It’s officially trade season, and if any of the rumors flying around are to be believed, then the Phoenix Suns figure to be active players at this year’s deadline. They’ve already been linked to numerous trade candidates, and have reportedly gauged interest on some of their own players as well.
As anticipated, Frank Vogel has shortened his rotation in the last few weeks to aide the Suns’ decision makers in choosing who to keep and who to send off. It’s still a bit opaque for us fans, but there’s enough intel to break the players down into groups based on how likely they are to be dealt.
Aside from winning a championship, Mat Ishbia’s biggest goal as Suns owner should be to make sure Devin Booker never wears another jersey. The face of the franchise for nearly a decade, Booker is well on his way to becoming the greatest Phoenix Sun of all time. He’s not going anywhere.
Just as Booker is the face of the Suns, Kevin Durant is one of the faces of the entire league. The Suns want to keep a player this popular and elite in a Suns jersey as long as possible.
Bradley Beal doesn’t have the franchise or historical standing of the other two, but he has something even more important for this time of year: a no trade clause. The same no-trade clause that got Beal to the Suns will keep him in Phoenix as long as he wants.
The Suns wouldn’t want to trade Beal even if that wasn’t the case though. The “Big 3” are operating exactly as expected and should be kept together as the foundation of the team for years to come.
