Offseason Analysis: How the Jazz Can Benefit from Suns' Meltdown

The Suns enter a crucial offseason in which the Jazz can benefit from some of their outgoing assets.

After an embarrassing 25-point blowout on their home floor to end the Western Conference Semifinals, the Phoenix Suns are at a bit of an interesting crossroads for the franchise. The team isn't even half a year removed from trading for Kevin Durant, and not even two years removed from making the Finals.

Contents

1. The Problem with the Phoenix Suns
2. The Suns' Contract Situation
3. Potential Targets for the Jazz
4. How A Chris Paul-Utah Trade Could Look

It's clear they've been able to put together a championship-level team in the past, but the most recent two seasons have been a bit underwhelming when you note the expectations the team has had.

With now not one, but two playoff disappointments, there are already some substantial trade rumors surrounding the team's talent. Among many teams, the Utah Jazz could find themselves involved in a deal to add some players or other assets from Phoenix.

Considering this, it's smart to take a step back and evaluate the Suns' roster as a whole. What players could be on the move? Which would the Jazz actually have interest in? How many players do the Suns even have on the roster? A lot of questions on hand at the moment, but will be answered in due time.

Let's evaluate how the Suns could be going under some changes this offseason and how the Jazz can get involved:

The Problem with the Phoenix Suns

The Suns ran into a common issue that many teams desiring the 'superteam' label come across what now seems like every season. X team usually has a good team, but not a great team. X team then decides that they would like to speed up the team-building process by dealing for an unhappy star around the league. A trade for a player that requires so much value that consequently ruins your depth and future all at once.

We have countless examples of this happening around the league, yet franchises tend to make the same mistakes every year. The Los Angeles Clippers have felt this since the Paul George trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves with Rudy Gobert, the Brooklyn Nets even managed to do this TWICE!

Now, it's the Suns' time to learn this lesson. When you end up having a good team, but then trade half of that core for one player, it ultimately sets the franchise back. We saw this firsthand in the Suns' series against the Denver Nuggets.

Even before Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton went down with injuries, the team struggled to find production outside of their top two guys. The bottom line is, this team needs more surrounding role players to complement KD and Booker as opposed to more flashy big names and contracts.

The Suns' Contract Situation

The Suns currently have six players officially on contract, mainly consisting of their more impactful pieces. We can assume KD and Booker are here to stay for now, so we don't have to worry about them as potentially moveable assets. As far as everyone else with a spot on the roster at the moment, they're far from safe.

Outside of KD and Booker, here's what the team's current contracts on the books are:

- DeAndre Ayton, C: $32.4m

- Chris Paul, PG: $30.8m ($15.8m guaranteed)

- Landry Shamet, SG: $10.2m

- Cameron Payne, PG: $6.5m ($2m guaranteed)

Every other player? Free agents, most being over the age of 30 seemingly in the 'ring-chasing' portions of their career (SG Terrence Ross, SF Torrey Craig, C Bismack Biyombo, etc.). We'll likely see a few of these names returning to Phoenix next year, but considering the current circumstances of the team, there could be some needed refresh of the team's bench unit.

Potential Targets for the Jazz

This is where the Jazz can come in. A deep team with a collection of assets could be a gold mine for the Suns' needs. However, are there any parts of Phoenix's roster that would be appealing for what Utah could be looking for?

There have already been some rumblings in Phoenix concerning the future of some of the team's impact players. Both Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton's future with the team has now become a bit foggy, according to Tim McMahon of ESPN.

The Phoenix Suns are expected to ‘aggressively’ shop Chris Paul this summer, per @espn_macmahon

It’s ‘pretty likely’ that Chris Paul will be playing for a different team next season 😳

(h/t B/R) pic.twitter.com/nEgtpBooEy

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 12, 2023

Of all of the players on the roster that could be available for trade this offseason, Chris Paul might make the case for the most reasonable to pursue. The Jazz already look like they have their center of the future in Walker Kessler, so a DeAndre Ayton acquisition seems redundant. Shamet/Payne also just don't seem like must-get guys.

CP3 may be in the twilight of his career, but if the Suns want to get some more cap flexibility this offseason, dealing CP3 might be what's necessary. If that's what their front office decides to do, Utah could be a sneaky destination for the 12x All-Star.

How A Chris Paul-Utah Trade Could Look

The Jazz could either eat the salary and waive Paul for him to make a more realistic championship pursuit, or even have him play out some of his contract. We saw the impact CP3 was able to have on the Oklahoma City Thunder a few years back. While he may not be the same player as three years ago, let's not undersell Chris Paul as a teammate.

While the Suns wouldn't have many firsts picks to give away as an incentive for the Jazz to take a deal like this, they do have some seconds. Looking at the gobs of second-rounders we saw traded during February's deadline, it's possible Phoenix could do the same here.

As far as the Jazz's compensation package, how about some guys like Kelly Olynyk, Rudy Gay, or Simone Fontecchio? All of them are on expiring deals, and can all be valuable, veteran depth pieces, all while helping save money in the process of getting off of Chris Paul's $60 million deal.

No matter what ends up happening in Phoenix this offseason, it seems like there could be some major shakeups in play.

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