Sports
NBA Rumors: Suns Have 'Ongoing' T.J. McConnell Interest After Damian Lillard Trade – Bleacher Report
After being the third team in the blockbuster trade that helped get Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns may not be done making moves before the regular season begins.
Per Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, the Suns have an “ongoing interest” in Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell.
Phoenix acquired Grayson Allen, Jusuf Nurkić, Keon Johnson and Nassir Little in the trade. It sent Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara to the Portland Trail Blazers.
While the consensus seems to be the Suns downgraded in overall talent at center, swapping Nurkić in for Ayton is a win for the team since he’s a better fit because they need a big man who can be more impactful fighting for rebounds in ways that Ayton hasn’t been throughout his career.
The trade also allows the Suns to be able to match salaries in a potential trade because they turned Ayton’s $32.5 million salary this season into four smaller contracts.
McConnell is owed $8.7 million this season and has a $9.3 partially-guaranteed salary in 2024-25. He is guaranteed $5 million, with the remaining $4.3 million becoming fully guaranteed one day after the 2024 NBA draft.
Phoenix’s interest in McConnell has been going on for some time. Fischer first reported it on July 12 during summer league. Marc Stein noted in his newsletter on July 24 that McConnell is hoping to stay with the Pacers.
McConnell would improve the Suns’ backcourt depth as a potential backup option to Bradley Beal at point guard. He has spent the past four seasons with the Pacers after starting his career with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 31-year-old is an efficient scorer who averaged 8.7 points per game on 54.3 percent shooting last season. He has made 50.9 percent of his field-goal attempts in 556 career games.
