The NBA trade machine could get cranked up Friday, the first day free agents who were signed over the summer can be traded.

But don’t expect the Suns to do a lot of wheeling and dealing.

General Manager Ryan McDonough said that while Phoenix will look for ways to upgrade its roster, its focus is on doing that internally as players return from injuries. The Suns are hopeful Devin Booker (strained left adductor muscle) will be back for the Dec. 26 game against Memphis and that rookie shooting guard Davon Reed (offseason knee surgery) will return around Jan. 1. Center Alan Williams, who had surgery in August to repair a torn meniscus, could be back sometime in March.

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“If we do make a move it will be positionally to fill a short-term need,” McDonough said. “There’s nobody we can sign or trade for that’s going to come close to replicating half of Devin Booker’s production. Nobody out there is 22 years old and like Davon Reed, who we’re really high on. So we’re most excited about getting those guys back.”

The Suns could clear a logjam by trading one of their three centers but that’s easier said than done. Alex Len can’t be traded until Dec. 23, three months after he signed his qualifying offer. Greg Monroe has an expiring contract, but Phoenix doesn’t want to be loaded down with multiyear contracts so finding another team willing to move an expiring deal might be difficult. Tyson Chandler has one year left on his deal – he’ll make $13.5 million in 2018-19 – but McDonough said Phoenix values the stability and leadership Chandler and forward Jared Dudley provide.

“Those guys (Chandler and Dudley) mentor the young guys and teach the young guys how to play,” McDonough said. “If and when they get on the court they do a good job. If they’re not playing much or at all they accept that.

“I think it’s very important to have them echo and reinforce some of the messages our coaches are trying to deliver. I think in general you want to keep at least a few good vets around and we’re happy with those guys.”

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McDonough also is reluctant to deal from a position of strength, pointing out that if he trades a center and one of the two remaining centers gets hurt, the Suns will be shorthanded.

“I get that it’s a challenge for Coach (Jay) Triano and his staff,” McDonough said, “but at the same time that’s what good teams do. They have depth and balance and manage the minutes and manage the situation even if it’s not perfect for anybody involved.”

Any deal the Suns might make wouldn’t come at the expense of minutes for their young players.

“That’s probably right,” McDonough said. “Especially the key core guys we want to see develop. We know when you play guys in their early 20s there’s going to be growing pains, and mistakes are going to be made largely due to inexperience. We have to live with it.”

McDonough said nothing has changed regarding the coaching situation, that Triano will coach the rest of the season and is a candidate for the full-time job. Triano is 9-18 since taking over for Earl Watson but McDonough said the record doesn’t reflect the challenges Triano has faced, particularly given the trade of Eric Bledsoe and the injuries to Booker and Reed.

“If you look at our team before the year, three of the guys we projected to be the top four scorers are not playing,” McDonough said. “Bledsoe, Booker and Brandon Knight. T.J. Warren is the only one we have in the lineup at the moment.

“We realize a lot of teams go through this at some level but it’s hard when you’re the team going through it. Jay and his staff are doing a good job, keeping the focus on player development and teaching. Our goal is to be better in March and April than we are today and I think we’ll get there.”

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