Report: Phoenix Suns exploring 'trade scenarios' with Cameron Payne, interested in T.J. McConnell
Phoenix Suns team owner Mat Ishbia doesn’t feel as if his team needs to make any changes right now to compete for a championship, but he isn’t ruling anything out this offseason.
“We evaluate opportunities all the time,” said Ishbia on Tuesday from Las Vegas. “When teams approach us, we’re looking at everything. At the same time, I don’t think we need to make any changes at this time to compete for a championship. With that being said, are there free agents we can sign, are there some trades that may happen or may not happen? Obviously, there are, but I think our core of our team is set and I feel really great about where we’re at right now.”
Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports is reporting the Suns continue to “explore trade scenarios” with guard Cameron Payne and they’re interested in Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, who played college ball at Arizona.
Last month, Suns coach Frank Vogel talked about Payne being "in the mix" going into training camp during Bradley Beal's introductory news conference, but made a note about the possibility of adding a point guard.
"We want to play with pace so we're going to have a multiple ball handler attack in most possessions," Vogel said. "I love the fact that both Bradley (Beal) and Devin (Booker) have played point at phases of their career and can initiate offense as can KD (Kevin Durant). We also want to see how the rest of the roster shakes out to see if we add a point guard. Cam Payne will be in the mix. All those decisions will play out in camp."
McConnell averaged a career-best 8.7 points and 5.3 assists to 1.9 turnovers in 75 games for the Pacers, shooting a career-high 44.1% from 3 after making just 30.3% of his 3s in the 2021-22 season.
The 6-1 guard is in the third year of his four-year, $33.6-million deal that pays him $8.7 million this season. The fourth and final year of his deal ($9.3 million) is partially guaranteed ($5 million guaranteed).
The Suns fully guaranteed the final year of Payne’s three-year, $19-million contract as he’s due $6.5 million this season.
Payne averaged 10.3 points and 2.9 assists to 1.3 turnovers in an injury-plagued season as he only played 48 games in the regular season. He connected on a career-best 40.7% of his 3-point shots.
The Suns 6-1 point guard provided a spark in the postseason in starting for Chris Paul, who missed the final four games of the Western Conference semifinals with a groin injury.
Starting in Paul’s place, Payne scored a career playoff-high 31 points, going 7-of-9 from 3, both playoff career highs, in a Game 6 elimination loss to the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
While the scrappy McConnell is more of a playmaker, Payne, who his teammates called “Tubro” sets a faster pace, a quality that helped the Suns win Game 3 and 4 to even the series against the Nuggets.
Republic exclusive: Suns owner Mat Ishbia addresses Chris Paul comment on Isiah Thomas role in trade
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Report: Phoenix Suns interested in former Arizona guard T.J. McConnell
