the road. He has a team option for one more year on his current contract, and if this went badly the team could cut him loose to free up a roster spot. Alternatively they could bring him back on more money - as they did with Okogie - and bet that he'll improve and attract trade interest down the road.

1. Duop Reath

It says a lot that center Duop Reath should be the Suns' main trade target in the coming weeks, but there's reason to believe he could actually help this group. He's not playing much either behind former Sun Denadre Ayton, Donovan Clingan and even Robert Williams III, seeing about as much time on the court as Houstan in Orlando.

Reath is a physical presence inside though - and although smaller than both Plumlee and Nurkic - he most certainly does not shy away from the physical aspect of the game. Last season he took over three attempts from beyond the arc per game - and although that's because he was given the green light on a rebuilding team - he did connect on 35.9 percent of them.

He's taking just over one attempt this season, but that's because his minutes have been cut dramatically on the 17.9 of a year ago. Of all the players in the league who the Suns can realistically acquire, Reath looks the perfect candidate to buy low on, with the returns potentially massive. It is not impossible to see Reath getting postseason minutes if he were playing in The Valley.

The Trail Blazers and Suns only engaged with each other recently on the Ayton for Nurkic/Allen deal, so the lines of communication should be friendly. Both teams getting off the big man that they wanted to, but getting one in return that brought their own problems. Reath for half a campaign of the "Bol-ercoaster" could actually work, as Bol is tons of fun on a team that is rebuilding.