The Phoenix Suns have looked like a shell of last season's snarling selves to start the new season, and it makes you look back fondly at a time when Mikal Bridges was still on this roster. The franchise has to continue moving forward and trying to improve the roster around Devin Booker, and the potential availability of Dejounte Murray should intrigue, but would only lock the Suns into the path they are currently trudging down.
Murray for Jalen Green straight up only way Suns should be interested
The Pelicans have started the season 0-4, which has already created speculation that everybody from Trey Murphy III to Herb Jones could be available, as they reportedly have been in the past. There is no reason Murray would not also be on that list, and the Suns, on paper, look like one of the best fits in the league for the 30-year-old. He is a clear talent improvement in the backcourt with Booker, while he's on the same timeline as the franchise cornerstone.
If the Suns could swap Jalen Green straight up for Murray, then perhaps they should consider picking up the phone. Murray has a player option at around $30 million in what will be the final year of his current contract next season, while Green has a player option at $36 million. Green hasn't even been particularly bad to start the campaign; the whole roster is to blame for the lack of defensive effort.
But the fit with Booker remains clunky, while Head Coach Jordan Ott does not appear prepared to bring Green off the bench at this point either. That looks like the best use of his quick scoring bursts, although inserting Collin Gillespie into the starting five alongside Booker wouldn't fix all of the Suns' problems if that did happen.
Similarly, if Murray did make his way to Phoenix, although he is a clear defensive upgrade over Green and is an actual point guard for Booker to be paired with, it keeps this Suns locked in with this core. Murray doesn't spread the court (career 33.8 percent 3-point shooter), while the rebounding woes that have cropped up as a result of starting Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges wouldn't vanish either.
Suns would likely have to attach something else to land Murray
The real sticking point is why the Pelicans would want Green to join their own misfit group of players. They would surely want a first-round pick for Murray, and that's steep. Given how badly the Bridges trade is being received, surrendering another pick would be disastrous.
Even adding Ryan Dunn or Koa Peat to any package would be a risk; not that either has Toumani Camara potential. But this feels like a panic move to appease a fan base restless with the lack of a high-level floor general and to continue to show Booker that they are serious about winning. This feels like the Miles Bridges trade all over again, which would ultimately plunge the Suns deeper into crisis.
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