The Phoenix Suns were the most surprising team in the NBA last season as they exceeded all expectations. Despite missing the playoffs, the Suns had a brilliant season led by their young point guard Goran Dragic. Eric Bledsoe was also a huge part of their success, in spite of his knee injury that made him miss 39 games. Now, Bledsoe will be a costless agent heading into the off-season, and the Phoenix Suns are determined to keep him. They may have other big plans in place as well.
The Suns salary going into costless agency is $29.4 million. Emeka Okafor’s enormous $14.5 million contract has expired, and Channing Frye decided to opt out of his $6.4 million contract giving Phoenix the financial flexibility to offer two full max contract deals. On Sunday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that the Suns will aggressively pursue LeBron James. James has the desire to play alongside Carmelo Anthony, and the Suns have the ability to make that happen.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that they would pursue Carmelo Anthony, but they would certainly consider him. The Suns already have a talented young core, and adding two superstars to the mix would easily put them in title contention.
If all does fail, look for the Suns to chase restricted costless agent Gordon Hayward. The Suns are expected to offer Hayward a large sum, possibly a maximum contract. The Utah Jazz plan to match any offer sheet Hayward signs, but it still won’t stop the Suns from trying. After all, Hayward does have an excellent relationship with coach Jeff Hornacek, who was his shooting and assistant coach with the Jazz, and the Suns have always been fond of Hayward.
Other costless agents in play for Phoenix are Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and Luol Deng, all of whom would fulfill its needs. The Suns were close to acquiring Pau Gasol before the trade deadline last season. They want a savvy veteran to mentor some of the young guns on the team, and each of these players would help in that department. They’ve also mentioned improving their small forward position. PJ Tucker had a great year for them, but they want consistent scoring at that slot. Tucker is going to be a restricted costless agent, and the Suns may or may not bring him back, but Ariza and Deng could be potential alternatives, and would certainly be upgrades.
Nonetheless, the Phoenix Suns are bound to have a massive off-season. They have cap room to sign whomever they please. The aforementioned players will be on their radar, and the Suns have a good chance of landing one or two of them.
Depth Chart:
PG: Goran Dragic/Ishmael Smith
SG: Gerald Green/Archie Goodwin
SF: Marcus Morris
PF: Markieff Morris/Shalvik Randolph
C: Miles Plumlee/Alex Len