Should the Phoenix Suns have any interest in drafting Bronny James?

It is no secret that the Phoenix Suns as currently constructed have essentially no draft capital to make trades for the rest of the decade. What little stock there was left in the cupboard being sent to the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline, as they gave up three second round picks and shipped out a whole host of players to add Royce O'Neale.

A move which has shown some promising returns early, and which did not cost a lot given the amount of second round picks floating around the league these days. Still, these picks represent a chance to add cheap talent through the draft, just as the organization did last summer in selecting Toumani Camara. The Belgian going into the Deandre Ayton deal without ever playing a proper game.

There is no doubt the Suns can get their hands on some second round picks ahead of this summer's draft - and with that in mind - should they be targeting Bronny James?

James is of course the son of LeBron James, and his time at USC so far has been a relatively muted affair. Getting back on the court and remaining healthy has been the most important thing for James though, after the health scare that threw his basketball career into serious doubt in July of last year.

But why should the Suns have any interest in the player? Right now he rightly projects as a late second round pick - if he is even selected at all - and that is the type of position the Suns could be in position to select James. Even without trying to acquire a pick from elsewhere, which they could easily do, they have a second round pick from the Sacramento Kings this summer.

That pick is protected from spots 31-54 meaning it is unlikely to convey as things currently stand, but stranger things have happened in the league. But if the Suns somehow were in position to pick Bronny, why would they do that? There are two scenarios that would play out from there, and both would involve LeBron coming to The Valley to finish out their career.

The first is that James turns down the player option on his current contract - which he can do on June 29th - and signs with the Suns on a minimum deal in order to play alongside his son. Given that James is in line to make over $51 million next season as a 40-year-old in what will be unprecedented waters for both the player and the league, that seems highly unlikely to happen.

So what if James opted into his deal, and then the Lakers and Suns worked out a trade between LeBron and Beal? The numbers work out almost perfectly, with Beal making $50 million next season. Those types of deals are extremely hard to move in the new CBA, but trading players straight up for one another is still possible.

James has never been traded before - and really it is a tiny part of his legacy that he is sure to want to keep intact - but if it meant playing with his son and getting paid, why not do it? Certainly it is only a footnote in his historic career to date.

Could teaming with his friend Kevin Durant and Devin Booker represent a clearer path to a championship for James as well? It's no worse than playing for a Lakers outfit with Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves - who may not even be that much better than Grayson Allen - and not much else.

If you're the Suns, doesn't the fact Beal has missed considerable time with injury, and is out with a hamstring issue at the moment, not at least make you consider this? Still only 30-years-old, Beal is owed a ridiculous $160 million over the next three seasons after this one, and is unlikely to ever make an All-Star team again.

The main stumbling block is obviously that Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract. But he would get the chance to move to Los Angeles and team up with Davis. He would no longer be the third option behind Durant and Booker, and instead would form a potent duo with Davis. That might be a hard sell for Beal, but as we have seen in this league, not as hard as you would think.

The Suns should absolutely see how far their current trio of players can take them. But the prospect of adding James for a season before he likely retires - all while getting out from under Beal's current monster deal so that they can reset in two years around Booker and maybe Durant - looks like a once in a lifetime opportunity. All it would take is drafting Bronny, which seems a small price to pay.