West Notes: Suns, Kyrie Irving, Pelicans, Thunder

Suns

Prior to the trade for star forward Kevin Durant, the Suns asked about star point guard Kyrie Irving, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Both Fischer and Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report indicated that the Suns could still make a run at Irving during the offseason, if things don’t work out for Irving with the Mavericks. As we relayed here, Irving said he isn’t going to discuss the possibility of a Dallas contract extension with the media.

• Even if the Suns can’t land Irving, they are likely to explore landing another starting-caliber point guard this offseason, given that Chris Paul turns 38 this spring, Fischer noted.
• The Suns had an interest in Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet ahead of the trade deadline and could pursue him this summer as a free agent, per Fischer.

Pelicans

• The fact the Pelicans didn’t surrender any first-round picks at the trade deadline is evidence they aren’t quite ready to go “all in” on acquiring talent to help them win a title, suggested Chris Clark of NOLA.com.
• Instead, they are likely waiting for the right time to surrender those picks, add salary and pay the tax, Clark wrote.
• They did make one deal, landing guard/forward Josh Richardson from the Spurs, and coach Willie Green said Richardson has fit in well already. “You could see his veteran savviness on the floor. Makes great decisions defensively,” Green said, via Clark. “That’s a part of what we wanted when we acquired him.”
• In case you missed it, executive VP David Griffin offered an update on power forward Zion Williamson. You can read that full post here.

Thunder 

Forward Dario Saric indicated he was a bit taken aback by the trade deadline deal that sent him from the Suns to the Thunder.

“You’re always surprised,” Saric said, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “That’s kind of how things go. At the end of the day, happy to be here. Happy to be part of this organization, a part of this group of young, talented guys who have a lot of years in front of them to play basketball.”

• The two-way contract for center Olivier Sarr only covers the rest of the season, per Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors. Sarr therefore will be a restricted free agent this summer.