NBA Free Agency 2020: 5 offseason targets for the Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns landed Chris Paul, but they still have work to do in free agency.
Riding the momentum of that promising 8-0 run in the NBA bubble, the Phoenix Suns made their move to end the team’s 10-year playoff drought by agreeing to trade for Chris Paul on Monday. While CP3 is on the older side at age 35, he’s coming off a terrific year with an Oklahoma City Thunder squad that finished fifth in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
After seeing the benefits of giving Devin Booker an actual starting-caliber point guard to play with in Ricky Rubio, the Suns are hoping for a similar impact as Paul joins their franchise superstar in the backcourt. Giving up Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr. after they were monumental in turning the organization around and establishing the “Valley Boyz” culture stings, but Phoenix being able to land a top-25 player without OKC demanding Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, this year’s No. 10 pick or the Suns’ 2021 draft pick is an absolute win.
The deal hasn’t been finalized, which begs the question: What more can the Suns do this offseason to cement themselves as a potential contender out West?
That question depends on when the Suns finalize this trade. Option A is waiting until after Nov. 22, when they can act as an under-the-cap team by renouncing their free agents, clearing out about $16 million in cap space and using that space (and their $4.7 million Room Exception) to sign free agents before officially completing the trade.
Conversely, with Option B, they could finalize the deal now and stay over the cap, which would allow them to keep the Bird Rights of their free agents (which would be used to re-sign Dario Saric and Aron Baynes) while still having their $9.3 non-taxpayer Mid-Level Exception and $3.6 million Bi-Annual Exception to use.
UPDATE: The Suns have made this trade official, meaning most if not all of the free agents listed here would have to agree to the MLE worth $9.3 million.
Retaining Saric, a restricted free agent, should be on the Suns’ priority list after his stellar play in Orlando as a backup 5. Phoenix would love to find a way to keep Baynes too, though he may have played himself out of their price range unless they go with Option B. Scouring the market for a legitimate backup point guard (D.J. Augustin, anyone?) should be on the offseason checklist too, even with the way Cameron Payne and Jevon Carter played so well together in the bubble.
In any case, rather than focusing solely on the Suns’ remaining free agents, let’s take a look at some potential offseason targets for the Suns to address that power forward spot.
Honorable Mention: Paul Millsap