Phoenix Suns trade rumors: 5 potential Greg Monroe trades
3. Orlando Magic
At 6-4, the Orlando Magic are tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, which probably doesn’t give Phoenix much leverage here. Thanks to that early success, GM John Hammond might not be in a hurry to unload Bismack Biyombo‘s deal, even if he is making $34 million over the next two years, plus a $17 million player option in Year 3.
Then again, that’s an awful lot of money to pay a backup who is averaging 3.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game off the bench. Biyombo has never been able to make good on his contract playing behind Nikola Vucevic, which is why a change of scenery might be in order for both sides.
Unlike Noah and Mozgov, Biyombo wouldn’t be complete deadweight for the Suns over the next three years. For a team with a lot of uncertainty at the center spot right now, Biyombo could provide Alex Len insurance if the team chooses to let him walk, and could serve as a short-term, defensive-minded solution until whatever stud center Phoenix nabs in the draft is ready to assume the starting role.
As for the sweetener? The Suns could ask about Mario Hezonja, whose fourth-year option was recently declined by the Magic.
Hezonja has seen his minutes decrease in each of his three seasons in the NBA, and this year he’s averaging just 4.1 points in 11.8 minutes per game. However, it’s too early for the rest of the league to give up on this 22-year-old, especially as someone who’s drained seven of his 15 3-pointers so far this year (46.7 percent).
Troy Daniels is hardly a long-term backup for Booker, and for a rebuilding team, Hezonja is the exact kind of low-risk, high-reward player the Suns should be targeting as an attainable sweetener in a Greg Monroe trade.
Moose would provide the Magic with a more capable backup to Vucevic without clogging up their books for the long haul, while Hezonja seems to be completely available. One alternative, if the Suns want a point guard and aren’t confident they’ll be able to get their hands on Luka Doncic in the draft, would be targeting Elfrid Payton:
Payton’s inability to shoot is well known by now, and would only compound Phoenix’s issues on offense. However, he’s also only 23 years old, shot 47.1 percent from the field last year and could benefit from a change of scenery.
The Magic have been thriving without Payton, who’s only played two games this season due to a hamstring issue. That small sample size may not be enough to convince Orlando to give up on him, and Payton’s upcoming restricted free agency would give the Suns very limited time to get acquainted, and cap room would be an issue with Biyombo’s deal now on the books.
There’s a good chance Payton isn’t the kind of point guard they want running the show for the long run, and if that’s the case, maybe McDonough tries to pilfer an additional first round pick from a Magic organization that’s sick of being in the draft lottery and is finally playing like it doesn’t want to return there in 2018.
Hammond shouldn’t strike anyone as the type for a shortsighted maneuver like this though, and Biyombo’s contract probably isn’t toxic enough to snag a first round pick, especially since Monroe would only be a rental. But again, it’s worth a shot to at least ask.