NBA Trade Rumors: Insider confirms Suns offered Paul For Kyrie Irving
According to NBA trade rumors, the Phoenix Suns went so far as offering Chris Paul in a Kyrie Irving trade. Will they seek another deal for him now?
According to Chris Haynes, the Suns offered Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, and an unnamed number of picks for Kyrie Irving before he was traded to the Mavericks. While it is not known what the actual amount of picks was, it seems that the Suns were unable or unwilling to extend their offer to three first-round picks, which the Nets countered with before the Suns declined. In another report by Shams Charania, it is said that the Suns offered one first-round pick in the deal.
The Suns are struggling this season, going 29-28 with Devin Booker missing time due to injury. With the West wide open and the Suns only being four games out of the No. 2 seed, an upgrade in talent could lead the Suns back to conversation for a return trip to the NBA Finals.
The Suns might still be looking to trade Chris Paul
With the leaks of this news, it seems that the Suns are trying to trade both Chris Paul and Jae Crowder. It is not a surprise that Crowder will be moved, as they have been in failed contract negotiations for months. While it seemed that the Suns are trying to upgrade from a diminished Paul, it was a bit surprising that it was leaked that the Suns tried to trade him,.
It seems like the Suns will try to upgrade from Paul, as Shams reported that they may try and get Fred VanVleet from the Raptors. The Suns may not be able to trade for target Kevin Durant until the summer but they can upgrade their team.
While Chris Paul does have three years left on his deal, next year is only guaranteed for $15 million, and the year after that is non-guaranteed. It seems that the Suns have plenty of trades to make between now and the trade deadline on Thursday.
Next. The best NBA Draft pick of all time at every slot. dark
Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.