The Phoenix Suns headed into the 2018-19 NBA season without a starting caliber point guard on their roster. Since losing Brandon Knight in a trade deal with the Houston Rockets, the Suns have been active on the trade market, searching for their new floor general.
According to Fansided’s Soaring Down South , one of the players that the Suns could target via trade is Jeremy Lin of the Atlanta Hawks. In a proposed trade deal, the Suns will be sending Ryan Anderson and Mikal Bridges to the Hawks for Lin and Dewayne Dedmon. The deal works on ESPN ‘s NBA Trade Machine. If this trade becomes a reality, it will help both the Suns and the Hawks in filling up the areas they need to improve on their roster.
“Acquiring Lin would help the Suns paper over their lack of a point guard with one year of Lin. They could then address their point guard problems in the draft next season. This deal would also allow the Suns to unload the onerous contract of Ryan Anderson, who would actually fit pretty well on the Hawks as a floor-spacing big man. The main draw of this trade for the Hawks is obtaining Mikal Bridges, a player that has long been on our radar here at SDS as a future Hawk.”
“Esports vs. pro sports: Jeremy Lin is betting on both.” #esports https://t.co/f7SHI9XBAj pic.twitter.com/tiwYBy0QDE
— ESPORTS Trade Association (@ESPORTSTAssoc) November 9, 2018
The arrival of Jeremy Lin in Phoenix will immediately address the Suns’ major problem at the point guard position. Lin has suffered multiple injuries in the past years, but when he’s healthy, he could form an interesting backcourt duo with the face of the franchise, Devin Booker. In his eight-year stint in the NBA, the 30-year-old point guard averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals on 46.4 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Aside from acquiring a starting caliber point guard, the deal will also allow the Suns to open more salary cap space for the summer of 2019. Jeremy Lin and Dewayne Dedmon are currently playing the final year of their respective contracts and set to become unrestricted free agents next July. By getting rid of Ryan Anderson and his lucrative deal, the Suns will put themselves in a strong position to chase big names in the 2019 NBA free agency.
Meanwhile, since they are still in the middle of the rebuilding process, the Hawks won’t mind absorbing Anderson’s contract, especially if it means adding Mikal Bridges, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, to their young core.