Trade No. 2: Swapping star power for depth?
The Phoenix Suns busted out of the playoffs because of a serious lack of depth. After the team acquired Kevin Durant and gave up, among other assets, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, KD and Devin Booker were left with the likes of an underachieving Deandre Ayton and Torrey Craig as their best liutenants.
This trade, however unlikely, would at least solve that problem around Durant, right?
Meanwhile, the Blazers would get one of the best shooting guards and scorers in the NBA, who’s only 26. Booker averaged almost 28 points per game during the regular season last year and upped it to 33.7 ppg in the playoffs. He took a legitimate star turn and became one of the best offensive players in the entire league.
Once again, defense would be a problem here, but there’s a legitimate chance the combination of Lillard and Booker lead a team that can simply outscore anyone.
Plus, with Book only 26 years old and not even in the prime of his career yet, Portland would solidify the future of the franchise.
This trade is even less realistic than one for LeBron, though. There’s perhaps a 0.1 percent chance the Suns part with Booker for this package (probably not even that).