Personally, I don't see another move coming, but I know others will disagree. Here's my take on the trade pieces the Suns might use:
Shawn Marion: He's due for a bounce-back year, but his upside is limited (he'll never be more than a borderline All-Star
) and he'll probably always have problems defending certain matchups.
It seems most of you would prefer to move Marion because of his salary, but his salary also makes him hard to move--there aren't any centers making the same money that are worth trading for, so the Suns are going to have to pick up a lot of garbage in any potential Marion trade. IMO a Marion trade is either not likely to happen (it's hard to see Philly offering Glenn Robinson and Dalembert, for instance) or something the Suns will regret later.
Joe Johnson: His offense is still a big question-mark, but his defense is as good as anybody the Suns have, and he's still young enough that his ceiling is buried in the clouds. Joe J might be tough to re-sign as a RFA next year, although his agent's cause isn't helped by the prospect of JJ losing responsibilities to Steve Nash and minutes to Q.
Johnson makes sense as a trade piece, since he'd probably be better off on another team where he'd have more responsibility, and his rookie salary makes it much easier to match numbers. (On the other hand, the Suns would miss his defense, passing and ball-handling if he were despatched.) Again, though, it's hard to find a good match for JJ's value; Nene is probably too much regardless of the throw-ins, and (maybe) so is Magliore.
Casey Jacobsen: Right now, it looks like Casey is the odd man out of the Suns' perimeter rotation. It might make sense to bring him off the bench instead of Q against certain matchups (with Casey as the steadying influence, and Q providing scoring and energy) but Q's contract suggests otherwise.
Casey would be worth something mainly as a throw-in, since shooters are always in short supply. If the main piece of the trade is another guard, though, Casey would not nearly as expendable as he is right now.
Zarko Cabarkapa: It looks to me like Danny Fortson might have finished Zarko's career with the Suns. They traded Bo Outlaw to get Zarko minutes, but now they've got Lampe for 'tall ball' and possibly a new Bo in Jackson Vroman...Zarko is my favorite of the players I've hardly ever seen, but he's going to be parked at the end of the bench unless he's able to come back even better than before his injury.
Zarko is another throw-in with value, but he makes more sense than Casey as a trading sidekick for Joe Johnson.
Jake Voskuhl: The problem with Jake as a trade piece is that he's needed in Phoenix, even if the Suns are getting a center in return.
The advantage is that his contract is slightly larger than Casey's or Zarko's, and he's worth just about what he's making. His contract could be seen (to the other team, not the Suns) as a $1.7m trade exception.
Howard Eisley: His salary can be used with Joe Johnson's contract to pick up a mid-salary player. The Suns are the ones that might see Eisley as a really appetizing $6.4m trade exception, with the other team seeing him as a salary millstone. There's no possible way for another team to take $9m worth of Phoenix players without getting Eisley, though.
Milos Vujanic: He might play point guard in the NBA someday, and he doesn't affect any salary matching the teams might have to do. Might be used to make a cruddy deal seem slightly more palatable to the other team.
Chicago's first-round pick: This is the only pick the Suns can deal right now. The problem is that this pick will look a lot better when it comes due than it will to another team right now.
Shawn Marion: He's due for a bounce-back year, but his upside is limited (he'll never be more than a borderline All-Star
) and he'll probably always have problems defending certain matchups. It seems most of you would prefer to move Marion because of his salary, but his salary also makes him hard to move--there aren't any centers making the same money that are worth trading for, so the Suns are going to have to pick up a lot of garbage in any potential Marion trade. IMO a Marion trade is either not likely to happen (it's hard to see Philly offering Glenn Robinson and Dalembert, for instance) or something the Suns will regret later.
Joe Johnson: His offense is still a big question-mark, but his defense is as good as anybody the Suns have, and he's still young enough that his ceiling is buried in the clouds. Joe J might be tough to re-sign as a RFA next year, although his agent's cause isn't helped by the prospect of JJ losing responsibilities to Steve Nash and minutes to Q.
Johnson makes sense as a trade piece, since he'd probably be better off on another team where he'd have more responsibility, and his rookie salary makes it much easier to match numbers. (On the other hand, the Suns would miss his defense, passing and ball-handling if he were despatched.) Again, though, it's hard to find a good match for JJ's value; Nene is probably too much regardless of the throw-ins, and (maybe) so is Magliore.
Casey Jacobsen: Right now, it looks like Casey is the odd man out of the Suns' perimeter rotation. It might make sense to bring him off the bench instead of Q against certain matchups (with Casey as the steadying influence, and Q providing scoring and energy) but Q's contract suggests otherwise.
Casey would be worth something mainly as a throw-in, since shooters are always in short supply. If the main piece of the trade is another guard, though, Casey would not nearly as expendable as he is right now.
Zarko Cabarkapa: It looks to me like Danny Fortson might have finished Zarko's career with the Suns. They traded Bo Outlaw to get Zarko minutes, but now they've got Lampe for 'tall ball' and possibly a new Bo in Jackson Vroman...Zarko is my favorite of the players I've hardly ever seen, but he's going to be parked at the end of the bench unless he's able to come back even better than before his injury.
Zarko is another throw-in with value, but he makes more sense than Casey as a trading sidekick for Joe Johnson.
Jake Voskuhl: The problem with Jake as a trade piece is that he's needed in Phoenix, even if the Suns are getting a center in return.
The advantage is that his contract is slightly larger than Casey's or Zarko's, and he's worth just about what he's making. His contract could be seen (to the other team, not the Suns) as a $1.7m trade exception.
Howard Eisley: His salary can be used with Joe Johnson's contract to pick up a mid-salary player. The Suns are the ones that might see Eisley as a really appetizing $6.4m trade exception, with the other team seeing him as a salary millstone. There's no possible way for another team to take $9m worth of Phoenix players without getting Eisley, though.
Milos Vujanic: He might play point guard in the NBA someday, and he doesn't affect any salary matching the teams might have to do. Might be used to make a cruddy deal seem slightly more palatable to the other team.
Chicago's first-round pick: This is the only pick the Suns can deal right now. The problem is that this pick will look a lot better when it comes due than it will to another team right now.
