Bound and Determined by Grace A. Johnson

Paul just turned 38 and is coming off a season where he averaged a career-low 13.9 points per game. But Phoenix? Neither of their two bloated contracts looks all that appealing right now. If Milwaukee, for instance, were to put Holiday back on the market to surround Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton with a more diverse supporting cast, they'd have a dozen offers within the hour. Most teams are eager to trade three $10 million players for a $30 million player. In most cases, de-consolidation is a fairly straightforward process. They need five or six good ones to go along with the two sure things that exist on their roster in Booker and Durant. This makes Phoenix the rare contender that needs to de-consolidate. That depth is a necessity when half of that money is going to players who aren't helping in the postseason. It's hard to pay for depth when you're paying your top four players $145 million. But Ayton is in the first year of a max contract, while Paul is set to earn over $30 million next season. These would have been acceptable outcomes from two mid-level players. DeAndre Ayton, for the second consecutive postseason, hasn't been nearly consistent enough. Chris Paul, as he so often does in the postseason, got hurt. The Suns weren't supposed to have two stars. But to make it over the top? They're going to need reliable role players around them.Īnd therein lies the problem. It was proof of how close the two of them could get the Suns on their own. The Denver series was by no means a referendum on Phoenix's superstars. Booker and Durant did so in Game 3 by combining for 86. It's almost impossible to win a game when your third-leading scorer has seven points. Phoenix's role players couldn't punish them for that. He averaged a hair under 30 points per game in the postseason, and while his legendary efficiency may have dipped, he can hardly be blamed for that given the defenses he was facing.ĭurant and Devin Booker were so good that the Nuggets felt comfortable throwing help and doubles at them whenever they touched the ball. Despite a disappointing end to their season, Durant largely held up his end of the bargain. Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and their entire stock of draft picks became Kevin Durant.

The Suns already made their consolidation trade in February. It isn't for the Phoenix Suns, at least not anymore. Consolidation is almost always the right approach in a star-driven league. Milwaukee consolidated its depth into Jrue Holiday and won a championship. Not good enough to win a championship? Just flip a couple of picks and three of your good players into one great one.

It's NBA Twitter's favorite catch-all solution to roster flaws. You've likely heard the phrase 'consolidation trade' quite a bit over the past several years.

Bound and Determined by Grace A. Johnson