Empire of the Suns trade deadline preview: Troy Daniels

Empire of the Suns will be taking a look at Phoenix’s five most likely players to be moved prior to the NBA’s trade deadline on Feb. 8. So far, we’ve discussed Tyson Chandler, Greg Monroe and Jared Dudley.

Now, it’s to arguably the most tradeable veteran asset: Backup shooting guard Troy Daniels.

Player: Troy Daniels

Age: 26

Contract situation: $3.4 million this year, $3.2 million next year

Role on Suns: Backup shooting guard, sharpshooter

Season stats: 48 games played, 8.8 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.6 APG, 42.8 FG%, 43.3 3P%, 90.0 FT%

Current standing

The Grizzlies moving Daniels was a win-win. Memphis got a smidge of extra guaranteed money off the books for next year and the Suns got someone to play backup shooting guard.

Low and behold, Daniels has exceeded any expectations he had coming in. One of the best players on the team this year, he has done his job of providing spacing while also being, at times, the focal point of the second unit’s offense.

Despite teams being ready for this and giving Daniels crazy closeouts, he’s still hitting his shots, shooting 42 percent from 3-point range in January.

Trade outlook

Kellan Olson: If a playoff team needs shooting and has 10-15 minutes open at shooting guard, why wouldn’t they trade for Daniels?

Per Basketball-Reference, Daniels is one of 17 players in the NBA this season shooting over 40 percent on at least five 3-point attempts per game.

Most importantly, he has a small salary that fits his role, unlike the past three players we have gone over in this series.

To check another box, Davon Reed is someone the Suns will surely want to find more playing time for once he’s back up to 100 percent, and that’s nearly impossible to do unless Daniels is out of the picture.

Teams like the Thunder and Pelicans should look into him.

Kevin Zimmerman: There’s no point in going down the list of teams that could use Daniels’ shooting. He’s been darn good and — with respect to Alex Len and Dragan Bender playing well — the main reason the Suns’ second unit has, at times, looked really good.

On such a good salary, he’s the Suns’ most tradeable player, but don’t be so sure Phoenix would be willing to trade him. Sure, it’s reasonable to see the Suns take back a younger, higher-upset prospect if one becomes available, but otherwise, Daniels holds a lot of value down the road.

For one, his shooting is even more important on a team that has so few reliable shooters. Accepting his lack of defensive prowess, Daniels’ sniping from deep holds a great deal of importance for a bench unit without many off-the-dribble playmakers.

If the Suns indeed see interim coach Jay Triano and his pitch-and-cut offense sticking into 2018-19 — and even if they don’t — Daniels brings another dimension to a team lacking isolation scorers. Quite simply, his fills a void where Phoenix’s depth and talent do not.

All this said, the Suns could be tempted to trade him if a team appreciates Daniels like Phoenix does.

Likelihood of being traded: 5/10