The Phoenix Suns have taken a massive hit this offseason. After watching their roster crumble in Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks, the Suns held off in making any moves to alter their roster with the hope that they could possibly land a disgruntled Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets. KD had named the Suns as one of his preferred destinations, so Phoenix focused on getting a deal done to acquire him.
The Suns fell out of contention for KD when they were forced to match the Indiana Pacers’ offer for Deandre Ayton, removing him from being a possible trade asset in a trade for KD. This left Mikal Bridges, and Cam Johnson as the best players that could be offered to the Nets, along with all the first-round picks the Suns had.
The reported offer and assets were way weaker than what other teams like the Boston Celtics were offering the Nets. Despite being linked to KD all summer, Suns insider John Gambadoro revealed that the Suns never made a formal offer for KD as they didn’t have the assets to make a viable trade offer to Brooklyn.
Mikal Bridges was never offered because no formal offer was ever made from Phoenix nor was there a proposal made by the Nets. The Suns simply did not have what Brooklyn wanted – were told several times they did not have what it would take to get a deal done.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) August 23, 2022
Trading for KD was a nice pipe dream for franchises around the league, but the Suns are probably the biggest losers in this situation. Their main rotation is almost identical for the 3rd season running, and some changes could’ve injected the team with new life.
The Suns still could be in the trade market to add rotational players around their core of Bridges, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul. However, many people are rightfully questioning if the current Suns’ core can actually live up to the expectations come playoff time.
The Sun’s core did win 64 regular season games last season, so they’ll probably have no trouble getting into the postseason in a strong position. Being able to convert their success into a possible title is the goal for Phoenix, something that would have been much easier if they could have added a player like Durant.
