Mixed Messages On The Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns scooped up Marcus Morris from the Houston Rockets last night in exchange for a 2013second round pick. The Suns roster now stands at 16 players, meaning Phoenix will have to either dump off a player before their trade is finalized or agree to buy one out.
There are two names being mentioned the most and that’s veteran big man Jermaine O’Neal and veteran guard Sebastian Telfair. One could be moved today for almost nothing in return.
The Suns have been linked to Atlanta’s Josh Smith, however there continues to be debate on how serious the Suns are in chasing Smith, who will be a free agent in July and is looking for a maximum payday.
The Suns were believed to be dangling disgruntled center Marcin Gortat, veteran forward Jared Dudley and shooting guard PJ Tucker in exchange for Smith.
If that package is genuinely on the table, that is a fairly and decent return for the Hawks, however the Suns started telling insiders last night that the Morris deal was basically their transaction for the deadline and that nothing major was coming.
However as soon as that transaction hit the internet, league sources chimed in that it was a precursor to a Josh Smith deal and that Phoenix had pushed Houston to move early so they could open serious talks with Atlanta in advance of the deadline today.
It remains unclear exactly which direction Phoenix is going to go, but with the arrival of Morris yesterday, veterans forward Jared Dudley could be on the move regardless of Josh Smith and the Memphis Grizzlies are a team to watch on that front. The Grizz have several Traded Player Exceptions and a second round pick from their Toronto deal with Rudy Gay to shop a deal with; they could solve the roster problem for Phoenix too.
– Steve Kyler
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