Four trades that could help the Phoenix Suns hit the reset button

The “reset button” is a popular term used in sports when a team makes transactions that abandon the present and plan more towards the future.

A very recent example of this was the Portland Trail Blazers this past summer, who lost their best player, LaMarcus Aldridge, their leader, Wesley Matthews, and a good two-way center Robin Lopez in free agency. With a budding superstar in point guard Damian Lillard and his backcourt mate C.J. McCollum buzzing off his lottery potential, the Blazers wasted no time and decided to “blow it up.”

They traded their best-all around wing, Nic Batum, to the Charlotte Hornets for power forward Noah Vonleh, a lottery pick that hadn’t worked out in the very small amount of time and opportunities he had in Charlotte. To replace Lopez, they traded 2015 first-round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the Brooklyn Nets for center Mason Plumlee.

When free agency started, they agreed to an offer sheet with center Enes Kanter, signed Al-Farouq Aminu and traded for Moe Harkless to help replace everything Batum did for the team on the wing. They also signed big-man Ed Davis to add more depth on the front-line.

That recent example is important to a team like the Phoenix Suns, who are now in a slightly similar situation. They have some of the right pieces to build around such as Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker. Besides the bigger point, the Suns are closer than the Blazers are to winning because of players like Brandon Knight, Alex Len and T.J. Warren who, despite their flaws, certainly look like solid rotation-level players at the least. Additionally, the Suns look like they will have a top-five 2016 draft pick.

The difference for the Suns is that instead of their best veteran players leaving, most of them just signed new contracts. Tyson Chandler is in for four years. Ditto for Markieff Morris and Bledsoe. Meanwhile, P.J. Tucker is set to hit the market in 2017.

What’s clearly not working is the team they have right now, with Morris in Phoenix and clutter in the backcourt.

How can Phoenix fix it? Obviously, there are many different ways to go about this. One way would be their own form of the “reset button,” which would be cleaning out the pieces that don’t fit for the future.

While that’s possible in a multitude of ways, let’s play virtual general manager for a minute and take a look at some trades that represent that type of thought.

Option 1

Suns receive: Joe Johnson

Nets receive: Tyson Chandler, Markieff Morris, Archie Goodwin, 2017 lottery protected first-rounder

This is the ultimate form of the reset button. The Suns ditch the Chandler contract, the Morris headache and the consistent problem of finding Goodwin minutes. They get back their cap flexibility they worked so hard to maintain for the past two seasons with Johnson’s deal done after this season and can go back to being aggressive with cap space, their own future picks and the Heat picks from the Dragic trade.

The Nets do not own a first-round pick until 2018 and with most teams having max cap space this summer, they have to be worried about having assets with the current state of their roster. There’s no doubt about the quality of Morris’ play when it all connects and he could very well be the best player on the Nets. All of this depends on how much the Nets think Chandler has left, which is why the extra incentive of the very talented Goodwin and a first-round pick is provided.

Option 2

Suns receive: Kevin Love

Cavaliers receive: Markieff Morris, P.J. Tucker, Mirza Teletovic, 2017 lottery protected first-rounder

The Suns finally land the superstar they have been looking for since McDonough and Hornacek arrived. One of the best stretch fours in the NBA, Love can mix in more of his traditional power forward game in Phoenix while still stretching the floor like he did in Cleveland. Love would be well on his way back to averaging 22+ points per game and 13+ rebounds per game and at 27-years-old, is still in his prime. This could be a no-brainer for Phoenix.

The only hesitation here for Phoenix is being financially handcuffed with Chandler, Love, Knight and Bledsoe making up a significant portion of the salary cap. That is something they would have to address quickly or really “go for it” and try to win now.

This trade might befuddle some from the Cavaliers’ perspective, but it’s more simple than you think. Love simply cannot be on the floor against the Golden State Warriors when they go small without being exposed, which is the inevitable task for the Cavs when they reach the finals. Insert two players who can be in Morris and Tucker, who are both great defensive players when they are at their best, particularly Tucker. Both also have their proper functions offensively, but there’s no need to worry about that when your team has LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

From a matchup perspective with the Warriors, the Cavs are a power forward or small forward short, and with this trade they gain two. While it would be in limited minutes, Teletovic would thrive in Love’s role of shooting open threes in the corner.

The money Love makes does not translate to his contribution to the team and that has to worry Cleveland. A contract like Morris’ would be a luxury for a team that has LeBron James coming closer to receiving the max, and that team has serious long-term money committed to Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Irving and Love. There are also rumblings that a Love trade was expected by many players when the news of former head coach David Blatt’s firing broke and that “everyone is in the crosshairs right now.”

Option 3

Suns receive: Alec Burks, two 2016 second-round picks (Jazz own 4)

Jazz receive: Brandon Knight

Let’s face it; Knight is not the player the Suns thought they got when they acquired him. Knight’s flexible combo guard game more suited to play with Bledsoe is really more of a combo guard that wants to play point guard, but isn’t one that deserves to take those reps away from Bledsoe. Knight’s stats this season are eerily similar to the likes of Monta Ellis and Jamal Crawford, who are great scoring guards that have spent time coming off the bench. While he’s still young, that looks more and more like Knight’s destiny and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The bad thing for Knight has been the play of Devin Booker. He’s been the best player on the roster since Bledsoe went out and has shown incredible poise and basketball IQ despite being the youngest player in the NBA. Booker has done nothing but impress and looks like he should be starting by next season. The problem is Knight, who, like any player, might not be willing to move to the bench and the reported tension between him and Bledsoe sounds like a situation the Suns should not put themselves in.

Enter Burks, who is already in that role of supplying instant offense in Utah, averaging 14 points in 27 minutes a game. Burks is not as valuable as Knight, but the Suns would have to take a slight loss on value for the sake of fit.

The Jazz finally get some clarity on the point guard position. Former top-five pick Dante Exum is still in waiting, but Knight is more ready to do right now with the likes of Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert. Suns fans have seen the effectiveness Knight can have in a point guard role and his turnovers would be more limited with Hayward and Rodney Hood handling the ball more like they currently do. Knight gets his wish with being the starting point guard on the team, can take some of those minutes Burks used to play for his source of individual offense and the Jazz would be more ready to win now.

Option 4

Suns receive: Joakim Noah

Bulls receive: Tyson Chandler, Archie Goodwin, 2016 Cleveland first-round pick

This is similar to the Nets trade from the Suns perspective. There’s no need to worry about Chandler’s deal hurting them in the long-term and Goodwin is expendable with 2014 first-round pick Bogdan Bogdanovic set to come over in either 2016 or 2017.

Noah is a good fit for Phoenix’s style and even with his contract expiring at the end of this season and an injury that has him out for an extended period, he would be useful as a backup to Alex Len if his health checked out.

The Bulls have a budding superstar in Jimmy Butler and if they want to win now with him this is the type of move to make. They receive a better fit alongside Pau Gasol or Nikola Mirotic in Chandler and more importantly, won’t lose Noah for nothing if he leaves in free agency this summer. Goodwin is a skilled guard that could excel under Fred Hoiberg.

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