The Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards completed a blockbuster trade Sunday evening that has shaken up the NBA title race.
Trade Terms
Suns receive
Wizards receive
- Chris Paul
- Landry Shamet
- Multiple second-round picks (estimated four to six) and multiple future first-round pick-swaps
Grades
Suns Grade: B+
The goal is very clear and obvious in Phoenix: win now. By trading for Beal, the Suns have formed an incredible starting five consisting of Beal, Cameron Payne, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Deandre Ayton. This starting five alone will cost the Suns around $170 million, which has them significantly over the luxury tax threshold.
Although having hardly any future draft capital or cap space may seem like a concern, none of that matters to the Suns and owner Mat Ishbia as the goal is clearly to win a title. Ishbia already completed one blockbuster deal for Durant, and now, he has given up essentially nothing to add another All-Star player in Beal.
It’s clearly go-time in Phoenix, with Durant being 35 years old and having three years left on his contract. The time to win is now, and one title is all it will take to check this move off as a success.
Wizards Grade: D-
Rudy Gobert fetched the Jazz five players and five picks. Durant brought the Nets three players and four first-round picks. So just where did the Wizards go wrong here?
Let’s start with the awful contract Beal signed in 2022. His five-year, $251 million deal included a no-trade clause that completely eliminated Washington’s leverage. The hope was the trio of Beal, Kristaps Porziņģis and Kyle Kuzma could make playoff pushes, but in reality, they played just two seasons together and did not make the playoffs once. Fast forward to the current day, just one year after Washington signed Beal to the massive deal, and he has already been traded for nothing only because he waived his no-trade clause for Phoenix.
I would have liked to give the Wizards an “F” here, but there is always a possibility, albeit very slim, that the Wizards may have success with the future picks and players that were acquired.
Next Steps
Phoenix Suns
Trade Deandre Ayton
The former No. 1 overall pick has been a bit of a disappointment. While Ayton has the size and athleticism to dominate, he cannot seem to tie it into his game. Ayton’s contract will increase to roughly $35 million per season and expire in 2026, so for the Suns, it’s quite the risk to keep such an expensive and inconsistent player when they will be looking to make title runs. Trading Ayton to a team willing to take a shot on the 24-year-old big man may be the team’s best option. In return, the Suns would likely be looking for two or three quality bench pieces who won’t increase the team’s salary.
Free Agents
Regardless of whether the Suns are able to find a trade partner for Ayton, free agency will be a key tool to fill out their roster. Unfortunately, due to the lack of spending money, the Suns will be forced to target two kinds of players. The first type? Veterans willing to play on the veteran minimum contract, which shouldn’t be too much of a challenge considering the Suns are a legit championship-contending team and could appeal to veterans looking for a ring. The second group of players the Suns will target is the crop of undrafted free agents. This is something the Miami Heat have had incredible success with, as the likes of Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson, Max Strus, and Gabe Vincent all performed at a high level throughout the season and NBA Finals run.
Washington Wizards
The Wizards completely mishandled this Beal trade, so where do they go now? The pick swaps may provide value in the future, but only if the Suns begin to lose more games than the Wizards when the swaps are eligible.
Chris Paul
What should Washington do with veteran point guard Chris Paul? Paul will be looking to join a playoff contender as he is nearing 40 years of age. The major concern for the Wizards is contending teams not willing to trade for Paul. This situation would put the Wizards in a scenario where they can either pay him throughout the season and attempt to trade him at the deadline, or buy him out and get nothing in return.
Kristaps Porziņģis
Lost in all this chaos was the future of Porzingis, who has reportedly been traded to the Celtics and is expected to exercise his player option. The Wizards are now in full rebuild mode, so there was no need for them to hold on to Porzingis. The deal with Boston makes plenty of sense.
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