Ten games into the 2026-27 NBA season, the trade rumors are already swirling around the Phoenix Suns.
While a vocal segment of the fanbase cries out for a point guard like the oft-injured Darius Garland, a new round of players have been linked to the Suns, amid questions of fit in their starting lineup.
After a couple of rounds of forced trades, from Deandre Ayton to Kevin Durant, and the financial strain of the Bradley Beal dead money, the Suns find themselves with a redundant starting lineup comprised
of the best that their circumstance dictated they could get. This led to a lineup simultaneously redundant and lacking. Issues with size, consistency, and fit continue to hamper the Jordan Ott and the Suns as they struggle to allow their highest-dollar players to shine without drowning out the production of their teammates.
Last season ended with Brooks and Green eating up shots in the playoff series against the Thunder as Devin Booker was reduced to spraying the ball out of double teams and when Jalen Green or Dillon Brooks got hot it the ball got stuck leaving Book looking to box out instead of repositioning for a new angle of approach.
This season Booker is finding his shot. Against the Spurs, Book went on a vintage scoring heater, but down the vine the other grapes withered and dried like raisins in the sun, with only the Suns rookie Malauch notching over ten points for the night. Miles Bridges noted in the press conference that Booker got hot. A similar explanation Booker gave in the Thunder series after Jalen and Dillon put up big shot numbers in a loss. An alarming lack of synergy even early in the season.
The national media has picked up on the narrative and turned it into trade talk as Bleacher Report connected the Suns to four potential trade candidates: Darius Garland, Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis, and Paolo Banchero.
While none of these players are without their flaws, an argument could be made for each of them to be added to the Suns. But I urge fans to remember that the Suns are owned by Mat Ishbia, whose ownership style could be summed up in one word. Aggressive.
So while you may see a million Twitter posts arguing for which of the four would best improve the Suns’ chances at winning a first-round playoff series, I say no. That’s not enough, like Warren G’s third album, I Want It All. Or at least half of it. Let me present my most recent fix for the Phoenix Suns roster woes.
Anthony Davis is a day away from street clothes every day. While the upside is clearest and highest on this list, I remind you that the most recent Suns’ finals appearance was largely related to the availability of their key players. They rode that injury luck to a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals before it finally caught up with them and Dario Saric went down, taking with him the Suns’ best hope at closing out the Bucks. If there was one trade that had a chance to make the Suns a true title contender, it could be Anthony Davis, but history would suggest it’s more likely he watches the Suns flounder from the bench.
Darius Garland trade rumors and mock trades have made their way around Suns Twitter since last season and continue to color me unimpressed by the proposition. The Suns have aligned themselves to be a defensive team. They traded away two of their best shooters in order to pursue a top-tier defense, and even if Garland was driving and kicking to open shooters, who would he be kicking it out to? It would be Book, Brooks, and Bridges instead of Grayson or Royce. There would be nights that will work, but plenty won’t, and consistent three-point shooting won’t be something the Suns can rely on to show up in four or five games of a seven-game series.
This leaves us with Sabonis and Banchero.
In the off-season, I explored the possibility of a Domantas Sabonis trade and was roundly derided as a lunatic by those who were curious enough to click the article. Now they all come crawling back as the Suns’ rebounding woes, lack of size, and youth at the center position make a Sabonis trade far more palatable to the Suns masses.
I view Sabonis as a starting center-sized version of Oso Ighodaro. He sets great screens, facilitates like Oso, but brings more firepower scoring the ball and has long been one of the best rebounders in the game. Despite his individual defensive concerns, with the number of communication breakdowns leading to the Suns’ defense giving up way too open shots, it could be argued that a veteran presence like Sabonis could initially improve the defense and the KhOso tandem gains experience.
While they may have to wait until the trade deadline, the trade I originally proposed of Jalen Green and Mark Williams still sounds like a winner in early November. While Sabonis would bring much-needed experience, size, and positional flexibility, allowing him to play next to the Suns’ young centers, it wouldn’t fix maybe the most glaring need of the Phoenix Suns alone. The need for a second star next to Booker.
Fall where you want on the PG debate, but I continue to side with the faction that believes the problem isn’t necessarily the lack of a point guard but a second advantage creator next to Booker when teams try to take him off the board. Paolo, while once one of the bright young stars in the league, has fallen out of fashion in the NBA fan community. Yet, outside of Davis, he represents to me the most realistic chance of landing a bona fide All-Star next to Devin Booker.
Banchero’s size, versatility as a ball handler, and ability to score inside the paint would flourish in the shadow of Book’s gravity. Much like the Suns have struggled to assemble and retain the right mix of players around Devin Booker, the Magic couldn’t add the shooting it needed to free up Paolo’s downhill game. A fresh start and new roster could resurrect his once-rising star.
Adding both of them together could be the Suns’ best option to meet Ishbia’s lofty goal of a second-round playoff appearance in the once-again hotly contested Western Conference, so I hopped on the trade machine to cook up a new look for the Suns. One that plugs some holes in rebounding and facilitation and adds some much-needed upside to the Suns’ playoff prospects in the 2026-27 season.
In order to complete the trade, the Suns must wait until some of their recently acquired players become eligible to move, but when February 11th hits, this is what I think the Suns should do.
Projected Suns’ starting lineup: Collin Gillespie / Devin Booker / Ryan Dunn / Paolo Banchero / Domantas Sabonis.
I see a roster with improved facilitation, rebounding, inside scoring, and three-point shooting, with Collin and Dunn getting their chance in the starting lineup. Banchero finds a new opportunity in the space created by Booker’s presence and Collin’s shooting, while Sabonis gets his first opportunity at legitimate playoff success, since the Kings took the Warriors to seven games in a first-round loss.
54 wins and the 5th seed.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
