Phoenix- Oh, how quickly things change.
At the beginning of the work week, the Phoenix Suns were among the top-8 teams in the Western Conference, Goran Dragic was the face of the franchise and one of the most beloved Arizona athletes in the state to fans.
As the work week comes to a close, the Suns are not a top-8 Western Conference team, Dragic is now employed by the Miami Heat and he leaves town on very ugly terms.
Dragic’s public comments on Wednesday about his desire to be traded sparked the most chaotic trade deadline day in not only Phoenix Suns (29-25) history, but in the entire NBA. There were 37 players traded on Thursday, with 14 of those players involved in the three separate transactions made by the Suns.
General Manager Ryan McDonough and Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby spoke with the media Friday morning about the moves, but also responded to the comments made by Dragic.
“We try never to be blindsided and don’t think we were this time, other than the tone and nature of the comments,” Babby said. “We were aware of his concern, candidly he expressed those concerns before training camp last year and he went on to have his best season, winning All-NBA 3rd team and Most Improved Player.
“We did reach out to him a few weeks ago and we didn’t get a definite response from him despite the efforts from Robert (Sarver) himself to get an answer. We finally got that answer a few days ago, but that answer didn’t come as a surprise and we were prepared.
Boy, were the Suns ever prepared.
The first domino to fall was the Suns sending Dragic to the Heat in exchange for two future first round picks and Danny Granger, whom the Suns are still figuring out whether to keep or not. The deal was officially a 3-team deal with New Orleans sending John Salmons to Phoenix, though he will be released.
Remember, Miami was reportedly one of three teams that the former Suns guard would accept a trade to, though the Suns were never aware of that list.
“I never saw this list, maybe it was written in vanquishing ink,” McDonough said on if Dragic’s trade list hampered his ability to make the best deal possible. “My perspective, it wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.
“We were going to do the best deal for the Phoenix Suns whether that sent him to exactly where he wanted to go or the last place he wanted to go. Once he told us he didn’t want to be here in the manner in which he and his representatives handled the situation, we didn’t care where he wanted to go.”
The next domino that fell was the Suns acquisition of Brandon Knight from the Milwaukee Bucks. A 6-foot-3 guard out of Kentucky is in the midst of a career-year, averaging 17.8 points, 5.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds a game, while shooting career-highs from the floor of 43.5% from the field and over 40% from the three-point line.
Knight’s numbers are better than Dragic’s across the board except his shooting percentage from the floor, and he is doing it at the age of 23, five years younger than Dragic. The former 8th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft will play alongside Eric Bledsoe in the starting lineup, which has the Suns brass beaming with excitement about the potential the two Kentucky guards have.
“There is the Kentucky connection, very similar career paths,” McDonough said about his new backcourt. “One and done guys at Kentucky and first round picks. We feel like both guys are just starting to scratch the surface of their potential. I think with their age, upside and potential productivity they will be in the All-Star conversation for a long time.”
Knight was in the conversation to make the All-Star game this season in the Eastern Conference, and is a player the Suns had interest in for awhile. The former Bucks guard was a valedictorian in high school, and is the ultimate gym rat. McDonough was told by people in the Detroit Pistons front office, Knight’s first team, that they almost had to change the locks to the gym because he would always be working out. They were scared he would wear himself out.
“We talked with Eric (Bledsoe) about Brandon (Knight) and he is extremely excited about playing with him in the same backcourt,” Babby said.
That Suns backcourt that was littered with point guards, is now down to two, Bledsoe and Knight.
The third deal of the day sent Isaiah Thomas to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a future first round pick.
Unlike with Dragic, there was no hard feelings over the departure of Thomas. Simply put, it was just a move that didn’t work out for the team despite the solid play from the back-up point guard.
“Isaiah played very well for us,” McDonough said. “If you looked at his numbers and our teams numbers, he played well and we played well.
“Last free agency we swung for the fences, playing that game carries some risk. Including letting some other players go as we waited. Ultimately we didn’t get the future superstar players, but it’s a tribute to what we have done the last couple years that we were on the short list for those players. We envisioned the team playing with two point guards on the court at the same time. As a team we had some success and I feel ridiculous addressing the tone because it seems like the season has been a disaster. If the playoffs started at the All-Star break we would be in.”
The trade of Thomas, just half a season into a 4-year contract, is a quick admittance of a mistake, but like McDonough said, there is risk when you swing for the fences. Ultimately, the Suns popped it up instead of knocking it out of the park.
All in all, the Suns were able to flip Dragic, a player that probably has hit his ceiling in potential, for a player in Knight that is younger, cheaper and has a very high level of upside to an already proven and strong skill set.
The theme of Friday’s press conference was bringing in guys that wanted to be a part of a team, and were more focused on “we” rather than “I”, and the hope is that Knight and Bledsoe can help reignite the chemistry on the court that has been missing this season.
“We have great confidence in him and this trade is the ultimate vote of confidence in Eric Bledsoe with how well he has played,” McDonough said on Bledsoe taking over the leader role of the team . “We heard a lot of complaints that we traded our best player, my response is that Bledsoe and Markieff Morris are still in Phoenix Suns uniforms, they are still here. We like what he has done so far and bringing in Brandon Knight, we think they can be great together.”
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