Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal Trade Value Set by NBA Exec amid Suns Rumors | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

At least one executive in the NBA doesn't believe the Phoenix Suns' outlook is totally dire in the event they need to move on from one of their three stars to improve their championship odds.

Fox Sports' Ric Bucher solicited the opinions of multiple people around the league and reported "the Suns aren't as hamstrung as some portrayed them."

An exec from an Eastern Conference team laid out what they thought the markets for Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal could be.

"KD probably gets you the Jrue Holiday Package," the executive said, referencing the Portland Trail Blazers' return of Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, the Golden State Warriors 2024 first-round pick and an unprotected first-rounder in 2029. "Booker gets the mortgage-the-franchise-to-acquire-him package. Meaning you'd give up all your future assets to get him. Beal you'd need to give up multiple picks to get off of him."

While Bucher attempted to put a positive spin on Phoenix's short-term future, the assessment from the executive he cited if anything illustrates how tough it will be for the Suns to retool on the fly.

You can't cite the Holiday trade as a potential comparison for a Durant swap without noting Brogdon and Williams both carried questions over their durability when they moved to Portland. In the case of the former, it scuppered a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers last summer before he landed with the Blazers.

The concerns were borne out as Brogdon and Williams combined to appear in 45 games this season.

Sure, the Suns would benefit from "two quality role players" as Bucher described the pair of veterans, but left a little vague is what kind of role players we're talking about.

The hypothetical Booker trade, meanwhile, is probably one that sets Phoenix up for the future more than it raises the franchise's short-term ceiling if we're going off past precedent. Not to mention, the NBA trade market seems to have leveled off a bit, which became immediately evident by what the Suns gave up for Durant and Beal.

The more restrictive collective bargaining agreement will be a big factor, too, because acquiring Booker means assuming the sizable salary he starts commanding in 2024-25. As much as he brings on the court, some GMs may be more wary than you'd think of the targeting the four-time All-Star when he's owed $61.2 million in 2027-28.

Then there's Beal, who's simply a negative asset. The Washington Wizards took 50 cents on the dollar when they sent him to Phoenix and his value has only declined since then. Offloading his five-year, $251 million contract, which still includes a no-trade clause, might be so costly it's a better play to keep him on the squad.

Majority governor Mat Ishbia believes a lot of rival teams would love to swap places with the Suns despite their first-round sweep and lack of roster flexibility moving forward. That's certainly a minority opinion.