Phoenix Suns point guard compendium: 15 potential trade targets

Terry Rozier

2018-19 stat line: 22.4 MPG, 8.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, .370/.351/.708 shooting splits

Pros:

• Fits the Suns’ timeline for contention at 24 years old
• Showed flashes of being a starting-caliber 1 last year on an Eastern Conference finalist
• May be playing himself onto the trade block
• Recent struggles could be attributed to his downgraded role
• Defensive prowess and athleticism
• 3-point shooting has shown signs of improvement
• Celtics’ current struggles could prompt change

Cons:

• Last year’s stellar play as a starter may have been a fluke
• Never shot better than 40 percent from the field in four seasons
• Danny Ainge almost always wins trades
• Asking price would be high
• Celtics may not be willing to move him until deadline, if struggles continue
• Could cost a pretty penny to re-sign Rozier if he turns things around

A possible trade:

Breakdown:

Three weeks ago, The Athletic‘s Shams Charania reported seven teams were monitoring Terry Rozier‘s status with the Boston Celtics, and the Suns — who aggressively pursued him — were one of those teams. The Ringer‘s Bill Simmons also asserted the backup was unhappy with his minutes after filling in capably as a starter during the Celtics’ run to the conference finals last year.

General manager Danny Ainge soon refuted Charania’s report and Rozier himself dismissed the notion that he’s unhappy in Boston, but where there’s smoke in this league, there’s generally fire. The Celtics are off to a disappointing 11-10 start, and with both Kyrie Irving and Rozier being free agents this summer, they’ll have to choose one or the other. Barring injury, it’ll be Kyrie.

At that point, Boston will have no choice but to let Rozier sign with another team in restricted free agency. Why not get some sort of asset for him now? The problem with that line of thinking is the Celtics figure to turn things around and contend for the Eastern belt, and even if they don’t, there’s no incentive to make a premature decision with Rozier when they can wait until the trade deadline arrives.

Barring some sort of Godfather offer, the Celtics can afford to stand pat. That’s probably good news for the Suns, since it’ll keep them away from giving up too much for a guy who’s never shot 40 percent from the field in a single season.

Rozier was tremendous for the Celtics when Irving went down last year, averaging 15.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game on 38.9 percent shooting from 3 in his 16 starts. He was also excellent in 19 playoff games, and though his shooting fell off, his defense and athleticism would be a nice potential fit with Book.

Unfortunately, he’s also an inefficient and unreliable scorer. Those 35 games gave a glimpse of Scary Terry at his best as an NBA starter, but what if it wasn’t sustainable and the Suns trade for a nightmare? And are then forced to re-sign him over the summer? He’s got a lot of potential, but given how much Ainge loves Rozier and Boston’s incentive to be patient, it’s hard to see this kind of deal materializing before February when both teams would be desperate.