Phoenix Suns: 5 potential trades for a point guard

1. Terry Rozier

Like Walker, Terry Rozier is another name the Suns could wait on until 2019 free agency. Unlike Walker, they’d have a decent chance of signing him outright, since he’d be the type of target a lower-level team in need of a point guard (like the Suns) would throw all of its money at.

A max offer from Phoenix would put the Boston Celtics in a tough place, since Kyrie Irving will be a free agent (as will Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis if they opt out). The Celtics will not be able to realistically afford them both, especially with future contracts for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum on the horizon.

If Kyrie Irving stays healthy and Rozier is stuck back in his bench role again, GM Danny Ainge will prioritize the five-time All-Star and NBA champion over the backup who’s only started 35 games in his career.

Live Feed

Valley of the Suns

However, if the situation in Beantown is leaning that way by January and February, and it feels like the Celtics would rather trade him and get something in return than lose him for nothing in restricted free agency, McDonough should be Ainge’s first call when he wakes up in the morning and his last call before he goes to sleep.

Though Rozier only averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game on .395/.381/.772 shooting splits last year, in his 16 regular season starts filling in for an injured Kyrie, he upped his game to 15.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game on .381/.389/.750 shooting. In the playoffs, those numbers rose again to 16.5 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game.

However, despite the way this 24-year-old elevated his game when the Celtics needed him most, there are a few pitfalls. For starters, Rozier did all this for an exceptionally talented and strong-minded Celtics team, playing for perhaps the best coach in the association, Brad Stevens. Igor Kokoskov should be great in Phoenix, but he’s unproven as of now, and the Suns have nowhere near that winning mentality.

Rozier could bring that to the desert, but he’s largely been inefficient from the floor outside of his 3s. He’s a committed defender and he’s still young, but as Boston’s offense showed quite a few times in the Eastern Conference Finals, Scary Terry isn’t quite ready to be a reliable source of offense just yet.

You can also be guaranteed Ainge — who is infamously over the moon about Rozier’s potential — won’t give him up for nothing. He’s fleeced plenty of teams over the last few years and even if Rozier becomes expendable, he won’t operate like he’s dealing from a place of disadvantage.

Still, if the Suns inquire and Rozier is available before the trade deadline, what would Ainge be looking for in return? Would it be established players to aid Boston’s quest for a championship, or young talent and a draft pick to compensate for the loss of Rozier?

If it’s established talent Ainge wants, perhaps Troy Daniels‘ 3-point shooting and the Suns’ 2019 first-rounder would get it done.

That’s a hefty price to pay for Phoenix though, since that pick could be in the top five and Rozier isn’t good enough by himself to make that selection less valuable. Rather than go all in like that, McDonough might try to move one of Elie Okobo or De’Anthony Melton (depending on what Melton signs for).

That’d give Boston youth, upside and a new backup point guard, while throwing in a more experienced frontcourt player like Richaun Holmes to balance salary would also address a position of need:

Holmes could give Boston another backup center option if rookie Robert Williams doesn’t pan out right away, and both Okobo and Melton has upside. Including the protected Bucks pick would be another sweetener if Ainge remained unmoved.

Asking for Josh Jackson or Mikal Bridges would be too much, and there’d be too much overlap on the wing for the Celtics anyway. Bender could be another option in lieu of Holmes, but there’s no guarantee Ainge would even be interested based on his team’s needs for rebounding and rim-running.

Ayton and Booker would obviously be off limits, while Warren’s contract is too large for Rozier’s $3.1 million salary. If Kyrie gets hurt, or if there are further rumblings he could leave for the New York Knicks in free agency, Rozier won’t be anywhere near the trade block.

There’s also the possibility Ainge wants to continue to keep his options open heading into next summer, while also keeping an Eastern favorite intact for a title run. A blockbuster trade for a star during the season could move Marcus Smart, opening up the possibility that Rozier and Irving have long-term futures in Boston after all.

However, if Ainge decides his team doesn’t need Rozier to make a run at a championship, making the deal work financially would then become the most difficult part. If the Celtics were willing to consider a deal, the Phoenix Suns would have to consider adding Terry Rozier to the roster and retaining him as a restricted free agent, rather than trying to steal him away in free agency outright.