Less than 48 hours before the NBA Trade Deadline, the Suns got shocking news that Goran Dragić was not going to re-sign after the season and requested a trade. Last year's NBA Most Improved Player and All-NBA 3rd Team selectee had long been expected to re-sign for 5 years and lead the Suns to the playoffs. Instead, it turns out the star was disgruntled and had quietly been upset with the franchise for months. He blasted the front office in front of media saying "I don't trust them anymore," and "I see that we're not going in the right direction... That's why I take action and try to put myself in a better position." He also mentioned how they made promises that they didn't keep "two or three times."
To make circumstances tougher, the former face-of-the-franchise gave the Suns a short list of three teams he would like to be traded to - the L.A. Lakers, New York Knicks, and Miami Heat. Those three teams are not exactly flooded with trade assets. Talk about killing any trade leverage the Suns had. 12 minutes left before time was up, and the entire team was still intact. In fact, they were all on the team bus headed to the airport to fly to Minneapolis for their game Friday night. Then, madness happened.
News broke that Goran Dragić, fan favorite and once deemed the heir apparent to Steve Nash, had got his wish. He had been traded to the Miami Heat along with his brother, Zoran Dragić. But why stop there? The Suns then shocked the NBA world by acquiring Brandon Knight from Milwaukee in a three-team blockbuster. Isaiah Thomas? He was gone too, shipped to Boston. Players packed and ready to head to Minneapolis were pulled off the bus right and bid their farewells. All this happened in a span of ten minutes.
How to Trade Your Dragon
Miami Heat receive: Goran Dragić, Zoran Dragić
Phoenix Suns receive: Danny Granger, John Salmons (waived), 2017 1st rd pick (Miami/ top 7 protected), 2021 1st rd pick (Miami)
New Orleans Pelicans receive: Norris Cole, Shawne Williams, Justin Hamilton
Three team Blockbuster
Milwaukee Bucks receive: Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis
Philadelphia 76ers receive: 2015 1st rd pick (Lakers/ top 5 protected) *If not conveyed in 2015, turns into Lakers 2016 1st rd pick (top 3 protected)*
Phoenix Suns receive: Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall (waived)
Farewell Little One
Boston Celtics receive: Isaiah Thomas
Phoenix Suns receive: Marcus Thornton, 2016 1st rd pick (Cleveland)
All in all, here it is:
In: Brandon Knight, Marcus Thornton, Danny Granger, John Salmons (waived), Kendall Marshall (waived), 2016 1st rd pick (Cleveland), 2017 1st rd pick (Miami/top 7 protected), 2021 1st rd pick (Miami)
Out: Goran Dragić, Isaiah Thomas, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis, Zoran Dragić, 2015 1st rd pick (Lakers/top 5 protected)
The Future
The Phoenix Suns are a middling team. Not good enough to compete in the brutal Western Conference come playoff time, yet not bad enough to garner a high draft pick. Why remain that way? The Phoenix Suns positioned themselves much better going forward, not just for this summer, but further down the road as well. As much as it hurts, they had to give up Dragić. After he demanded a trade, the Suns had to accept what they could get, and I am pretty sure the Suns are not complaining about two first-round picks. But the main prize was 4th year Combo Guard from Kentucky, Brandon Knight. He just turned 23 years old and could have been an All-Star this year, as he was arguably the best player on a winning team and is averaging over 17 points, five assists, four rebounds, and almost two steals. The Suns claim this is the man they have coveted all along.
"We feel like we got the best player in the trade [Brandon Knight], coming or going," Ryan McDonough, Suns general manager said after the trade went down.
Brandon Knight is going to command a lesser salary than Goran Dragić would have, which allows Phoenix to use the rest of the money to shore up a front line that is in desperate need of help. They also rid themselves of Isaiah Thomas' contract, which was a huge bargain at less than seven million per year, but was going to be on the books for four years. Giving up Isaiah Thomas also makes time for second year guard out of Kentucky, Archie Goodwin to showcase his talents. The kid has shown plenty of flashes before, but was dug deep on the bench behind a log-jam at the guard positon. Then you throw in the three first rounders the Suns received, and it's safe to say they had their eyes on the future.
T'was nice knowing you 2014-15 Season
Oklahoma City is a playoff team. If injuries did not exist, they would be a top-four seed in the Western Conference. They will not only make the playoffs, but they are a threat to knock off the top seeded Golden State Warriors. The Phoenix Suns did not take advantage of an injury-riddled Thunder squad that started 3-12. A six-game losing streak and chemistry that was never found had the Suns struggling at 12-14 through 26 games. Sure, the Suns never fell more than a game out of the playoff race through the first four months and actually had a 4 game lead on OKC less than two weeks ago, but they needed to build a bigger cushion, knowing OKC was going to be healthy at some point.
Expectations were high for Phoenix after last years cinderalla 48 win season. They brought in Isaiah Thomas envisioning a three point guard lineup that would wreak havoc on opposing teams, but instead caused the beloved Dragon to want out. Isaiah Thomas is a terrific player on a great contract who single handedly won the Suns a few games, but just did not fit here. The Suns made the right move by accepting that this experiment failed and moved on. It is not often you see a team in the middle of a playoff race 54 games into the season tear down nearly half the roster, but something was off with this years team. Something was different.
Some fans might think the Suns improved, and they did, from a long-term perspective. They got future picks, expiring contracts, and a young potential All-Star in Knight, but don't fool yourself. This season is over. Anytime you lose your best player, leading bench scorer, and backup big mid-season, it's almost never good news.
The torch is being passed to the youngsters. Archie Goodwin should see a boost in minutes, and rookie T.J. Warren should see court time as well. Alex Len will continue to start and expect the Suns to test out different lineups to see who belongs and who needs to go.
It was a fun first 54 games of the season, in which the Suns were a playoff team the majority of the time. It was also heart breaking with losses coming at the buzzer four times, including nine losses by three points or less and 13 by five or less. Good luck to Oklahoma City and the rest of the West, but the Suns will be there next season.
Conclusion
If you were confused at all the moves the Suns made within a span of minutes, you were not alone. 39 players were traded in a single day which was by far the most in NBA history, and the Suns were responsible for 10 of those bodies, one way or another. The Phoenix Suns were the busiest franchise on a record-setting trade deadline day for the NBA. When Dragić gave the Suns his trade demand a mere two days before the deadline, they were in lose-lose territory. Instead, they made out pretty well, garnering two future first-round picks. They then landed Goran's replacement, which is actually the guy they tried trading Dragić for last month but got rejected by Milwaukee, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports.
Let's face it, the Suns were not winning a title in such a stacked Western Conference. With these moves, they get even younger than they were while still allowing themselves to compete for the playoffs. Competing for the playoffs is nice, but what is nicer is that the Suns as a team will not hit their peak until a few years, so everything positive we see now, is just a tease of what will be. Who knows? Maybe Brandon Knight fits in better than Dragić and the Suns make a push this season. No matter what happens this year, the Suns made these moves looking towards the future, and they made out alright considering the tough situation they were put in.