The Phoenix Suns are going to trade Kevin Durant this summer. Nothing is set in stone, of course, but what else can Phoenix do? Saddled with the NBA's highest payroll and currently 2.5 games out of the 10th seed out West, this version of the Suns roster is cooked. There are only so many ways to increase flexibility and meaningfully change the DNA of Phoenix's rotation.
Devin Booker is untouchable. The rest of the Suns' roster is available to the highest bidder. Mat Ishbia refuses to even consider a rebuild, but Phoenix can at least be smart about the path forward. There are ways to put a winning team around Booker without completely hamstringing the future. KD, even on an expiring contract at 36 years old, should return a nice range of assets.
We already know the Suns' baseline asking price thanks to Duane Rankin of Arizona Republic: three first-round picks and a quality young player. We shall see if Phoenix gets more or less than its initial request, but that feels like a fair starting point. All the red flags and long-term qualms are worth debating, but at the end of the day, Durant still ranks among the best players in the world. He can elevate the right team to contention in a heartbeat.
We should all be looking at the Houston Rockets specifically. Many of Phoenix's upcoming first-round picks currently belong to Houston, for starters, and the Rockets already fielded a phone call about Durant prior to the trade deadline, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon. It makes too much sense.
If the Rockets decide that Durant can push them over the top, here are the pieces Phoenix should fixate on in trade negotiations. Let's rightfully assume Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun are off the table.
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3. Jabari Smith Jr.
Jabari Smith Jr. has fallen short of expectations as the No. 3 pick in 2022, which isn't really his fault. Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren were excellent top-2 picks. There was once a time when Smith was expected to go ahead of both. The Auburn product does not profile as a future star, but he's still an impactful role player with untapped potential at 21 years old.
As for as what the Suns need specifically — especially in a Durant trade — Smith checks a ton of boxes. On the surface, he's a 6-foot-11 wing hitting 34.4 percent of his 3s and supplying versatile defense. The efficiency isn't great, especially inside the arc, but Smith gets up a healthy volume of 3s. His impact as a shooter far outstrips the basic percentages. He can space the floor and help replicate (even improve upon) Durant's help-side defense in the frontcourt.
Smith is a day-one starter for the Suns. He'd space the floor for Devin Booker, thriving in pick-and-pops or as a trailer on fast breaks. He's not an advanced on-ball weapon, but Smith has some juice attacking closeouts and getting to his spots in the mid-range. With a longer leash in Phoenix, perhaps Smith can unlock a higher gear with his unique blend of size and touch. He's not Durant, but he's like 30 percent of Durant, which is still helpful for Phoenix as a long-term building block.
2. Tari Eason
Tari Eason still hasn't earned the full trust of Ime Udoka, at least when it comes to playing time. He's averaging six minutes fewer per game than Smith, for example, despite being a far more impactful presence on the floor. Some of that is circumstantial — Eason offers less gravity as a shooter — and some of it is basic physics. The human body can only expend so much energy in a given timeframe. Eason tries harder than 99 percent of NBA players, which means he might perform better in more concentrated doses.
The Suns need a tone-setter in Eason's mold. We shouldn't burden him with too many expectations, but Eason feels like the kind of player who can meaningfully change Phoenix's competitive DNA. He is not half as "good" as Durant, of course, but he brings a competitive fire that lifts the spirit of teammates and puts opponents in the mud.
Eason, at 6-foot-8 and 216 pounds, defends all over the floor for Houston. He can stop wings at the point of attack, roam for weak-side blocks, or wreak havoc as a chaos agent in passing lanes — all while hustling for every loose ball and crashing the glass with the fervor of a caffeinated jackrabbit. He can also hit 3s, score on timely cuts, and even pull out the occasional face-up bucket.
The Suns should want this dude in the building, plain and simple.
1. Reed Sheppard
Reed Sheppard dropped 25 points and five assists on 17 shots against OKC's top-ranked defense a couple weeks ago. Playing time has been sparse for the rookie out of Kentucky, but it's only a matter of time until Sheppard is logging steady minutes for Houston and producing at a prodigious rate. That is, unless he's logging those minutes in Phoenix.
At first glance, the Suns don't really need another guard. The Tyus Jones signing hasn't done much for them and Bradley Beal is still quite good, if not nearly up to snuff with his contract. That said, the Suns shouldn't really factor Beal into a decision like this. He's an albatross around their neck — a bad contract Phoenix will shed at the first opportunity. He shouldn't stand in the way of an upstart 20-year-old like Sheppard.
There's a lot to like about a hypothetical backcourt pairing of Sheppard and Booker long term. Both are elite shooters, with Sheppard hitting 52.1 percent of his 3s as a freshman at Kentucky. The John Calipari guard tree remains unbreakably strong. It's one of the safest bets in basketball. Sheppard combines his elite shooting with high feel, underrated handles, and a knack for defensive playmaking (SEC-high 2.5 steals per game at UK).
Sheppard can scale up and down easily. He doesn't need to dominate touches, so he can slide seamlessly between backup point guard duties when Booker sits and a spot-up role when sharing the court with Phoenix's All-Star. He's a hidden gem hiding in plain sight. The Suns should pounce before the secret gets out.