Analyst Picks Suns' Dream Offseason Target

The Phoenix Suns would love to get their hands on T.J. McConnell.

May 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) returns the ball against the Boston Celtics in the second quarter during game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are limited in who they can target this offseason, though they can still dream.

Thanks to some massive spending on the top four of their roster, Phoenix finds themselves in the second apron of the luxury tax.

In short, it's difficult to make any favorable trades and the Suns can only sign outside free agents on veteran minimum deals.

Still, there's avenues to take and potential players to acquire to help Phoenix reach their goals of a franchise-first NBA title.

Bleacher Report says in the realm of dream possibilities, Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell is the ideal target for the Suns:

"The Suns are about as leveraged as any team in the league right now, but they do have some movable first-rounders and have shown interest in former Arizona Wildcat T.J. McConnell before," wrote Andy Bailey.

"He's not as tenacious a defender as [Kriss] Dunn, but he's a better distributor and shooter."

Last July, NBA insider Jake Fischer reported McConnell was on Phoenix's radar, though nothing come to fruition.

McConnell has played no less than 70 games the last two seasons but hasn't started in quite some time. In 2023-24, McConnell averaged a career-high 10.2 points per night to pair with 5.5 assists, 2.7 rebounds and one steal as well.

He has one year left on his deal with the Pacers.

Point guard talk has been heavy in Phoenix after the departure of Chris Paul last offseason, and new Suns coach Mike Budenholzer addressed the issue when speaking with reporters last week.

“The conversations have been great and there’s no doubt we have to look at the whole roster and talk about point guard,” Budenholzer said.

“I’m sure it’s a hot button here, whether it’s with you guys, the media, the players, front office. We need to think about it. We need to be able to play without one. We probably need to have one.

“We need to be versatile. We need to play different ways: bigger, smaller. I think the point guard position has a place.”