The Phoenix Suns are on the clock, and nobody has more pressure on their shoulders before today’s trade deadline than general manager Ryan McDonough.
Like Robb Stark in Game of Thrones, McDonough has never lost a battle. But his “Red Wedding” has come, a gloriously brutal ending to his status as a king…and the Lannisters/Lakers are ready to send their regards.
However, unlike McDonough, all hope is not lost just yet. He still has a few hours to make a deal to help this team hold on for a playoff spot, alleviate the backcourt logjam and keep the Suns’ bright future intact.
The problem is, Goran Dragic‘s trade value isn’t as high as it should be since he’ll be a free agent this summer. Any leverage the Suns had in trading Dragic jumped out the window as soon as the report broke that he wants out of Phoenix. Most prospective teams won’t trade for him and give up assets if they know they can get him in free agency.
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That being said, if the Suns can’t pull off a Dragic trade before today’s deadline, or if they decide to pursue their prior course of action, they’ll need to trade Isaiah Thomas to have any chance of making the Dragon happy again and salvaging this season.
It’s a long shot, sure. But even if Dragic is on the way out, the Suns should at least consider the reasons for trading IT. It wasn’t that long ago that the Suns were winning games and Dragic and Eric Bledsoe were trading compliments in postgame interviews. We’ve all read the cringe-worthy comments about losing trust in the front office, but if the Suns can’t put a deal together for Dragic, perhaps trading Isaiah Thomas would be the best path.
To clarify, the Suns don’t have to trade IT. But since it’s possible, and because a number of teams would love to add IT’s services to their roster, it’s time to examine a couple of potential Isaiah Thomas trades.
The Boston Celtics fall just outside our honorable mentions, but it’s worth noting that Danny Ainge has a whole pantry full of future draft picks to put a deal for IT together. For salary purposes, either Marcus Thornton, Tayshaun Prince or Brandon Bass‘ expiring contract would work as cap filler. According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, the Celts would be interested in acquiring the 5’9″ point guard.
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