The Phoenix Suns are a lot like Queen in 1970. Both are young and talented; both are on the verge of becoming something special. For Queen (then known as Smile), they needed to reboot after the departure of their lead man — Tim Staffell. For Phoenix, they need to improve from “playoff contender” to “title contender.” The iconic British rock band went on to recruit a new bassist and lead singer, setting them up for many years of prosperity. If the Phoenix Suns want this analogy to continue past 1970, they would be wise to make a similar roster change. There's only one question: who will be their Freddy Mercury?
Option 1: Eric Bledsoe
This isn’t as much of a roster change as it is an essential offseason move. The 6’1’’, 200 lb bulldog out of Kentucky was the perfect complement to Goran Dragic this past season. Think of Bledsoe as an explosively athletic Isiah Thomas and Dragic as a crafty but not as defensively formidable Joe Dumars. The dueling banjos thing is working. Let’s keep it going.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVrKMpADnW0
Option 2: Joakim Noah
It’s no secret the Suns could use a rim protector. While a trade for the reigning defensive player of the year is a long shot, the Joakim Noah rumor mill has already begun churning. Sam Smith of Bulls.com heard this one: Noah goes to New York in exchange for Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert and Pablo Prigioni. Surely the Suns could outbid that, right? A trade of this magnitude would warrant (at the very least) a couple draft picks and young talent (Goodwin, Len, Smith and/or one of the Morrii twins)—pricey but totally worth it. Elite big men don’t exactly grow on trees.
Option 3: Luol Deng
If the Suns can steal away Joakim Noah, why not sign his old friend, Luol Deng? According to Sam Amico of Fox Sports, the Suns have already expressed interest in the veteran small forward.
“Deng, 28, will be an unrestricted free agent in July, meaning he is free to sign with any team without the Cavs possessing the option to match. The Cavs are expected to make an offer, but after years of success, Deng may prefer to move on. The Lakers and Suns are among those interested, league sources say.”
The Suns need help on defense and Deng is considered one of the best in the game. The two-time All-Star would be a welcome addition, however, the heart and soul of last year’s team, P.J. Tucker, plays the same position. Tucker served as a defensive stopper and emotional leader—think 'Tony Allen' type. If the Suns opt to bring in Luol Deng, it would not be as Tucker’s replacement, but as someone to play alongside him.
BONUS OPTION: Thaddeus Young
Life is full of contingencies. If the Luol Deng venture yields no fruit, the Suns’ front office should look elsewhere—and by elsewhere I mean, “let’s go get that poor guy stuck in Philadelphia.”
Thaddeus Young deserves a change in scenery. As of today, the 25-year-old SF/PF is the best player on the second worst team in the NBA. Rather than waste the prime of his career on a team that is tanking rebuilding looking to the future, the versatile big could be looking for a way out.
Per Tom Moore of Calkins Media:
“If one of the top-10 picks is a ‘4’ man, Young won’t want to come off the bench for a team that might not win 30 games in what should be the prime of his career. Sixers coach Brett Brown said Young could play some small forward, but he’d have to upgrade his ball-handling and outside shooting for that to be a realistic alternative.”
The energetic, powerful forward is a straight-up stat sheet stuffer. Scoring, rebounding, distributing, defending—Young does it all. He might be the closest thing to the perfect fit for Hornacek’s run-n-gun offense.
Conclusion:
The Phoenix Suns have paid their dues; they’ve had their share of sand kicked in their face. Heck, they’ve even had their nose broken a time or two. But don’t count them out just yet. They’ll be singing with Freddy and the gang soon… very soon.
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