Suns targeting Raptors' VanVleet in potential trade: report

Jan 24 2023, 4:52 pm

The Phoenix Suns have emerged as a possible destination for Toronto Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet ahead of this year’s NBA trade deadline.

The Suns, sitting at 24-24 and seventh in the Western Conference, already have a well-established starting point guard in projected future Hall of Famer Chris Paul.

But Paul, at 37, is the NBA’s fifth-oldest player and has missed 21 games this season due to various hip and heel injuries.

Per NBA Insider Marc Stein, the Suns have recognized that a younger point guard could make sense to acquire for both the team’s short and long-term needs as they look to return to status as one of the league’s contenders.

“Word is that those realities have prompted the Suns to start assessing their post-Paul future and thus identify Charlotte’s Terry Rozier, New York’s Immanuel Quickley and Toronto’s Fred VanVleet as potential trade targets,” Stein wrote in a newsletter on Monday evening. “VanVleet’s future with Canada’s team remains unclear given the 21-27 Raptors’ struggles and VanVleet’s desire for a lucrative new contract in the offseason.”

Toronto is currently in 11th place in the East, two games back of the Chicago Bulls for the final play-in spot in the conference.

VanVleet has averaged 19.1 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 39 games this season, while Paul has averaged 13.4 points, 8.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds in 27 games this season.

The NBA trade deadline is set for February 9.

VanVleet is under contract for one more year with Toronto as part of a four-year, $80 million deal, but has a player option for the 2023-24 season that he is expected to opt out of this summer in order to sign a new, more lucrative contract.

Paul, meanwhile, is in the second year of a four-year contract worth $120 million.

VanVleet had the option to sign a new extension with the Raptors earlier this season reportedly worth $114 million over four years, but chose to play out the year before signing a new deal.

ā€œI was never made a formal offer,ā€ VanVleet told the media on January 8. ā€œIt was a mutual decision made by both sides that the smart thing to do would be to wait it out.ā€

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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