Phoenix Suns have the assets to trade for two-time former All-Star center

The Phoenix Suns continued their uptick in former on New Year's Eve, as they beat the young and upstart Orlando Magic 112-107 in The Valley. The win the third straight for this team, against an opponent that had the youth and young starpower in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to make this matchup difficult.

Beginning their longest remaining homestand of the season on the right note was important, and it was fantastic to see Bradley Beal put up 25 points in 35 minutes of action. Center Jusuf Nurkic also had a notable game, notching 19 points and 13 rebounds in the kind of offensive performance at least the Suns need from him on a near nightly basis in order to succeed.

We now have enough evidence however that the Suns remain thin at the center position, which is why they should be trying to trade for Andre Drummond of the Chicago Bulls.

A two-time All-Star in his day and still somehow only the same age as Beal at 30, Drummond's career never really hit the heights that many felt it would. At this point that is no bad thing though, as with the Bulls Drummond is playing 14.9 minutes per night and has started three of only 34 games played so far this season.

In 819 regular season games played, he has averaged a hugely impressive 12.5 rebounds per night. The Suns rank just below league average (16th, 43.8 per game) in this category, and there is no doubt Drummond would be a help on the boards for this team. He may be a cumbersome big man - slow reacting defensively a lot of the time - but he could still help the Suns for several reasons.

As well as the rebounding, he is just a better player on that end than Nurkic. Best of all for the Suns, there are several reasons why they could acquire the journeyman Drummond, even if he was a player they likely could have had several times in the past for nothing. Those versions of the Suns didn't need Drummond though - not when they had this guy - but this version does.

The Bulls have looked like a more coherent team since Zach LaVine went down with an injury, but the reality is they are 15-19 and aren't going anywhere in the East. Which means any number of achievable packages, such as second round draft picks or an expiring contract, could be enough to get Drummond.

The Suns certainly have both of those, while the two-year, $6.6 million deal he signed with the Bulls last season could be easily absorbed as well. In reality Drummond would be a rental, because he is an unrestricted free agent in the summer and it is unlikely the Suns or Bulls would want to tie themselves down to any kind of long-term commitment to the player.

Again though this works for the Suns, as it drives his price down when trying to see if they could trade for him. Perhaps the Bulls would want a project player like Bol Bol straight up for Drummond, because in theory his upside on a group that needs to find productivity from many places is something that appeals to them.

As good as Drummond's rebounding numbers have been this season - and they really have been something special - he is still a limited player and a known quantity in the league. He is on his sixth team and although his value has risen some since the start of the season, he is not a fit with many teams in the league.

He's averaging seven points per game this season and doesn't shoot free-throws. Shooting 56.3 percent from the free-throw line is also a number that isn't going to appeal to many, but the offensive abilities of the Suns make them one of the few teams who could absorb Drummond's style of play. This is a player the Suns have to seriously look at, because he could answer a lot of their problems.

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