This Suns TRADE makes PERFECT sense

The Phoenix Suns are the center of trade talks this offseason, with players like Nazir Little and now Jusuf Nurkic's name is getting brought up as a prime trade candidate. Who could the Suns go out and acquire, and what is the best decision for this team for getting a new center if they trade off Jusuf Nurkic? I'm Bruce Velez, alongside my co-host CJ Pierre, and we're going to be diving on all of this on this episode of Suns Digest. Before we get into the Yusuf Nurkic news, 96% of you guys who watch our videos are not subscribed. So we'd greatly appreciate it if you guys hit that subscribe button down below. This is the place for daily Phoenix Suns content for you guys throughout the entire offseason because we deal with all the drama from head coaching staff to a roster. We all know that Mike Budenholzer is going to have his introductory press conference tomorrow, so we'll have a video breaking down that as well. So if you guys want to make sure you stay up to date, hit that subscribe button as we reach for 1,000 subscribers. But CJ, let's get into the topic at hand today. Make sure to grab a snack, as it's going to be a jam-packed episode. And Jusuf Nurkic, the newly acquired center from last season to replace DeAndre, could possibly be one of the names on the move here. If we want to look at this tweet from Evan Sidery, we can see that the Suns have limited assets to improve their roster, so Jusuf Nurkic is a potential trade candidate to monitor. Phoenix is unable to take back more salary than they send out, but Nurkic's $18.2 million figure alongside a number 22 overall pick, plus their 2031 first could net them a difference maker we obviously have broken down how the suns have wanted to use these trades have wanted to use this first round picks so cj my question to kind of you is is dealing with Jusuf Nurkic and these first round picks is this the smart move for the phoenix suns should they be upgrading their center uh you're muted cj you're good honestly at at this point i think it is the best option uh for the suns uh Jusuf Nurkic yeah they did bring him in they you know he was in the DeAndre Ayton trade he was kind of you know the the piece that the Suns got back uh to try and help continue to elevate the roster but i i think it was kind of obvious you know he wasn't really fitting into whatever offensive system the Suns were trying to run uh Yusuf Nurkic you know he's a solid player he's a good rebounder uh he takes up space in the middle of the paint um but when you're Mike Budenholzer you want to run a little bit more of a fast-paced offense you have to think of kind of the offense that he ran in Milwaukee with a guy like Brook Lopez who was a good you know in the paint but he also had the ability to stretch the floor he could shoot threes and that's not really Yusuf Nurkic's game um i really think that if they want to build a roster in the image that Mike Budenholzer wants i think Yusuf Nurkic is a solid person to really look at to trying to move off of and see if you can get uh some additional assets back in return i agree with you CJ and you brought up some valuable points as well when talking about Yusuf Nurkic he's a guy who can kind of do everything for the Phoenix Suns and help out with all the intangibles here but realistically with this Suns team needing rebounding needing some help down low in the force with in the paint keeping Yusuf Nurkic might not be the best ability or the best center to do so not saying go out and get a star center we already know it that with DeAndre Ayton that didn't work but maybe going and getting a center that can fit our needs would work better so CJ, we got some trades here, we got some possible names that we can talk about possibly doing some trades, we want to know your guys's thoughts down below when we break down these trades so let us down below after every trade that we go over but first CJ, we're gonna be talking about a guy that you really really like and I really really like for this Phoenix Suns squad, you might have saw him in the thumbnail but ladies and gentlemen we're gonna be diving in and talking about Clint Capela now obviously the Atlanta Hawks got these sweepstakes They won the NBA draft lottery, so they could be looking to trade guys like Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Clint Capela, and I think he'd be a perfect fit on the Suns. You obviously look to move off Jusuf Nurkic, Eric Gordon, and Josh Okogie with those player options, excuse me. They opt in. You then use them to trade for Clint Capela. The salary would match to do the trade, and you would obviously send some picks in return. So, CJ, when you look at this trade, what do you think of this? Does this scream to you that this is an A-plus move, or do you think that this is a little bit of a lateral move? I think this is the move that the Suns need to be really looking at if they're looking to move off of Jusuf Nurkic. Jusuf Nurkic is really the only big man that the Suns have on their roster right now, and if he doesn't fit, you really need to make sure that you're targeting a player or an asset that's going to net you something in return that's going to at the very least still give you some flexibility on the interior. Clint Capella would be a massive improvement to what the Suns are doing he's a really stout defender he blocks shots he can run the floor he's athletic he hustles he's a really really solid big man for today's NBA standards and he's definitely someone that could fit into what the Suns want to do uh when you look at in terms of the players that in that trade that you presented you know adding Eric Gordon and Josh Okogie and you know you know obviously the the picks would probably need to be involved with Clint Capela who's still a relatively young player uh you have to also remember that you know that would require Gordon and Okogie to pick up their player options uh so that would have to be you know included and worked out and then you have to also factor in is that are these players that the Atlanta Hawks want to pick up they would be expiring contracts so that would be a good thing for the Hawks and then on top of that the Hawks are probably going to be looking to move in a different direction anyway because they have that number one overall pick uh there's players in the draft like Alex Sarr who's a seven foot you know freakazoid athlete and then there's a bunch of other like high quality big men center types that the Suns may or that the Atlanta Hawks may want to think about drafting with that first overall pick so they may not even need Clint Capela moving forward so i really think that this is a ideal trade target for the Phoenix Suns something they should definitely look into uh if they if it requires moving off of Jusuf Nurkić if it requires a first round pick I think that's where the Suns would go I really think you should try and keep at least one of those other two picks because you may need them for another trade but if you have to I think Clint Capela is an ideal target for the Suns I think so too and you mentioned the rebound in the defense I think having that lob ability as well down low just having a fantastic paint presence on both sides of the floor Capela is known for having double doubles on consistent averages and that's something that the Suns could desperately used down low in their front court and i think moving off of guys like Nurkić they have a guy you know John Conchar who's kind of young we mentioned Alexander Sarr maybe possibly draft and they could fit him into that room or possibly move him off in a deal later down the line and Okogie and uh Eric Gordon being expiring contracts now i want to look at another trade i saw this report uh this trade from one of the Phoenix Suns reporters i do not know the name off the top of my head but they had a trade with the Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns where the Suns received Brandon Clark and John Conchar for Jusuf Nurkic now obviously the Grizzlies traded Steven Adams at the end of at the end to middle of last season trading him to the Rockets so they have no center unless you want to put Jaren Jackson at the center but then you have no power forward with their injuries with their young depth moving off some guys and Brandon Clark a young piece and John Conchar could help out as they didn't really play for the Grizzlies this year as Conchar was at the end of the rotation and Clark was injured uh do you like this trade a little bit better or do you think that this one is a little bit worse cj um i'm not i don't necessarily like it for the Suns perspective uh from the Grizzlies perspective i think that they would take it i think uh they need more big bodies uh to kind of go along with what they're trying to do um when you when you're building a team you know around guys like Ja Morant and Desmond Bane uh you do need some guys you know in the interior and i think Jusuf Nurkic would actually be a pretty decent fit uh he's pretty good in pick and roll situation so i think that's something that the Grizzlies would like to have as far as uh the returns there yeah Brandon Clark uh John Konchar i like i like Brandon Clark as a player i think he's a you know he's got a lot of hustle but he's so injury prone he's been injured for the majority of the past two seasons and that is you know really big risk he's got a lot of potential uh and he's really really uh someone that you would want playing at least 20 minutes a game uh coming off the bench or even in a starting uh position but i just i don't know if you can rely that, you know, give up assets to, you know, think that he's going to be able to stay on the court. And then John Konchar, you know, in that trade, you know, the Suns aren't moving off of any of their guards. They're, you know, they're still a Naz Reid. They still would still be Eric Gordon, still Josh Okobo. And the Suns already have a pretty crowded backcourt. And with John Konchar, I just don't know if he really would sniff the rotation. I'd be more interested in looking into, could you add like a Derrick Rose into that mix? You know, a true point guard i'm gonna just it's good i'm gonna say it until the cows come home uh you know you there's another point guard that you can finally add you know oh there Derrick Rose has the experience uh he would i think he would fit in well learning and pick up quickly how to play with guys like Bradley Beal and Devin Booker and Kevin Durant uh he's not familiar with playing with other star players so Derrick Rose you know just you know so many years in the league we know you know what he's capable, what he was capable of before injuries hit him, former MVP, I and you know he would, he wouldn't be cheap, you don't have to play him a lot of minutes, he could be maybe a backup point guard uh if you were trying to look for you know other areas but at least you'd have a true point guard I'd much rather look at this trade if we were talking about Derrick Rose but even still uh when you, when you're giving up Jusuf Nurkić which is one probably one of your better trade assets and you're getting a potentially injury prone player and then a guy who might make the rotation on the back of the bench I don't know if that's something that the Suns want to entertain yeah I agree with you unfortunately for Brandon Clarke he has like you mentioned very high potential could be a nice young player but his injuries have riddled him with the Grizzlies and I thought he was going to get traded from the Grizzlies honestly this season with their you know full rebuilding and stuff like that but nope we'll have to wait and see with him but especially with that Suns team having bad injuries to their core three this year I don't know if you want to implement that in and then John Conchar like you mentioned we already have some great guards we do need that point guard we've been hammering that nail down on all you guys as you guys know but obviously we'll have to wait and see I'm a big fan of the Conchar trade I can tell that you are too but now we're going to look at three potential guys that the Suns could also get as well these are no trades but these are just going to be three potential guys that we're just going to dive in so we're going to look quick and i'm going to ask you to give me in order how you would rank them CJ so first we got Zach Collins obviously nice center can help out with the rebounding does fit in so the Suns could trade for him as he's under the 18.1 million dollars But would the Spurs realistically move off of Zach Collins? We don't really know. The next one is the Pistons. They obviously have a logjam of wings and bigs with Jalen Duran, James Wiseman, Isaiah Stewart. But Isaiah Stewart is the one that we're going to mention. 22 years old, could be a nice rebounding center. Could be a young piece to bring in and help out with this old expiring core. And then lastly, we're going to talk about Mitchell Robinson. Guy we mentioned in a previous video talking about Devin Booker and Julius Randle trade when that rumor was going around the world. but Mitchell Robinson has had some injury history this last couple year but with Isaiah Hartenstein kind of taking over in that Knicks role he could be a guy that the Knicks look to move off of so CJ out of those three guys how would you rank them in order of how you like the Suns to get them um so I I think the the first person the top of the list is easy for me and that's uh Mitchell Robinson uh with the New York Knicks I think he would not be the the kind of player that he is is someone that would fit in perfectly to what the Suns want to do again he's another big guy uh good rebounder solid and pick and roll a decent defender uh probably not as good as Clint Capela but he's you know he's he's got some size and bulk and he doesn't just get pushed around on the defensive end so i do like um Mitchell Robinson he's also a player because of the emergence of Isaiah Hartenstein that the New York Knicks might consider moving off of if they believe that they're able to pick up some trade assets and they can continue building their team they're going to have Julius Randle come back next year uh so that that may be a potential target that the Suns could acquire if the Knicks are thinking about moving off of them uh the other two names you know they're they're it's kind of complicated uh in terms of how i rank them i would probably go second i'd go with Zach Collins uh i think he is uh particularly just because of the fit that he would be he would be able to stretch the floor a little bit uh he's not a terrible defender he's he's he's okay uh on the defensive end uh but he has a really nice offensive game a really nice game you know around the rim uh really some some good post moves and he just has a kind of a nose for the basketball is a really smart player and i think he would fit well the only problem is is that i just don't think that he's a kind of the kind of guy that the Spurs would want to move off of particularly if the option is getting Nurkic in return uh because the Spurs have Victor Wembanyama and anyama you know they're not you know looking for any more you know starting center caliber centers you know to put on their team unless they're considering playing wimby at the four which you know wimby look he can play anywhere so that might be possible i just don't know if i i see that as super likely uh then rounding that out i'd probably say i'd rank the isaiah stewart uh potential last um i don't hate isaiah stewart as a player i think he's got a high motor um he's a he's a willing defender uh he's a active player um but you know we've seen him, you know, have some, you know, some things on the court, you know, some, you know, getting into it with LeBron James, multiple instances where it looks like he's, you know, ready to get into a fight. And I just don't know how he would fit in this kind of Suns locker room where there's a lot of veteran players, a lot of leadership, you know, is he going to be in a situation where he's going to be able to allow himself to be mentored and kind of calm some of these other antics down that we've seen from him uh granted you know he's been in detroit they've been a bad team a lot of losing uh you know so i don't want to put too much on him uh for some of that stuff uh and they've kind of been surrounded with just young players like they really haven't had a lot of veteran leadership in those locker rooms in detroit that he's been around however um he is undersized he's about six eight um at the power forward center position and i just don't think that he would be the ideal fit on the basketball court uh to be a starter when you're looking to trade your starting center you're at the very least looking to get a starter back or someone that has the potential to be a starter and i don't know if that isaiah stewart is would be that kind of fit on this Suns roster i i totally see what you're seeing you're putting up some great points here about all three of these guys from Mitchell Robinson talking about obviously how he's a fantastic rim protector obviously with the emergence of Isaiah Hartenstein could he be on the way out i think for sure especially if they're gonna have to give him a bag and with his injury you know history this year hasn't been the greatest but if he can stay healthy fit in with the Suns squad i really like it Zach Collins you mentioned a little bit of a weird one because i don't think the spurs gave up on him but i like the fit as well and then yeah obviously Isaiah Stewart has a little bit of character issues like you mentioned on and off the court not the greatest but i think he can have some young promise and being 22 years old it could be a nice fit let us know what you guys think down below though out of all those guys Clint Capela to Brandon Clark to Zach Collins who do you guys think would be the best fit for the Phoenix Suns and if you guys have any other ideas for starting centers drop them down below in the comments so we can debate break it down and have some good talks about the Suns as you guys know this is the daily place for Phoenix Suns content so enjoy hit that subscribe button hit that like button from Bruce and CJ we're going to be signing off on Suns Digest we'll catch you guys in the next video and go Phoenix Suns!