The Phoenix Suns have been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA this season and as the trading deadline gets closer and now reports say the team could use Emeka Okafor as a deadline chip and names like Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe could be in the mix for deals involving Omer Asik, Thaddeus Young or Evan Turner from the Philadelphia 76ers, or possibly in three team trades that the Suns could help facilitate.
According to Yahoo Sports and Pro Basketball Talk, the Suns had been speculated as a team that could be active at the deadline with the way they have been playing and one reason is due to the fact that Okafor has not played for the team since being acquired in the Marcin Gortat deal. The reason he is a chip is because he has a neck injury and sources say that due to that and an insurance policy, "80 percent of the remaining $14.4 million on his 2013-14 contract" has been taken over and that means that the team that snags him before the deadline gets $5.7 million and now general manager Ryan McDonough could make a push for the playoffs with a deal.
The report says that the team could look to snag some "All-Star" caliber players or young talent and McDonough has already said this season that he will look to use draft picks that he has to make deals. The team traded away Luis Scola and Gortat already and they have four first round picks in this draft and two in the 2015 draft and that puts them in great position as they get closer to the deadline in February and that could mean a playoffs appearance way sooner than anyone expected.
Bledsoe and Gortat have been playing well this season and while Bledsoe has been out with knee surgery, he will be back soon and the team is hanging around in the west and they are second in their division and since they have six picks over the next two years, they can make some moves now to acquire someone like Young, who has a decent contract, but is young and can help the team win now. The Turner option is interesting with Bledsoe out, but reports earlier in the season had the Suns interested in going for Young.
The Suns are 26-18 on the season and are seventh in the league in scoring despite losing Bledsoe and they have a dog fight in the deep western conference to make the playoffs and trades here could set the team up for the future. The club is looking for veteran players and it will be interesting to see how this plays out.