Trades feel like a forbidden topic in Phoenix right now. The team is playing a connected, cohesive brand of basketball, and nobody wants to stir the pot. Nobody wants to ruffle feathers. Nobody wants to tip the ship. Still, trades are always a worthwhile thought exercise. When a new name surfaces, especially one that fills a clear need, it makes sense to slow down and walk through the idea.
The latest name to drift into that conversation is LaMelo Ball, a former one-time All-Star, the 2021 Rookie
of the Year, and the former third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
When you look at the current deficiencies of the Phoenix Suns, they show up most clearly at point guard and power forward. That reality naturally pulls attention toward any player who becomes available at those spots. It makes sense to study the options, to walk through whether something is feasible, whether it is possible, and whether it is something the Suns should even entertain.
I want to be clear from the start that I do not think they should. I will get into the reasons as this thought exercise moves along, but this is not a move I like in the short term, the long term, or from a cultural standpoint. This team feels like it is heading in the right direction. Even if they do not win a championship this season, which nobody realistically expects, the idea of building a culture still matters. Too many decisions get excused under the “we are not winning it all this year” umbrella, and that mindset creates shortcuts that damage both the present and the future.
For me, this is not about chasing some imaginary long-term upside. This is about staying on the path that has already been laid. Staying consistent. Staying disciplined. Continuing the work instead of introducing chaos when the foundation is finally starting to feel solid.
So let’s take a look at LaMelo Ball.
A 6’7” point guard who is now in his sixth season in the NBA. He is in year two of a five-year maximum contract with the Charlotte Hornets, a deal worth $203.9 million in total. He is set to make $38 million this season, with three more years left after this one, and that contract runs through 2029.
If you start by looking at the contractual side of this conversation, the math actually works. If you flip Jalen Green, who is set to make $33.3 million this year, the Suns can legally take back up to 125% of that outgoing salary plus $100,000. That puts them in position to absorb up to $41.7 million. A one-for-one framework is clean from a cap perspective.
Where this thing starts to fall apart is in reality.
Charlotte is not moving LaMelo Ball for a straight swap. If they even entertain the idea of trading him, they are going to want real assets attached. Draft picks. Flexibility. Young players with upside. The Suns? They do not have the draft capital that a team like Charlotte would be looking for. That remains the same old problem that exists any time Phoenix gets linked to a player with the words “All-Star” attached to his name. And that reality is not changing any time soon.
While Phoenix could use another playmaker, and LaMelo Ball is an exciting name, the biggest hurdle is availability. He simply does not stay on the floor. The most games he has played in a season came in year two at 75. When you zoom out and look at total availability, he has played in 240 of 387 possible games. That is 62%. For all the talent he brings as a creator, availability still matters most, and that has been a real problem for him.
And here in Phoenix? We’re pretty tired of the “unlimited PTO” players.
There is also the defensive side of this conversation. The Suns are starting to build an identity around competing on that end of the floor. Ball does not fit that mold. His perimeter isolation defense last season graded in the 51st percentile and came in at a C grade on B-Ball Index. That is average. That does not move the needle. That does not match the direction this team is trying to go.
When you run through the LaMelo Ball thought exercise, the picture becomes clear. He struggles to stay healthy. He does not align with the defensive standard this team is trying to build. Phoenix does not have the assets to make Charlotte take the phone call seriously. When you stack all of that together, the idea runs out of steam. Other teams can offer more. And in this case, it is not even a player I would actively want this team to chase.
In the end, this thought exercise lands where it started, with clarity. Big names will always create noise, highlights will always pull at the imagination, and trade machines will always make things feel possible. But this version of the Phoenix Suns is building something real, something steady, something that does not need to be shaken every time a shiny object hits the market.
LaMelo Ball is talented, exciting, and flawed in ways that do not match where this team is trying to go. Sometimes the best move is the one you do not make. Sometimes growth means trusting what is already in front of you, protecting the culture you are building, and letting the foundation harden without cracking it for a shortcut.
