The Phoenix Suns are the talk of the town as the team made a late-night trade on Wednesday to acquire future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. Durant and veteran forward T.J. Warren were obtained from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks, and a pick swap in the 2028 draft.
Durant will now join a Suns team that is a couple of seasons removed from winning the Western Conference, and now, with the addition of KD, Phoenix may have found the missing piece to their quest of bringing a title to the valley of the sun.
Durant will play alongside multiple All-Stars, including Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Booker is arguably the best shooting guard in the league, Durant is arguably the best three/four in the league, and Paul is one of the best floor generals ever to play. Those three right there are the keys to the success of this Suns team as we advance and specifically in the injury department, as all three have gone through significant injuries this season.
Durant is currently battling through an injury, Booker recently came back from weeks and weeks away from the game due to injury, and Paul has battled multiple injuries this year, which also has to do with his age as he is almost forty years old and has been playing in the league for a very long time.
Breaking: The Phoenix Suns are nearing a blockbuster trade to acquire Kevin Durant, sources tell @wojespn.
The Suns are sending Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four firt-round picks, a 2028 pick swap for Durant and TJ Warren. pic.twitter.com/QadcfPHNfw
— ESPN (@espn) February 9, 2023
Another key to success for this Phoenix team will be the production from the “others,” such as Deandre Ayton, who is one of the best centers in the league, and veteran forward Torrey Craig, who will be starting at the forward spot alongside Durant. At least two or three bench players will need to provide sparks at different points in the season, especially if there are injuries to any of the core guys, and if there is a game in which the team is struggling, a spark plug is very much necessary.
A big key to this championship run for the Suns will be T.J. Warren, who was acquired in this trade; Warren was actually drafted by the Suns and is now returning as a more consistent player after a very nice stint with the Indiana Pacers. Depending on matchups, it will not surprise anyone if Warren starts over Craig for some games.
Both players provide almost the same assets, with the offensive edge going to Warren and the defensive edge going to Craig. Warren will need to be a very productive sixth man and help his fellow bench mates, such as Cam Payne, Damion Lee, and Bismack Biyombo, to name a few.
Something of note: much praise should be given to Suns General Manager and three-time NBA Champ James Jones for his incredible job of turning around a struggling organization to a perennial contender since joining the team in 2017.
All in all, it will be interesting to see if this is just a win for the Suns on paper or if the team can pull off a championship run.
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