Getty Kyle Lowry, Myles Turner and Bam Adebayo
A new three-team trade proposal would land the Phoenix Suns an Indiana Pacers star and a Boston Celtics guard.
Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed a three-team trade between the Suns, Pacers and Celtics. Phoenix would land Myles Turner from Indiana and Payton Pritchard from Boston.
Suns Receive: Myles Turner, Payton Pritchard
Celtics Receive: Buddy Hield, Cameron Payne, the No. 7 pick in 2023 from Indiana, 2027 first-round pick from Indiana
Pacers Receive: Jaylen Brown, Deandre Ayton
“From the Suns’ perspective, this deal and the Beal trade that actually went down turn Ayton and 38-year-old CP3 into Beal, Pritchard and three-and-D center Myles Turner,” Bailey wrote. “Beal’s contract certainly makes the cap sheet more restrictive, but those moves give the team more shooting to deploy around Booker and KD.”
The Suns, who lost to the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals in six games, are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for Ayton this offseason, sources told Heavy Sports.
Phoenix has already traded Chris Paul and Landry Shamet to the Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal.
Myles Turner Is a Strong Defender
Turner is an excellent rebounder and defender. He’s led the league in blocks per game twice and can stretch the floor with his improved shooting.
A Texas product, Turner put up 18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in 2022-23 while shooting 54.8% from the field, 37.3% from beyond the arc and 78.3% from the free-throw line.
Turner will have made over $140 million in his career once his current contract ends.
The Suns’ preference is to trade Ayton to get more depth, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. Gambadoro, who covers the Suns, talked about Ayton’s future in Phoenix with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
“I think the preference for Phoenix is to trade Deandre Ayton to get depth,” Gambadoro said. “Their top three are set with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Their problem — and this is why they’re not better than the Denver Nuggets — is their four, five, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth guys. They don’t have depth. If you can trade Ayton and take that $30 million salary and turn it into two or three good players, that’s the preference.
“You’ve got to find a team willing to take Ayton. He’s got over $100 million left on his contract in the next three years, and he hasn’t been a dominant center. He’s not Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic. He’s a good player, and somebody who trades for him might get 22-24 points a night and 12 rebounds, but if he’s your second-best player, you’re probably not going to win.”
Bradley Beal Wanted to Come to the Suns & Play With Kevin Durant & Devin Booker
Gambadoro said Beal waived his no-trade clause for the Suns because he wanted to play with All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
According to Gambadoro, the Miami Heat were not that interested in Beal.
“I believe that Miami was not that interested in Bradley Beal,” Gambadoro said. “Look at what Miami has in terms of assets. They have their first-round pick this year, they’ve got future first-round picks, and they’ve got more talent to trade. If Miami was really involved in this and Beal was interested in going there, there’s no way Miami couldn’t have put a better offer on the table than Phoenix.
“I’m going to stick with what I’ve been told, and that’s Miami wasn’t that interested in Beal. Now, Beal was interested in Phoenix. He wanted to come to the Suns and play with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.”