The Phoenix Suns have big moves in their sights this summer and the team could look at a Groan Dragic trade to get it done, as the Suns have shown interest in the Kevin Love trade rumors, Greg Monroe and they have also reportedly offered LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony the chance to play together and if those deals fall through, the team still could sign their own restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe back on a deal.
The Suns had a surprising season in 2013-14 and they nearly made the playoffs in the very tough western conference and that has sparked GM Ryan McDonagh to be active this offseason. According to ESPN.com, the Suns spoke with representatives for LeBron James about the possibility of signing him to a deal and they have also explored adding both James and Anthony on free agent contracts, as they have a high amount of cap space.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, there have been some rumors this summer about a potential trade involving Dragic to the Indiana Pacers. Marc Stein and the Sporting News write that it could be a first move in the hopes of landing Rajon Rondo, but that has not been confirmed. The PBT report also says that the Suns are not looking to part ways with Dragic unless it's for a massive deal, as they love how he developed last season, as he was named to the All-NBA this team and is in on a relatively cheap $7.5 million contract this year.
Bledsoe is the main target for the Suns and so far the restricted free agent has not had any offers sent his way. The Suns, according to Pro Basketball Talk, are hoping to sign back Bledsoe without having to match any offers, as they see him as a strong building block. Bledsoe is still young at just 24 years old and he is coming off of a season where he averaged 17.7 points per game. The team sees Dragic and Bledsoe as two foundational building blocks to rebuild with.
The Suns come into the offseason after winning 48 games last year and that was a big improvement for the team over the previous season and now they have some optimism moving forward. The Suns are a young team and they have a number of talented players on the roster, including Alex Len, Miles Plumlee and now Tyler Ennis as well. The team could afford to trade Dragic after drafting Ennis, but the team may not want to force him into the starting lineup right away. Dragic was one of the most improved players in basketball last season and the Suns would rather not trade him unless it was for a massive deal like Rajon Rondo or Kevin Love.
The Suns also had hoped to sign back Channing Frye to a free agent deal and he opted to go to the Orlando Magic. Frye is in on a four year contract worth just over $30 million, which is the same type of deal the Celtics signed Avery Bradley too last week. Frye comes in after averaging 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes per game and he was totally healthy last season, playing in every matchup on the 82 game schedule.