Suns surprisingly named as ideal trade partner for Giannis

The NBA trade deadline arrives Thursday, and the closest the Phoenix Suns have gotten to being involved is with James Harden surprisingly heading to The Valley.

Although he's rumored to be looking for a way out of Los Angeles and the Clippers, despite their fantastic turnaround after a dreadful start, it won't be to Phoenix.

Suns mentioned as ideal trade partner for Giannis Antetokounmpo

Strap in for a piece of information you surely did not expect to hear today, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer have mentioned that the Suns of all teams would actually be the perfect trade partner for want away Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Huh?

You can relax though, the Suns aren't going to rip up their chemistry and shot at long-term stability for another shot at trading for an ageing star. Even one as game-changing as Antetokounmpo.

That's because while the Suns continue to want to improve their depth at power forward, and despite having both the kinds of players and contracts that make a deal work in theory, one thing stands in their way.

The play of Dillon Brooks this season. Yes you read that correctly.

The pair of insiders making the point that although Phoenix could pursue a deal and have an owner in Mat Ishbia who is not afraid to lavish players with massive extensions, Brooks has become too important culturally to move on from.

While that is true and he has helped the Suns kickstart the post Kevin Durant era, is Brooks really that important to not consider adding Giannis instead? Actually, kind of.

Brooks was self-aware enough to know why he was traded for Durant in the first place, and if it were to happen again (most likely alongside Jalen Green) you would think that he wouls again understand.

But the Suns have done a great job of finally getting out of the superstar for hire business, which unfortunately is what Antetokounmpo is in danger of becoming.

Already we've heard rumblings that he wouldn't want to team up with Stephen Curry both because he is 37-years-old and that it would taint him in the same way it did Durant.

If things didn't go to plan alongside Devin Booker for two years in the Western Conference, what is to stop him looking to move on again?

So this is less about Brooks or even Green, and more about the franchise understanding that they need to build slowly through the draft and the right kind of trades.

That is a blueprint that so far has worked wonderfully, and they would be foolish to stray from this course having finally realized the long-term approach is the correct way to build a winner.