This season has been an underwhelming one thus far for the Phoenix Suns and they are expected to make some moves ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline to upgrade their roster.
After starting the season 8-1, the Suns looked as though they were going to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference behind their superstar trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Instead, they currently hold a 21-21 record which has them sitting 10th in the West standings.
Phoenix has struggled this season, which has already forced them to make some moves. Head coach Mike Budenholzer already decided to remove Beal from the starting lineup, and he has thrived in his new role off the bench. The Suns also acquired Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets to upgrade their center rotation.
While these moves have worked for Phoenix thus far, bigger moves may be coming ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. The Suns have been linked to Jimmy Butler, but with their poor cap situation and the Miami Heat not wanting to take on Beal’s contract in a deal, they may have to look elsewhere to add another star.
They could look to the Chicago Bulls to add another star guard while also opening some cap space by offloading Beal’s massive contract. In a possible trade, Phoenix could send Beal and Jusuf Nurkić to Chicago for Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams.
LaVine has had a great season thus far, but he has not seen much interest from other teams despite the Bulls making him available. That could change though, as the Suns could upgrade their shooting guard position by swapping Beal for him, which would provide them with another elite scorer.
The Suns would also acquire Williams in the move. Chicago recently began shopping the 23-year-old in the trade market, and the Suns could pounce on the opportunity to acquire him.
Williams was the fourth overall pick in 2020, but he has not lived up to expectations thus far. He still has a ton of untapped potential that the Suns could get out of him if they were to trade for him.
By making this move, the Suns would upgrade their lineup while also becoming a younger and cheaper team. This move would free up over $7 million in cap space so that Phoenix could look to make more moves to turn their season around.
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