The Phoenix Suns made a deadline-day trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, sending Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis to Milwaukee (Richards was then sent to the Chicago Bulls as the deal was reportedly expanded to a three-team trade) in exchange for Cole Anthony and Amir Coffey.
This move, which is rooted in the Suns’ financial interest in getting under a luxury tax threshold, likely won’t have much impact on the current roster. Nevertheless, a specific non-trade is what should really help Phoenix the rest of the way.
After weeks of speculation that the Bucks could opt to acquire two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported this on February 5 that Milwaukee will opt to keep him until the deadline.
In fact, there won’t be any MVP-caliber reinforcements headed to Western Conference teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors — three squads with reported interest and several rumors tying them to Giannis.
That’s good news for the Suns, who won’t have to deal with another superstar in the West during the regular season and playoffs.
That’s especially true as the Suns are tied with the Lakers in the standings, behind Minnesota and just ahead of Golden State entering the games on deadline day.
All three of these teams compete directly with Phoenix for playoff placement at the end of the season, so the fact that they won’t be bringing in one of the league’s best players to bolster their roster is a sigh of relief for Suns fans.
Suns were also linked to Gianni trade rumors
While the aforementioned Western Conference playoff contenders were much more closely linked to Antetokounmpo when he was reportedly on the trade block, the Suns were also in the mix – for a short time.
As has been the case with every blockbuster trade speculation involving Phoenix, Jalen Green – the key piece returning in last summer’s Kevin Durant trade – was placed at the top of any trade package for the ‘Greek Freak’.
Brett Siegal, NBA reporter for ClutchPoints, shot down those Bucks rumors on Jan. 7 by tweeting “the Suns have made it clear that Green is unavailable.”
The Suns have apparently learned a lesson after making blockbuster trades to acquire both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal in recent years, hampering their salary cap flexibility and making the roster too top-heavy.
Of course, the Suns probably didn’t have enough draft capital to make a competitive offer for Antetokounmpo even if Green was included in the framework, so there’s that.
Regardless, Giannis will remain with the Bucks as the Suns continue to build a roster that exceeds all preseason expectations while building culture and team chemistry.
That no other Western Conference team could entice Milwaukee to let Giannis go is good news for Phoenix.
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