NBA Trade Rumors: 15 Teams That Should Trade For Al Horford
12. Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an oil spill of a disaster right now, but they still have plenty of assets to pool together if the opportunity to trade for a superstar presented itself. To be perfectly honest, the only players that wouldn’t be on the table if general manager Ryan McDonough viewed Horford as that star would be Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker and maybe Alex Len and T.J. Warren.
Other than that, the Hawks would virtually have their pick of the litter among Markieff Morris, Brandon Knight, Tyson Chandler, P.J. Tucker, Mirza Teletovic, Archie Goodwin, Jon Leuer and future draft picks.
Are they looking for a long-term point guard to make Jeff Teague expendable and play alongside Dennis Schroder in the backcourt? Knight is a 23-year-old combo guard signed on through the 2019-20 season. Do they want frontcourt help to remain competitive this season? Chandler and Keef would be options.
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Do they want shooting and versatility? P.J. Tucker brings both traits in spades, while Mirza Teletovic and Jon Leuer are useful stretch-4s as well. If they want youth, Goodwin, Warren and Len’s names may be thrown into the mix.
The Suns desperately need a rebuild of some sort, though it remains to be seen whether the front office tries to retool around its dual backcourt or commits to a full-scale youth movement that includes a likely top-five pick in this year’s draft. In either case, Horford would help.
If the Suns want to retool and return to the postseason next season, Horford certainly helps with his versatility, perimeter shooting, defense and veteran leadership. If they’re looking to build around that draft pick, Devin Booker and the other youngsters, Horford would provide the team with a locker room presence to learn from.
However, there’s no guarantee Horford would sign on in Phoenix for the long-term, even if the Suns offered him the max. Keef has developed a reputation as a head case; Chandler’s game has dropped off after being signed to a long-term deal; Leuer and Teletovic both play poor defense and become free agents this summer; and Tucker only has one year left on his deal.
Goodwin is an attractive young asset, but you can’t build a potential deal around him, and Knight is a deeply flawed player for his high number of turnovers, horrendous defense and questionable shot selection. This is just one of many possibilities in a Suns swap, but the Hawks could probably find a better deal — unless Phoenix went all in with a Godfather-type offer, which probably isn’t in their best interest anyway since Horford is already 29.
Next: No. 11