Who’s most tradeable of the Suns’ Big 3? ESPN’s Bobby Marks answers

Picking a head coach, Frank Vogel or otherwise, will be the first big decision for the Phoenix Suns this offseason. Filling out roster depth with a 2024 first-round draft pick or using it to trade is another.

The biggest, however: Will Phoenix choose continuity with their Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal?

Let’s not consider the why it would happen or the reasons behind it for a second.

Instead, let’s focus only on the feasibility of such a move. How easily could the Suns move off one of their stars?

“… If you’re looking to dismantle the three guys, I don’t see any takers out there for Bradley Beal,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Wednesday. “I think Bradley Beal’s a good player under a different contract. Where his role is, I think it’s probably the most toxic contract in the NBA, and then you add the no-trade clause with it.

“Durant on the other end … There would be a line of teams out the door waiting for Kevin Durant to become available. Would you be able to get back what you gave up? Probably not.”

Adding draft pick assets likely wouldn’t help matters. The point of trading Durant would be filling in the roster with depth and multiple rotation players alongside Booker and Beal to have another shot at chasing a title in the next few years.

Due to Phoenix being over the second tax apron, it cannot aggregate outgoing salaries in any trade. But the Suns can take back multiple salaries for one player such as Durant, so long as those return salaries add up to a lesser value than the single outgoing contract.

As for Booker’s trade value as his supermax contract kicks in for the 2024-25 season, Marks will shoot that idea down: “He’s a top-15 player. I don’t know why you’d want to go in a different direction.”

The value of the Suns’ 2024 NBA Draft pick

On the more realistic scale of improving the Suns’ roster for the next season is hitting a home run with the 22nd overall pick in June’s draft.

Marks pointed to the Miami Heat using the 18th pick in 2023 on forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., a player who fit their culture and made an immediate impact as a rotation player.

Golden State Warriors rookie Brandin Podziemski, who was drafted right after Jaquez, was another player who flashed a swagger and a versatile skillset to complement that team.

“Even where they’re picking — and I know this is a weak or average-at-best draft — we’ve seen in the past teams have been able to go out and get three- or four-year guys. Miami did it with Jaquez, Golden State with Podziemski, guys in the late teens, early 20s,” Marks said.

“Yes, you can trade that pick starting the night of the draft and you can trade a 2031 (pick). I think that’s the first part (of improving the roster), is identifying a young player that you can have coming off your bench here.”

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