Ranking Suns’ Top Trade Targets After 2023 NBA Playoff Loss

The Phoenix Suns put themselves on the championship-or-bust scale the second they landed Kevin Durant at the 2023 NBA trade deadline.

By that metric, the campaign was a bust, then.

Truth be told, the Suns have more than one chance to make a title trek with Durant and Devin Booker. Whether the same applies to Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton remains to be seen.

So, what will Phoenix focus on finding this offseason? Are the Suns content with making minor moves for the depth pieces they lacked this postseason? Or do they think a more dramatic change is needed?

If the Suns are simply in the market for reliable depth, then a player like Otto Porter Jr. is just about perfect.

Now, reliable is admittedly a funny way to describe the veteran swingman, who just missed all but eight games of this season with a foot injury. But if surgery corrected the issue, then the setback could be a blessing in disguise for Phoenix.

The injury seemingly ensures Porter will pick up his $6.3 million player option for next season, per Spotrac. The Toronto Raptors would likely prefer to ditch that deal, especially if they pivot toward any type of rebuild this summer. That might make Porter available for cheap—because of an injury he already had surgically addressed.

The Suns, who emptied their asset collection to get Durant, can’t afford to splurge, particularly on role players. A discounted deal for Porter would be great, though. If he is healthy, he could immediately lengthen this rotation as a shot-maker, versatile defender and savvy veteran who can line up anywhere across the frontcourt.

The Suns made a pitch to the Brooklyn Nets about getting Kyrie Irving and may have wanted to keep him paired with Kevin Durant, per Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer. They could try getting Irving again this summer when he enters unrestricted free agency.

It would be risky for myriad reasons, not least of which is the fact Irving last played more than 60 games in 2018-19 and has topped 70 games once since 2014-15.

Still, if Phoenix wants a more dynamic point guard than an aging Chris Paul—who turned 38 last Saturday—then Irving would certainly qualify. Despite all the time missed these past few seasons, he has averaged 27.1 points on 49.1/39.5/91.4 shooting since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

The Suns could perhaps build a sign-and-trade around Ayton, which could weaken them on the interior, but they might decide the perimeter upgrade is worth it. An attack featuring all three of Durant, Irving and Booker sounds like a cheat code and would put opposing defenses into an endless stream of pick-your-poison decisions.

It feels too soon into Durant’s tenure to say Phoenix definitely needs a major shakeup, but clearly, this rotation isn’t deep enough.

Filling the final starting spot with a two-way contributor like Royce O’Neale could be the kind of upgrade that completes the championship puzzle.

The veteran swingman plays a low-maintenance game built around defense and a three-point attack that keeps adding volume without losing efficiency. This season, he averaged a career-high 2.1 triples per outing while matching his previous best with a 38.9 percent conversion rate.

If Phoenix can find the trade chips needed to nab O’Neale, this would be the best way to supplement what the franchise already bet on being a championship core.