On January 16th, Beijing time, the Suns and Hornets completed a 4-for-2 trade. The Suns used Okeke + the Nuggets' second-round picks from 2026 to 2031 + their own second-round pick in 2031 to acquire Richards + the Nuggets' second-round pick in 2025! This trade finally solved the Suns' problem of starting center, as Richards' athleticism, rebounding, rim protection, and ability to score close to the basket are all urgently needed by the Suns. However, the Suns' problems cannot be solved by one person alone, and there will definitely be more trades to come.
The Suns currently have the following remaining trade resources:
Draft picks: first-round pick in 2031, second-round pick from the Nuggets in 2025;
Players who cannot be traded (ranked from strongest to weakest): Beal, Jones, Durant, Booker, Dunn, O'Neal, Allen. Among them, Beal's trade veto power is unshakable, and Jones agreed to a starting position when he joined at the minimum salary;
Players who can be traded: Plumlee/Iguodala (one of the two), Morris, Ball;
Players the Suns most want to trade: Nurkic (no market);
In summary, the Suns can use 2 draft picks + Morris + Ball + Plumlee/Iguodala + Nurkic for trading, and at most add Allen (in case of emergency). Among these, Morris (2.8 million), Ball (2.43 million), and oyster (3.3 million) can only be considered as extras with little trading value; Iguodala (1.86 million) is also not very valuable; only the draft picks and Allen (annual salary of 15.63 million) are truly attractive chips! And Nurkic (18.13 million) can only be a negative asset to balance the contract!
The current Suns lineup configuration is as follows:
Starters: Jones, Booker, Dunn, Durant, Richards; (the frontcourt has height, offense, and defense, and the athletic ability has also been enhanced; the backcourt defense is weak, but the bench can alleviate this problem. In addition, the arrival of Richards may magnify Jones' role, who has been very poor in the last 5 games, averaging only 6.8+4.2 with a shooting percentage of only 30%);
Bench: Beal, Allen, O'Neal, Nurkic/Iguodala/Plumlee; it is unexpected that Ball and Morris will continue to be DNP.
Therefore, the Suns' shortcomings are now obvious - the four-number position, which is Durant's substitute! In Budenholzer's system and the Suns' personnel composition, this No. 4 position requires height and long-range shooting ability, as well as certain rebounding and rim protection capabilities (because the three substitutes for No. 5 are relatively poor at defending pick-and-rolls and rim protection). To be honest, Ball is somewhat suitable, but his defense is too thin and unreliable.
The current 4th position players on the market are:
Raptors' Boucher (10.81 million) and Olynyk (12.8 million), Knicks' Achiuwa (6 million), Pacers' Toppin (12.98 million), Pistons' Stewart (15 million) and Reed (7.72 million), Bulls' Jalen Smith (8.57 million), Hawks' Nance Jr. (11.21 million), Mavericks' Kleber (1.1 million), Kings' Lyles (8 million)... The Suns must be very cautious in their next trade, because the chips are almost gone, and after this trade, the Suns will no longer have the possibility to adjust the lineup.