The Phoenix Suns were heavily linked with forward Jonathan Kuminga at various points last season, and the fact that he still remains unsigned proves the franchise avoided a disaster had they traded for him, even if they had to pay a higher price for Miles Bridges.
Alternative Miles Bridges addition came at greater cost to Phoenix
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports brought up the links the Suns had to Kuminga on the most recent episode of the Third Apron Podcast with Yossi Gozlan, and he couldn't resist a dig at the front office (which is still doing a great job despite their cap situation) in the process.
"The Suns, in theory, were one of the most prominent teams in the (Kuminga) trade discussions last offseason. Instead of trying to figure out how to get him, they went and gave up a 2033 first round pick to get Miles Bridges who I guess is better, but that is not saying all that much."
Quinn did at least accept that, with the landscape for Kuminga having changed so much, not parting with a ton of assets to land an athletic forward with still-untapped upside was the correct decision. Both for the Suns and every other team in the league.
"It feels notable to me that a lot of these teams seemed like they were interested in the past, do not seem to be interested this offseason."
Bridges is a better player than Kuminga right now, and the plan for the Suns at this point is to be as competitive as possible around Devin Booker. Taking the off-court issues out of the equation, Bridges helps the franchise do that in a way Kuminga proved he was not ready to do during his brief stint with the Atlanta Hawks.
Imagine if the organization had given up a similar package involving that 2023 first-rounder, Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, or even Oso Ighodaro, in order to get a 23-year-old who is sitting there and nobody wants to touch.
Bridges still has to be massive success despite dodging Kuminga
As nice as it is to not be saddled with Kuminga, the Suns still need Bridges to turn in a career year for that trade to even come close to being worth it.
They tampered with continuity and team chemistry to get him in the building and have gone all in by bringing back both Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin while extending Dillon Brooks and Mark Williams.
We're not asking for Bridges to be an All-Star, but the alternative is, in some ways. harder. He has to be the third option each night, fit into what looks like a cramped starting five, and not hinder the Suns' ability to be a top-10 defensive team as they were last season.
Kuminga could have never, and that is why the franchise was right not to move heaven and earth to acquire him when they had the chance.
Add us as a preferred source on Google