Report: Suns Did Not Pursue Blockbuster Trade Last Season

The Phoenix Suns did not pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo at least year's trade deadline, according to ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania.

Charania, in a recent report surrounding Antetokounmpo and recent trade rumors picking up, listed the following teams showed legitimate trade interest in the Bucks forward:

"Sources said postseason teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers pursued Antetokounmpo at the February deadline, and their finishes to the campaign will play a major factor in their aggressiveness to trade for him."

Antetokounmpo trade rumors involving Phoenix have took off on Suns social media as of late as Phoenix looks to improve their roster over the coming summer months.

Phoenix didn't do work on Antetokounmpo at the deadline — have things changed since?

Some believe the Suns' success gives a green light for that to happen, similar to the Kevin Durant trade made just a few seasons ago.

However, the Durant experiment ultimately failed — and perhaps owner Mat Ishbia learned from previous lessons.

"Can we win more games? Can we win a playoff series? Can we continue to build in the direction of a championship program? That's what we're going to focus on," Ishbia said when asked about upgrading the roster this summer and being aggressive.

"And so do we take calls about opportunistic trades and ideas? Of course we do. However, our massive, massive lean is: I like this team. I like where we're going. I like the direction of the organization. I like the culture that we've built. I like the identity that we have, and we're not going to do anything silly to mess that up."

Does a move for Antetokounmpo qualify as silly? Do the Suns believe in the trio of Devin Booker, Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to get the job done in the near future?

Those are questions that will eventually have to be answered by Suns brass, though even if Phoenix was truly interested, it feels like the only plausible scenario to make things happen would be Antetokounmpo forcing his way to the desert.

The Suns, between actual players to be dealt and prime draft capital, don't have the firepower like most of the other teams who checked in on Antetokounmpo do at the moment.

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