Giannis rumors may just have sealed the Suns' trade deadline fate

You would think the Giannis Antetokounmpo drama ahead of the trade deadline would have nothing to do with the Phoenix Suns, but you would be wrong.

Although Giannis is obviously not heading to The Valley in a trade, the fact his future remains up in the air has the rest of the league on standby until the situation is resolved.

Suns won't get chance to be buyers until Giannis is traded

The thinking for Phoenix up until both Devin Booker and Jalen Green got injured was that they should stand pat with the group they have and push for the playoffs.

But there had been rumblings that the franchise were open to being buyers at the deadline, and being down their two best offensive players should only make them more aggressive.

But until Antetokounmpo actually moves on from the Milwaukee Bucks, all the Suns can do is speculate on who may become available.

There had been some talk that the Portland Trail Blazers might have interest in Mikal Bridges for example, and although he too won't be heading back to Phoenix anytime soon, that would then create more player movement.

If the New York Knicks knew they could get Giannis, they would move on from Bridges which in turn could lead to Jerami Grant being ditched by the Trail Blazers.

The eventual trickle down of all of this movement meaning the Suns could perhaps steal Keon Ellis, a player we think would do extremely well for them, or even Jonathan Kuminga.

The Golden State Warriors forward is currently sidelined with injury, although his own value had begun to creep up in the wake of Jimmy Butler's ACL tear.

But if the merry-go-round of player movement once Antetokounmpo is traded stops with Kuminga still stranded in San Francisco, perhaps the Suns could then get him for a steal.

Yet all of this remains speculation until the lead domino falls, which is why the Suns should be paying attention to what is going on in Milwaukee with real interest.

Remember General Manager Brian Gregory has had a wonderful start to life in the position, and should feel confident about entering into any trade negotiations.

But none of this is possible until the Bucks trade Giannis, and the Suns can then swoop in to try and find value as they look to improve their roster around the fringes ahead of a postseason push.