Barkley still picks Nuggets over Suns after Durant trade
INDIANAPOLIS – Charles Barkley couldn’t have said it any better about the city he calls home.
“Hey man, Phoenix is on fire right now,” Barkley said on TNT’s Inside the NBA.
Kevin Durant. Super Bowl LVII. WM Phoenix Open.
The Phoenix Suns started this blaze when trading for the two-time finals MVP in a blockbuster deal, but Barkley isn’t ready to crown them the Western Conference champions.
“I’m not going to disrespect the Nuggets, I think they’re still the favorite,” Barkley said.
The Suns (31-27) traded Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a pick swap to Brooklyn for T.J. Warren, who played his first five seasons in Phoenix, and Durant.
“The West is so good now, you’re going to need a good bench,” Barkley said. “You can’t go to war with KD, (Devin) Booker and (Deandre) Ayton because the West is so loaded. If they play the Clippers, Lakers now, haven’t even mentioned Memphis, your bench is going to be really, really important.”
Phoenix also moved Dario Saric and a second-round pick to Oklahoma City for Darius Bazley.
“I want to thank Dario for the time he spent with the team, which came during the franchise’s most successful stretch of seasons on the court,” new Suns team owner Mat Ishbia said in a news release. “As we continue to build one of the best organizations in sports, we’re excited to add a young talent like Darius to an already dynamic and deep roster.”
Durant won’t return to action until after the All-Star break as he’s ruled out for the Feb. 19 All-Star Game in Salt Lake City with a right MCL sprain. When he returns, the Suns likely will start Chris Paul, Torrey Craig, Ayton, Durant and Booker when looking at their current roster.
“To win three series just to get to the finals, your bench is going to be huge,” Barkley later said.
Shaquille O’Neal said, “on paper,” the move puts the Suns “in the discussion” to win an NBA title.
“It is a championship-or-bust year,” he said. “… It puts them up there in conversation, but I think they have to get it done this year. Kevin’s getting older, Chris is getting older.”
Durant is 34 years old while Paul will turn 38 in May.
O’Neal talked about the offensive potency Phoenix now possesses with Durant, but he didn’t like the Suns parting ways with Bridges.
“He was a great defensive player,” O’Neal said. “Offensively, they’re very potent and if (Booker and Durant) can play together and play with high efficiency, they’re going to be very, very dangerous.”
Barkley also made reference to Durant and Paul being “older,” and the Booker-Durant combination, but he believes Ayton will benefit from playing with those two offensive machines.
However, Barkley feels the Suns need to explore the buyout market to add a player. The Suns have two roster spots on their standard 15-man roster.
“They’re going to have to get some big bodies,” Barkley said. “… They gave up a lot.”
O’Neal also noted the Bucks getting Crowder from Brooklyn in a four-team deal after the Durant trade.
“It brings toughness, it brings a guy who can defend and brings a guy who is a great team player and it’s a guy who can hit a clutch shot in clutch moments,” O’Neal said.
“I like that move. I’m going to be paying attention to that move.”
Crowder didn’t play a game for Phoenix this season as the two sides “mutually agreed” he wouldn’t attend training camp.