Suns would have to give up prized possession for perfect center available via trade

The Phoenix Suns are off to a great start so far this season, and at 7-1 have now caught the Oklahoma City Thunder for top spot in the Western Conference. The Thunder may still be viewed as the better team - but in beating the Miami Heat 115-112 last time out - they continue to pile up impressive wins.

Yet it is clear that this group still has shortcomings, even if the roster as a whole has meshed together quickly and are playing at a much higher level than last season. The point guard situation was resolved quickly over the offseason and Tyus Jones has been a resounding success, but center Jusuf Nurkic remains a problem area.

Trading for Walker Kessler is not the solution though, even if it is enticing.

Rather than have Nurkic double-down on being the Suns' main rim protector this season - which he is - head coach Mike Budenholzer instead has the Bosnian shooting more 3-pointers than ever before, while he's also trimmed down some compared to last season as well.

He has his place in The Valley - imagine if he could come off the bench and prop up the second unit in the middle - but there is still too much expected of him as a starter. Contrast that with Kessler of the Utah Jazz, a young prospect with a ton of upside who is on a rookie deal and has already shown he can handle a large workload. Yet he's somehow rumored to be available via trade.

The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as a possible candidate in any potential deal, which in itself should worry the Suns. They've figured some things out under new head coach JJ Redick, and the prospect of adding a young big to allow Anthony Davis to conserve his body some for the postseason is exactly what the Suns would not want to see happen here.

In terms of trading for Kessler themselves, he would be both a short and long-term upgrade over Nurkic. Being in the second apron, the Suns can't cobble together salaries or take more money back in any potential deal, yet with Kessler they wouldn't have to. They would have to figure out how to pay him what will surely be close to a max deal down the road though, and that is a problem.

In the here and now though - and with owner Mat Ishbia always saying he'd do whatever it took to win a championship - Kessler looks like the final piece to the puzzle. This group feels like it is a piece away, and they're already legitimately nine players deep, but the cost of business is one player and one player only. Ryan Dunn.

The rookie has been sensational to begin life in the league, and he's the kind of two-way wing defender that the Jazz would surely love to have. Both players are on rookie deals - although the Suns would have to shave another $200k or so elsewhere to make the books balance - but Dunn probably has a higher trade value than Kessler already.

Getting the figures to work out would also require waiting until mid-December, when guys like Bol Bol and Damion Lee who signed minimum deals this summer see the restrictions on those contracts lift and can also be moved. The Suns would also probably have to add in a first round pick, probably a couple of seconds and perhaps even their other rookie is Oso Ighodaro.

It would solve their center problem, but this is not the answer. Already Dunn and Ighodaro have brought such energy and balance to the roster, while the sky truly is the limit for Dunn especially. Kessler is a player the Suns would love to have - and surprisingly there is even a realistic path to make it happen - but it is one they would regret going down quickly. A complete no-go.