The 2015 NBA trade deadline has gone and passed with plenty of activity towards the final hour. Names such as Reggie Jackson, Enes Kanter, Brandon Knight, and Michael Carter-Williams now have new homes. As always, there’s one team that always stands out during the deadline, likely one that makes the most noise. In this case, that team was the Phoenix Suns.
No team shook up their core as much as the team from the “Valley of the Sun” did at the NBA’s trade deadline on Thursday, February 19th, 2015. After majority owner Robert Sarver initially dictated resentment to letting go of 2014 All-NBA third-team standout Goran Dragic, he caved in. While Sarver and Phoenix brass were determined to keep Dragic in purple and orange, they were equally as determined to ship out Isaiah Thomas in order to appease Dragic. Ironically, neither will be donning a Suns jersey come Friday when Phoenix plays its first game post all-star break in Minnesota vs. the Timberwolves. That might be as shocking as seeing the “Big Ticket”, Kevin Garnett, returning to Target Center as a member of the Timberwolves as opposed to the opposition. Okay, maybe not that shocking.
The Suns were not only able to meet Dragic’s trade request, they were able to ship him to one of his three preferred destinations and the only playoff hopeful in the Miami Heat. Dragic’s other two destinations were the woeful Los Angeles Lakers and the even more deplorable New York Knicks. While Dragic was able to be traded to a team he requested his demands clearly dictated his interest in playing in a market that is more beneficial for his brand as opposed to winning.
Many times, when marquee players demand trades, the team the player is being traded from ends up being coerced into making a trade they are highly against. Yet, the team pulls the plug in order to gain assets opposed to losing the player for nothing. However, credit Suns GM Ryan McDonough for acquiring valuable assets for his club, while keeping his team competitive for the present as well as building towards the future.
McDonough pulled off a bevy of moves on the trade deadline and has his roster looking very different than it did prior pre all-star break. Goran Dragic, his brother Zoran, Tyler Ennis, Miles Plumlee, and Isaiah Thomas are all no longer members of “Club Orange.” Along with the departures came new acquisitions. The Suns acquired Danny Granger, Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall, and Marcus Thornton.
Now, did Phoenix make the right decision by shipping Dragic to the Miami Heat? Well, when you have a marquee player who will almost certainly command a max contract at season’s conclusion say, “I don’t trust them anymore” in reference to your team’s front office you have to do any and every thing to get him out of your locker room. If not, the player’s persona almost always inevitably becomes cancerous, something that would be extremely detrimental to a Suns team with playoff aspirations.
Just as McDonough did an exceptional job at keeping his backcourt aggressive and impressive, he excelled at acquiring future assets. While Danny Granger hasn’t been the same player since the 2011-2012 season, he brings well needed veteran leadership to a Suns team desperately absent of any. The most impressive feat McDonough accomplished isn’t the assets he acquired for today, rather more they are the future assets. The Suns acquired two first-round picks from the Heat, one which will be in 2021, the other in either 2017, 2018, or 2019, whichever the Suns decide on picking up.
The Suns no longer possess a logjam in their backcourt, yet still have one of the league’s most impressive, boasting two all-star caliber guards in Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight (arguably the Eastern Conference’s biggest all-star snub, with all due respect to Nikola Vucevic). In addition, the future is bright with the acquisition of two future first-round picks from Miami. They added a viable scorer and legitimate two guard (the most gaping position weakness on their roster) in Marcus Thonton along with acquiring the Cavaliers 2016 first-round pick from the Boston Celtics to add more hope and promise for the future. The Suns have kept a stable core for the present and have added three more picks that allows them to build and stay competitive in the future.