National Basketball Association

Will The Suns Make a Move or Remain Irrelevant?

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:29 a.m. ET

Fansided, Robert Neal/FanSided via Valley of the Suns

The NBA trade season is upon us. The only question is will the Suns take a chance and make a move now, or remain just another NBA franchise that no one cares about?

There’s clearly a lot of young talent on this team. But do the Suns stick with the company line to let their young talent develop, or do they do something with that young talent to improve now?

Something as in – a trade?

I know, the Suns got burned when Ryan McDonough gave away two of their best guards in Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas at the 2015 deadline. The Suns did end up with Brandon Knight. But did this five team swap really improve any of the teams involved? Maybe the Celtics. Thomas has been a star there. But did it benefit the Suns? No.

Coach Earl Watson wanted Knight to become the Suns superstar sixth man, like Manu Ginóbili was for the Spurs. But it really hasn’t worked out that way. Just recently Watson complained about Knight’s chemistry off court with the rest of the team (am I the only one sick of Watson’s “Family” priority with this team?) and cut his minutes. According to a report on Bright Side of the Sun, Brandon Knight may have turned things around after a few rocky days with coach Watson. But is it enough? I don’t think so.

Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker and Alex Len make up a core you can’t mess with. Let’s save this year’s two draft picks, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss too. And of course T.J. Warren who can clearly play small forward. Where does that leave us? Power forward, of course. Chriss has been starting there for a while now, but is he ready to step into the shoes of a power forward on a playoff team? No. Not yet. The Suns have the trade assets in Knight and Center Tyson Chandler.

If it were up to me, I’d keep Chandler too. But not Knight. Who needs a point guard right now? Philadelphia, that’s who. And they have a traffic jam in the front court.

Feb 19, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor (8) dribbles the ball against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the 76ers 121-114. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s keep this simple and swap Knight for Jahlil Okafor – a 6’11” big who can give the Suns a better option at power forward. The numbers don’t add up, so the Sixers will have to throw in a second round draft choice, but so what? They get the point guard they need in Knight, and it may be enough for the Colangelos to get their franchise on track.

The Suns have hit rock bottom in the Western Conference, now in 15th place. But they are only three games in the loss column out of 8th, where Portland holds the last playoff spot. The Western Conference clearly isn’t what it used to be. A simple move like Knight for Okafor may spark the Suns to a winning streak that puts them back in the race and puts fans back in the seats.

It seems the only subject that comes up when I mention the Suns is that nobody cares. All anyone sees when glimpsing at a game on TV is all the empty seats in the stands. Fox Sports Arizona needs to stop showing wide shots of the empty upper deck – it’s depressing.

This team has been irrelevant for way too long now. Standing pat is no longer a good option. We all know the Suns aren’t that far away from a team that can win its way back into the playoffs. Bledsoe has been lights out recently, Booker is coming out of his mini-slump, and Len can be dominant underneath if he doesn’t think too much. This team has been a power forward-away from success ever since Stoudemire left town. So why don’t they just go out and get one while they have the pieces in place?

What do you think? Trade Knight or stand pat?