Ever since Tyler Johnson picked up his player option for $19.25 million this season, most people knew his time with the Phoenix Suns was limited. Johnson would be used as Booker’s overpaid backup, but there likely was no long-term plan that involved him.
There was good reason to think that large of an expiring contract would be great trade fodder for someone like Kevin Love, Andre Drummond, or Karl-Anthony Towns (okay, that was more of a pipe dream). However, perhaps partly due to his lack of strong play, there wasn’t a market for him and the trade deadline came and went without the Phoenix Suns doing anything.