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NBA Trade Rumors: 5 destinations for Ryan Anderson

By John Buhler

Dec 16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) dribbles the ball as Utah Jazz forward Trevor Booker (33) defends during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 16, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) dribbles the ball as Utah Jazz forward Trevor Booker (33) defends during the first half at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 22, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker (17) knocks the ball from New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) in the second half at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans won, 122-116. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Phoenix Suns forward P.J. Tucker (17) knocks the ball from New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson (33) in the second half at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans won, 122-116. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Phoenix Suns

Like the New Orleans Pelicans, the Phoenix Suns are going nowhere in the Western Conference this year. Phoenix is in 13th place in the West with a 13-29 record and a 1-9 record in their last 10 games entering Wednesday night. Might a simple trade between the Suns and Pelicans help them heading into next season?

One possible solution for these struggling Western teams is to send Pelicans sharpshooting forward Ryan Anderson to Phoenix for potential Draymond Green-stopper Markieff Morris before this year’s NBA Trade Deadline.

Morris is very unhappy in Phoenix, as the Suns front office shipped his identical twin brother Marcus to the Detroit Pistons not even a year after giving the brothers essentially a lump-sum salary to split to play together in the Arizona Desert.

Morris would probably thrive playing next to superstar power forward Anthony Davis in New Orleans and Anderson would probably enjoy playing for former NBA sharpshooter Jeff Hornacek in Phoenix, assuming the Suns retain Hornacek’s services beyond this season of course.

Anderson is a California native and would play in the Pacific Division while with Phoenix, which would allow him to play 16 games annually against the NBA’s four California-based franchises (the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Sacramento Kings).

This man-for-man trade won’t likely get either team into the Western Conference Playoffs in 2016, but could help jump start the Suns and the Pelicans’ respective 2016-17 NBA campaigns with two great players getting fresh perspectives in a new NBA environment.

Next: 1. Sacramento Kings

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