Point guard is probably the deepest position in the NBA and the Suns are counting on that fact to make a very late and important addition to their roster for the start of training camp later this month. By dealing away Brandon Knight to the Rockets on Friday, the Suns currently have no experienced true point guard depth on a roster that has playoff aspirations after signing veterans like Trevor Ariza and adding the No. 1 overall pick, DeAndre Ayton.
The question for Phoenix general manager Ryan McDonough is whether he’ll be able to find a promising piece in for that major role in a tight window. We already took a look at the prospect of a deal with the Celtics on Friday, but Arizona talk show host John Gambodoro already confirmed that the Suns had tried to engage on trades for big names like Kemba Walker, Damian Lillard and Terry Rozier with no success.
Where will they look in the coming days? Let’s explore what’s out there on the trade market by looking at some teams with excess talent in their backcourt, as well as some free agents.
PG Free agents
Jameer Nelson
Jarrett Jack
Mario Chalmers
Aaron Brooks
Tim Frazier
Ty Lawson
Brandon Jennings
Ramon Sessions
Overview: There are plenty of recognizable names on this list but few of these pieces actually are capable of handling major minutes at the position at this stage of their careers. Jack had the biggest role last year with the Knicks, starting 56 games but his defense is very spotty at age 34 and his 3-point shot (29 percent) took a major dip as well. Nelson looked washed up with the Pistons, Chalmers had a career-worst season after suffering an Achilles tear, while Jennings and Sessions don’t have much left either. Lawson got some solid run with the Wizards in the postseason so he probably has a bit more in the tank than most of this crew. Still, I wouldn’t want to hand the keys to the car to any of these guys. Some bench minutes is fine, but not the starting gig.
Potential trade targets
Matthew Dellavedova: The Bucks' point guard is a bit overpaid at $9.6 million for the next couple of seasons and he’s towards the bottom of the depth chart behind Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon and some new additions on the wing in Pat Connaughton and Donte DiVincenzo. This wouldn’t cost the Suns much in terms of assets but the 27-year-old battled injuries for much of last year and averaged a career-low 4.3 ppg.
Malcolm Brogdon: He’s a bigger part of the Bucks rotation but the third-year guard would certainly fetch more for Milwaukee in a deal thanks to his $1.5 million salary and above-average shooting numbers. The second round pick was probably a top-4 player in series for the Bucks last May against the Celtics so he could flourish in a bigger role that might not be available for him in Milwaukee. However, the Bucks will demand a meaningful return if they cut ways with him.
George Hill: The Cavs already have their point guard of the future in place with Colin Sexton, which makes the need for Hill and his $18-million salary no longer needed in Cleveland. The Suns won’t have to give up much in the way of assets for him if they are willing to take on his cash but there isn’t much salary available to offer outside of Tyson Chandler that would make the math work. Hill is still a useful player so unless the Cavs just want to save a few million in cash (which is possible) this deal is tough to see happening.
Cory Joseph/Indiana PGs: The Pacers loaded up on talent in the backcourt this offseason after bringing aboard Tyreke Evans and rookie Aaron Holiday to a roster that already had Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo and Joseph manning the point position. The Pacers have playoff aspirations so they won’t be looking to dump anyone outright, but Joseph’s salary ($8 million) and role as a bench piece probably makes him expendable. If the Suns can offer up an upgrade at another position, this is a potential match.
Patrick Beverley/Milos Teodosic: Like the Pacers, the Clippers have a serious logjam across the guard depth chart. They drafted a pair of rookies in Jerome Robinson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a backcourt that is already stocked with Lou Williams, Avery Bradley, Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic. There obviously isn’t enough playing time to go around there for everyone and the senior tier of guards in Beverley and Teodosic are both making cheap money in the final years of their deals.
Lakers stretch Luol Deng, open up cap space for next season
Few teams hurt themselves more in the summer of 2016 with bad contracts for veterans than the Lakers. After dealing away Timofey Mozgov last offseason, the Lakers elected to clear out Luol Deng from their books on Saturday, waiving the small forward after a buyout agreement. Deng had roughly $36 million remaining on the final two years of his deal and was DNP-CD for the final 81 games of the regular season last year after Luke Walton decided to go with the youngsters.
Deng is giving back over seven million dollars back per reports as part of the arrangement, but it’s evident that he will be a wanted commodity on the free agent market ahead of the start of training camp to recoup some of that. The Rockets still have a couple roster spots open and could use more depth on the wing, while Deng’s old coach Tom Thibodeau will surely give Deng a look in Minnesota for some bench depth behind Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins.
The Lakers could have held out a bit longer here in hopes of trading Deng somewhere, but it’s considerate of them to give him a chance to play somewhere after benching him for a full season. LA will now lock in at least $12 million in extra salary cap room for next season by stretching Deng’s salary and that should give them enough room for a max free agent next summer. We all know the names that will be on their radar then (Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, etc.) so get ready for the Lakers to play prominently again in free agency for the second straight summer.
Other NBA News and Notes
- Thunder waived swingman Kyle Singler, which will help them save $23 million in luxury tax penalties after stretching out his cap hit over a few seasons.
- Sixers are bringing in three people outside of the organization to interview for their general manager position this month. Larry Harris (Warriors), Gersson Rosas (Rockets), and Justin Zanik (Jazz) will be brought into the mix, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s notable that Mike Zarren is not a name on that list, as the Celtics' assistant general manager has been linked to the Sixers in past years as a potential candidate.
- Interesting twist to the Ryan Anderson trade that the veteran power forward agreed to reduce his guarantee by over $6 million in the final year of his deal. Guys are making more and more concessions these days to facilitate trades that will get them more playing time.
- Manu Ginobili and David West both called it a career this week. Ginobili was probably one of the last players in NBA history that will play their entire career for one franchise. His number is set to go into the rafters at some point next year for San Antonio. West closed out his career with a pair of rings for the Warriors after being one of the better power forwards around the league during the 2000s.