The Suns are in danger of an early exit from the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The Frank Vogel-lead team went down 2-0 in their first-round series to the Timberwolves on April 23, and are two losses away from being sent home.
The potential early exit could propel their front office to make drastic changes to the roster this offseason. Among those changes could be the bold call of splitting up the star-studded trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has proposed a trade that would send Booker to the Pelicans in exchange for veteran guard CJ McCollum, rising 3&D star Trey Murphy III and two future first-round picks.
While proposing the idea on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Simmons explained why Murphy — currently viewed in the league as a role player — could blossom into an All-Star caliber player when he gains more experience in playoff situations.
An Interesting Haul for Suns
While neither McCollum nor Murphy are perennial All-Stars like Booker, the duo could be seamless next to Durant, Beal & Co.
Murphy’s versatility to guard at least four positions and knock down threes at a high clip would fix many of Phoenix’s issues. In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 rebounds while making an impressive 3 threes per game. Only seven players in the league averaged more threes per game than him. The 23-year-old only projects to get better with each passing year, and could prove to be a steal for Phoenix.
As for McCollum, he would bring veteran leadership and the calming influence severely lacking in the Suns offense.
Many have cited Suns’ lack of a point guard as the reason for their woes in the 2023-24 season.
“They never addressed the point guard situation and they needed another big body,” Charles Barkley said of the Suns on “Inside the NBA” on TNT on April 23. “That’s one of the things we talked about at the trade deadline. They need to have those three guys [Durant, Beal and Booker] finishing instead of initiating their offense and they play at a faster pace.”
Although McCollum isn’t a prototypical floor general, he does possess point guard skills and could organize the offense for Durant & Co.
Other Suns Trade Options Limited
Unless the Suns make the drastic call of shipping out Kevin Durant, their chances of improving the roster significantly are limited. Bradley Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract, meaning he must approve a trade to a specific team. While Jusuf Nurkic has a cap-friendly $37.5 million and two years left on his deal, he has limited trade value.
The Suns don’t also have any tradeable first-round picks to enter the sweepstakes of Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell or any of the other star guards expected to become available in the 2024 offseason.
As such, unless Beal requests for a trade to a specific team, the Suns are likely to field the same roster in the 2024-25 season. That does not bode well for the championship expectations of a franchise that has one of the heftiest payrolls in the league.
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