NBA Trades: 3 deals for the Phoenix Suns to land a third star
By Cal Durrett
NBA Trades: The Phoenix Suns land James Harden in a major sign and trade.
The Suns have recently been linked to Philadelphia 76ers star and former MVP James Harden, who can become a free agent this summer. The Suns, of course, won’t have cap space to sign Harden outright, but they could work out a sign and trade with him and the 76ers. Phoenix could send back Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, giving the 76ers some compensation for losing their second-best player.
With Harden, Phoenix would have their Paul replacement, albeit a 33-year-old one. Still, he is a player who is capable of taking over games with his scoring and passing. Pair that with Durant and Booker, and the Suns would have the most explosive offensive trio in the NBA. Of course, that could work out about as well as it did for Brooklyn with Durant and Harden. Then again, that experiment likely failed because of Kyrie Irving, not Harden.
As a result, there would be limited downside to acquiring Harden for Phoenix. Especially with the Suns possibly looking to move on from Paul this summer. Using him in a sign-and-trade to acquire Harden would kill two birds with one stone, including giving Phoenix a third star.