I was pretty disappointed when I heard the news that Kanter all but demanded a trade. Wherever that demand came from, it was the worst possible thing to happen for both sides, weakening the positions for both the Jazz front office AND Kanter and his agent. Both sides are now negotiating from a position of weakness.

This got me thinking about different trades we could do to get something of value in return for Kanter. Most playoff teams looking for frontcourt depth don't really have any assets to give us. Most lottery teams looking for a big man wouldn't want to give up their valuable assets for what could become a short rental, followed by an overly expensive matched contract this RFA period.

I rattled off quite a few trades in the discussion thread, but the recent quote from the Suns GM (brought to my attention by our own Xum) got me thinking seriously about a trade with the Suns, and what I'd be willing to part with in order to make it happen.

Here's the quote: "I think our roster balance is a little off, and that’s my fault," Suns GM Ryan McDonough told 98.7 FM in Phoenix this week. "We are a little too backcourt-heavy, especially in terms of guys who, you know, I think you’d define primarily as scorers in the backcourt. So I think at some point we’ll need to balance that out, try to get a little more size, a little more frontcourt scoring and rebounding."

Huh. So the Suns realize they have too many guards and not enough bigs. They're most likely hoping to move Dragic, as his name has already come up in trade talks, but the Suns guard I have my eye on is Bledsoe. I came up with a trade that *might* be enough for the Suns to at least take interest.

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=no95zy6

The Suns send us Bledsoe, we send them Kanter, Burke, Hood, our 2016 1st round pick and GS's 2017 1st round pick.

Why the Suns do it: both Bledsoe and the Suns seemed like they weren't crazy about each other last summer, and unfortunately for Bledsoe not many teams took interest in the previously injury-prone PG. The Suns have publicly stated that they want more bigs and have conceded that they have too many guards, and there have already been rumors of them looking to trade Dragic. If they think Dragic willingly signs with them this offseason, I think it's possible they might consider moving Bledsoe. Not highly likley, but possible. Adding Hood to the trade just sweetens the deal for the Suns, as they get a wing player who has shown the ability to shoot, run the PnR, dribble penetrate, and has decent length.

Why the Jazz do it: Backcourt play has been a major weakness for the Jazz this season, even before injuries to Burks and Hood. It's pretty clear that Gobert is a future cornerstone of our team and that he will be a vital part of our success. Favors has shown improved shooting range and touch while playing solid defense. Positions 3-5 are a huge strength for the Jazz, but our backcourt needs some serious help. Exum shows flashes but he's not ready to play 30-35 minutes a night against NBA competition. Bringing in Bledsoe (movie title?) would give Exum a quality point guard to learn from; someone who is athletic and who aggressively attacks the rim and plays hounding defense. The two point guards share many of the same skills and attributes, and because of their length they could both play the 1 or the 2. The Jazz keep their core players and while the assets they'd be giving up are a steep price, I think Bledsoe is worth it.

So, what say you to this trade?