Phoenix Suns: 5 Potential Trades As Buyers Before 2017 NBA Trade Deadline
3. Derrick Favors
So far, most of the trade candidates on this list have felt pretty unlikely. According to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune, Derrick Favors is one high profile target the Suns have actually expressed interest in leading up to this year’s deadline.
On the surface, it seems curious that Phoenix would have an interest in Favors. Though he’s only 25, Favors has been awfully injury-prone over the last few seasons, and he hasn’t looked the same this year, averaging just 9.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his 40 appearances.
However, the Suns have reportedly expressed interest in what could be a buy-low candidate. The Utah Jazz are rightfully focused on the upcoming free agencies of Gordon Hayward and George Hill, and if Favors continues to be such a non-factor in this team’s first trip back to the playoffs since 2012, moving him would make some sense.
The question is, would an offer of T.J. Warren and Alex Len be enough? They’re both young players with potential, but Warren would be stuck behind Hayward, Joe Johnson and Joe Ingles on the wing.
Warren could serve as insurance for Hayward if Utah’s All-Star bolts in free agency, but Len’s restricted free agency would present another unwanted problem this summer for a team that already has Rudy Gobert, Boris Diaw and Jeff Withey at the 5.
If that’s not an appealing enough offer, perhaps Warren and Tyson Chandler — a veteran with playoff experience who could back up Gobert off the bench — would be more fitting.
The Suns would lose a valuable wing and one of their two centers either way, but they’d be able to avoid Alex Len’s tricky free agency by adding Favors. If anyone can get him back to 100 percent again it’s Phoenix’s warlock training staff, and since he’s only 25, he could still potentially fit in with the team’s youth movement.
However, as much as Favors is a fundamentally sound player who could cover up some of the defensive flaws of Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss for years to come, is this really as good as the Suns can do with their collection of assets? Does he really move the needle that much?
He’d be a free agent in 2018, giving the Suns very limited time to figure out if he still has all that potential or if injuries have permanently lowered his ceiling. And just because he’s a buy-low candidate from Phoenix’s perspective doesn’t mean Utah views him the same way, as Jones also reports the Jazz are hesitant to deal him unless they’re overwhelmed by an offer.
Favors doesn’t stretch the floor and doesn’t really fit with the type of team Phoenix wants to be in the future as the pace-and-space era takes centerstage. This could be a realistic target, but McDonough (rightfully) won’t put together a stunning offer to get the job done for a guy like Favors.