Getty Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns.
The Phoenix Suns made headlines at the trade deadline this year when they traded for Kevin Durant. They shipped out Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets in the deal, and in two other trades, got rid of Jae Crowder and Dario Saric. In turn, their depth has taken a massive hit.
They’ve already added Terrence Ross via the buyout market and could look to sign more free agents to bolster their bench for a playoff push. After Durant’s latest comments at All-Star Weekend, there is some belief that Phoenix could target 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony.
“Yeah, most definitely,” Durant said via @MeloCentral on Twitter when asked whether or not Anthony could still play in the NBA. “I think he still has the talent to play in our league.”
As things stand, the Suns could use some extra wing depth off the bench. They added TJ Warren in the trade for Durant, so that gives them some solid help, but outside of him, the main contributors at that spot are Ross, Josh Okogie, and Ish Wainwright.
Adding Anthony to the roster would give them an extra three-point shooter to employ off the bench. He spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers and transitioned into being more of a spot-up shooter rather than an isolation scorer – the role he played for the majority of his legendary career.
Last year, Anthony appeared in 69 games with the Lakers, starting three of them and playing 26.0 minutes per contest. He averaged 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 44.1% shooting from the field and 37.5% shooting from behind the three-point line.
Mikal Bridges Sounds Off on Kevin Durant Trade
The trade that saw Phoenix land Durant seemingly came out of nowhere. There was very little talk of a deal forming before it happened. In fact, the last time there was any chatter surrounding a potential Durant deal was over the summer.
During an appearance on The Old Man & The Three podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, Bridges spoke about the trade. He said he was happy Durant mentioned something about a deal this past summer, as it helped mentally prepare him for the possibility of getting traded.
“It’s crazy but the only good thing about it is just I’m happy he said something in the summer,” Bridges said. “If he never said anything I probably never thought me going to Brooklyn would be a thing. Ever. I just wouldn’t think that. I just don’t. But when KD said that…I’m like well I know I’m gonna be involved.”
Mikal Bridges Discusses Other Trade Rumors
After Phoenix sent Bridges to Brooklyn, the former Suns wing wasn’t safe. There was still a chance he would be traded. Bridges talked about the experience of not knowing where he would end up during his podcast appearance with Redick.
“I was getting my mind prepared to be [in Brooklyn], and what jersey number I’m gonna pick, and everything,” Bridges explained. “And they’re just like, ‘Calm down. Just wait, just wait. There’s a lot of stuff people are offering.’ I’m like, ‘what?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, they offer some pics.’ I was like, ‘D***…For me? …All right.”