PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns join every other NBA squad in looking to upgrade their roster during the free agency period, which is set to open shortly.
The Suns already have star names such as Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal at their disposal with Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkic and Royce O’Neale also serving prominent roles.
Thanks to Phoenix’s positioning in the luxury tax, the Suns are limited in what they can do in free agency. Essentially, Phoenix can only sign players to veteran minimum contracts on the open market.
That makes their pool of players limited, as they’ll have to convince talented vets to take less money in hopes of competing for a championship in the Valley.
Who will they target – and who is their top target?
Bleacher Report says Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn is a top option.
“Kris Dunn is on the short list of the league’s top defensive point guards, plays with uncommon aggression and will have no problem deferring to Phoenix’s stars on offense. His shooting isn’t ideal at 32.3 percent for his career from deep, but Dunn canned 39.5 percent of his 1.7 triple attempts per game across the last two seasons with the Jazz,” wrote Grant Hughes.
“Maybe as he enters his age-30 season, the former No. 5 overall pick has shored up that part of his game in a sustainable way.
“Though he’s not flashy and comes with limitations, Dunn would at least address the need for a point guard that has limited the Suns in their current form. Most importantly, he can be had for the minimum—especially if Phoenix makes it clear the starting job is his to lose.”
Arizona Sports insider John Gambadoro has previously highlighted Dunn as one of their top targets too, though he believes Dunn will return to Utah.
“Utah is gonna keep him. They can pay him more. Utah’s gonna keep him. The Suns can only offer a vet minimum. Utah likes him,” Gambadoro said before recently adding:
“With free agency opening up tomorrow and the Suns in need of a point guard a couple of names to keep an eye on are – Monte Morris and Aaron Holiday. Kris Dunn makes a lot of sense just not sure if he is gettable.”
– John Gambadoro
ESPN has also previously reported rival teams expect the Suns to pursue the Utah guard:
“The Suns might look more to free agency to explore adding a point guard to their roster, with Kris Dunn (not related) one potential option that rival teams expect them to look at,” wrote Jonathan Givony ahead of the draft.
We’ll see if Dunn ultimately re-signs with the Jazz, though numerous people are pointing to Phoenix as one his biggest pursuers.
Source link : https://www.si.com/nba/suns/news/phoenix-suns-top-free-agent-target-clear-
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Publish date : 2024-06-30 15:44:17
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