Biggest winners and losers of the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline

Winner: Phoenix Suns

Here’s a quick look at the Phoenix Suns‘ current point guard situation: Tyler Ulis has been horrendous and is now banged up, G League success story Mike James is long gone, Isaiah Canaan suffered a horrific leg injury and is done for the year, Josh Gray is a G League call-up on a 10-day contract and the Suns’ best option has been putting Devin Booker in a James Harden-type role at the 1.

Booker is an underrated playmaker and passer, and his ceiling may be closer to Harden than it is to a spot-up shooter like Klay Thompson (as he was originally pegged), but still: When your best option at point guard is your shooting guard, that’s a position that needs attention.

General manager Ryan McDonough acted accordingly, taking advantage of a stale market where the value of a first round draft pick was at an all-time high to swoop in on Elfrid Payton for the mere cost of a 2018 second-rounder.

The fact that the pick Phoenix owes the Orlando Magic is the second-most valuable of three second round selections (it’d currently come in at No. 41) makes this a low-risk flier for the Suns. It needed to happen to ease the load on Devin Booker, and Payton was one of the best available point guards on the trade market.

With Payton’s restricted free agency creeping up this summer, both sides will have a two-month trial period to feel each other out. This doesn’t mean Payton is Phoenix’s long-term solution at point guard; if Payton flames out, the Suns can either let him walk or re-sign him as a cheap backup behind whatever 1-guard they can find in the draft or in free agency.

However, it’s possible Payton just needs a change of scenery. Averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game this season, Payton’s 52 percent shooting from the floor and 37.3 percent shooting from downtown looks a lot better than you’d think based on his reputation.

Those numbers are slightly deceiving, since most of his shots come at the rim or are wide open. He’s only made 25 3-pointers this season, meaning he’s still a non-shooter whose defense is nowhere near where it was supposed to be based on all the pre-draft scouting reports.

However, the Suns were in no position to be picky. They’ll get a close look at 23-year-old point guard with potential and can cross the next bridge when they get to it, all while maintaining their flexibility. At the meager price of an extra second round draft pick, this is a great flier to take.