As the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline approaches, everyone has their eyes on the Phoenix Suns and what moves they will make.
Phoenix currently sits eighth in the Western Conference standings with a 15-14 record after picking up a win against the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day. While they currently sit in a Play-In spot, they are also in danger of falling out of the playoffs completely as they sit just half a game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs who hold the 11th seed.
The Suns have dealt with a multitude of injuries to their superstar trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, which has them in a precarious spot in the standings. Their trio has played well this season as both Booker and Durant are averaging over 25 points per game, but their injury problems could be a concern for Phoenix’s playoff chances.
Because of this, the Suns have been the subject of many trade rumors. Phoenix has been linked to Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat, but they have yet to pull off a trade, which would have to include Beal. As they continue to discuss a potential trade with the Heat, they could also shift their focus on landing a veteran big man from the Chicago Bulls.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein of “The Stein Line,” the Suns are showing interest in Nikola Vucevic of the Bulls.
“The Suns are said to be interested in Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic and would seem to have an obvious pathway to making the Bulls an offer by attaching draft compensation to the contract of Jusuf Nurkić,” Stein wrote.
In a possible trade, the Suns could send Nurkić, Damion Lee and draft picks to Chicago for Vucevic and Talen Horton-Tucker. Phoenix would have to add in another player next to Nurkić to match Vucevic’s contract.
By acquiring Vucevic, the Suns would greatly upgrade their center position. The 34-year-old is averaging 20.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game this season while shooting 57.8% from the field and 45.2% from three.
Vucevic is a great scorer and would be an improvement over Nurkić who has struggled this season. He should also get even more open looks thanks to defenses swarming the Suns’ superstar trio.
By making this move, the Suns would fix one of their issues, and could still land Butler from the Heat to chase a championship this season.
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