Big-name free agents, Suns’ young core a matchmaker’s nightmare

It’s no secret the Phoenix Suns and general manager Ryan McDonough have been searching for and trying to add that big-name player.

It’s been McDonough’s intent since he arrived in the Valley in 2013, accumulating assets and keeping his cap space flexible for the next available All-Star or young player that looks to be a future All-Star.

He’s done two of these moves to a lesser extent thus far and both are on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of how they worked out. The Eric Bledsoe deal was a heist in 2013 while the Brandon Knight trade in 2015 is the major blemish on the GM’s report card.

McDonough has remained aggressive and the Suns were reportedly linked to past names on the market like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins and Kristaps Porzingis.

One would assume that it continues in the summer of 2017, but with the way his roster has shaped while McDonough has whiffed on bringing in the next star of the franchise, targeting a veteran free agent pickup would be a mistake.

The 2017 free agency class is weak, highlighted by forwards Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward along with point guards Chris Paul, Kyle Lowry and Jrue Holiday.

At power forward, there’s no doubt Griffin and Millsap are studs, and both will meet with Phoenix, according to John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station.

Griffin’s production since his rookie year is remarkable. For his career, the 28-year-old averages 21.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game on 51.8 percent shooting from the field.

If that doesn’t stand out, this should.

The only other player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game while shooting 50 percent or better on field goals for their career is Wilt Chamberlain. That’s it.

In terms of just being an efficient scorer, Griffin is one of four players to put up at least 20 a game on 48 percent shooting or better for each of the past four seasons along with Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Millsap, who reportedly has drawn interest from Phoenix, has been called underrated for so long that one would think that he’s at least properly rated in major NBA circles by now.

One of the best two-way forwards in the game, Millsap has been an All-Star the past four years, showcasing versatility while continuing to expand his offensive game.

In the past four seasons, Millsap joins Giannis Antetokounmpo and DeMarcus Cousins as the only three players to average at least 1.5 blocks, steals and 15 points per game in a season.

Either would be the best player the Suns have had on the roster since the last hurrah for Seven Seconds or Less under Alvin Gentry, but there are a couple of problems at the core of signing them.

Firstly, the 28-year-old Griffin has broken down in the playoffs two straight seasons, this year with a toe injury and the year before with a quad injury. Despite being in the NBA for only eight years, Griffin has missed nearly 30 percent of his possible games. Any team signing him long-term has to be very concerned he will break down in a hurry, and there’s been a very recent example of this type of signing backfiring in New York with Joakim Noah.

At 32, Millsap’s a bit easier to explain. For a four-year deal, he would be 36 in his last year. There’s a chance his best basketball was from 2013-2016, and even if that’s not the case, his decline is surely coming in the first half of a four-year contract.

This is, of course, under the impression the Suns would come out on top in a race for one of the top-5 free agents in a very thin class.

Beyond that, the central issue signing one of the All-Stars is the Suns committed two top-10 picks to power forwards last year, selecting Dragan Bender fourth and Marquese Chriss eighth.

A signing of either quality player would stunt the growth of both, most notably Bender, who is already likely to struggle finding playing time as it is under the team’s current depth chart.

The team already showed their long-term commitment to Chriss last season when they made him the starter over Jared Dudley less than 10 games into the season. That process of growth for the rookie really paid off towards the last few months of the season, when Chriss went from one of the worst starters in the NBA to a solid contributor by the end of the season.

Even if the team planned to trade one, it would be blocking the other in quest of a 6-8 seed for the next few seasons.

This dilemma stretches across nearly the entire depth chart.

At point guard, Bledsoe just played the best basketball of his career and Tyler Ulis revitalized the team’s second unit after the trade deadline while holding his own in the starting lineup at the end of the year.

Devin Booker is not only the future of the shooting guard position on the team, but the franchise as a whole. The team still has to figure out the Brandon Knight situation and Leandro Barbosa’s steady play last season went under the radar and should be kept despite his deal not being guaranteed.

Small forward is perhaps even more booked for the future than power forward.

T.J. Warren has yet to get a full 82-game chance to show how good he can be, and he’s in a contract year. Josh Jackson’s defensive prowess and potential as this year’s No. 4 overall pick should certainly be in the mix for 20-25 minutes from the jump, and Derrick Jones Jr. showed enough promise with Ulis and Alan Williams in the team’s post-All-Star break second unit to at least compete in the preseason for possible minutes.

Center is where the team could look to improve the roster.

The team had to be planning for 34-year-old Tyson Chandler to be more of a reserve in the second half of his four-year deal, but Alex Len has done anything but inspire confidence in that move, let alone the team re-signing the restricted free agent to a big-money contract.

Alan Williams proved everyone wrong that he’s more than just an end of the bench guy, earning himself a payday as a restricted free agent and rotation minutes if he’s brought back. With that said, Williams lacks the upside to be the team’s long-term answer at the five.

Like this year’s draft class, however, the free agent crop is awful, with the best unrestricted name possibly being San Antonio Spurs big Dewayne Dedmon.

It’s possible the team could look at the likes of Dedmon or Ekpe Udoh for rim protection or shooting from Kelly Olynk or Mike Muscala, but anything beyond a fringe starter shouldn’t be expected.

Overall, it puts the Suns in a fascinating spot that should yield quite a boring result. They were one of the three worst teams in the league last year and they have the cap space to make the team better, but the roster is full of young players who need playing time.

It’s a year or two too late for McDonough to make his big move and for now, he has to bet on his recent first-round picks to pay off.

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