PHOENIX -- Not much is working in Phoenix Suns land as of late.
The Suns are now losers of 9 out of their last 11 games - with the only victories coming against the lottery-bound Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls.
They sit outside of the play-in tournament and are looking less likely by the day to be a playoff team for the first time since 2020 - with significantly less flexibility in terms of improving personnel moving forward.
The consistent losing is confounding. The roster is still talented enough to be in the playoff picture and the franchise hired a title-winning head coach to tie the loose ends that the predecessors left behind - it simply hasn't worked out.
Now the Suns must take action to right some wrongs - and one analyst has the names that could shift Phoenix back in the right direction.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report compiled a list of three trade targets for every team this upcoming off-season, including the Suns.
More on the three players below:
Buckley: "Phoenix has to maximize its return for him. Sending him to Houston would be ideal, provided the Suns would regain control of some of their first-round picks.
"Bringing back a playoff-tested pro like VanVleet would help, too, since Phoenix would continue aiming for some degree of competitiveness as long as Devin Booker is around."
Buckley: "If the Rockets aren't interested, maybe the Suns could stay in the Lone Star State and hope the Spurs might see Durant as their best bet for flooring the gas pedal.
"Phoenix would get additional stuff to Vassell, but he'd help address this roster's glaring lack of two-way talent."
"If the Suns hold onto Durant, they might see whether the Sixers would have interest in sending out George for Bradley Beal.
VanVleet would make logical sense as a bridge player that could continue to keep the Suns competitive during a retooling phase, but it feels as if Alperen Sengun would be a more ambitious addition here to surround Devin Booker with.
Ditto for San Antonio. Vassell is a quality two-way player, but it feels as if Stephon Castle would be the crown jewel in a potential Durant-to-Spurs move.
If Castle was considered 'untouchable' in trade talks for De'Aaron Fox, it feels like he could be had in a trade for one of the greatest players in NBA history.
As for George - this potential move feels confounding from all levels.
George already looks to be on the decline in year one of a 4-year, maximum level contract - it only feels inevitable that this deal will continue to age poorly.
The other factor here is the perception that George and Booker don't get along - that should be something that is taken into consideration as well.
At this stage, it feels like attempting to move Beal for a package built around role players is the correct move (if a team is willing to take him on) - George is simply a horizontal move with more years attached to his contract.
As for the current season, the Suns are set to play back-to-back games against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday and Friday night.