1 player the Suns could trade to improve their title odds
By Luke Duffy
Why they will be able to trade Nurkic
Believe it or not, there is a path to moving Nurkic, and it starts with his contract. Right now he is entering the second last year of his current deal, and is due to make $37 million across the next two seasons. What that means is that Nurkic is approaching becoming an expiring contract.
On top of that, the $18 million he is making for this coming season is a nice number to be able to trade. As a result of being in that second apron, the Suns can't stack contracts on top of each other to go and get a star player. They also can't take back a dollar more than they send out in a trade, which makes Nurkic's contract so valuable.
I've been asked about this situation a ton the last couple of days,so let's address it. A few teams have been calling about Jusuf Nurkic. From my understanding the Phoenix Suns are taking those calls,but are not in a hurry to rush a trade. They also will not make a deal just to…
— DColdest (@DColdestt) June 29, 2024
The Suns would probably have to attach a second rounder or two in order to get a deal done - they shouldn't even think about adding their 2031 first - but that wouldn't stop them if a trade partner emerged. The prospect of getting another player who could actually help, while Plumlee, Oso Igodaro and Jalen Bridges could eat up the center minutes.
Nurkic also had a bounceback season last year, making him more moveable than he was in the past. He gave the Suns basically an 11/11 each night, was a notable part of their offensive schemes and only missed six games all campaign. Bundle all that together, and the prospect of trading him suddenly doesn't seem so ridiculous.