With the trade deadline less than 24 hours away, rumors have been spreading like wildfire. Not only that, but some trades have already been done, and teams are shifting directions quickly for this playoff run. That leaves the Suns in a questionable spot: they do not want to ruffle the feathers on a good run, but may fall further behind in this conference by Thursday afternoon.
So, for the fun of it, let’s look at some trade proposals from the site and break them down. This one comes from our great site manager, John Voita, and he cooked this beauty up.
This one has a lot of moving pieces, with the Suns as the third team involved.
For this deal to go through, both the Pacers and Pelicans must agree to swap their young stars. Yves Missi has been great in his sophomore year, but with the Pelicans front court having Derik Queen and Zion Williamson, he has become expendable for them. Bennedict Mathurin is a restricted free agent, and the Pacers did not pay Myles Turner last season because they are cheap. Would they do the same with Mathurin, especially when they are projected to be a top-five pick?
It also helps that the Pelicans and Pacers have been linked to these players in the past with the Pacers needing another big alongside Jay Huff after losing Turner, and the Pelicans willing to take flyers on young talent, As long as both of these teams are willing to do this swap, it should be easy for the Suns to sneak in to get Saddiq Bey.
Bey, who has recently been on a heater offensively, continues to prove to be a solid wing role player. One, the Suns could definitely plug into their style of play, with his ability to shoot the three-point shot and defend with energy. You also cannot forget that he was a collegiate teammate of Collin Gillespie; adding him to that bench rotation alongside him would foster great chemistry off the bat.
Fortunately, to get Bey, the Suns would only have to move off of Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis, two players who are not in the rotation for this team. A Richards-to-the-Pelicans trade has been discussed in the past, with them getting a third big. Hayes-Davis to the Pacers could try once again to crack a rotation to compete in the NBA. With the Suns not trading any draft picks either, this would allow them to save money while also adding someone to an already deep rotation. With injuries on this team as well, this could be just the cherry on top of their playoff run.
Now, even though this helps out the Suns in many ways, there is a way that this does not go through. Who is to say that the Pelicans and Pacers even need the Suns players involved here? They could do this swap between the two, and essentially don’t need these Suns players. The Pelicans could also want more for Bey, which would be difficult for the Suns to get there with their limited draft capital. These types of deals make it complex for the Suns, but they’re always fun to discuss.
Bey would be a great addition, since the Suns do not give up anything valuable in this trade. By shedding a roster spot as well, they can convert Jamaree Bouyea and continue to strengthen the depth of their rotation.
What do you think, though? If you like this or don’t, please let us know what you think down below.
