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2015 NBA Playoffs: Former Suns Players On Other Teams

By Eric Saar

Jan 24, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Joe Johnson (7) and Dallas Mavericks small forward Shawn Marion (0) go after a loose ball during the second half at Barclays Center. The Brooklyn Nets won the game 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 24, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Joe Johnson (7) and Dallas Mavericks small forward Shawn Marion (0) go after a loose ball during the second half at Barclays Center. The Brooklyn Nets won the game 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 8, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Aaron Brooks (0) dribbles the ball past Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

Aaron Brooks

New team: Chicago Bulls

Role with Bulls: Backup point guard, scoring off the bench

Years with Phoenix: 1 (2010-11)

Comments: Hearing about Brooks kind of “hurts” because it reminds me of how we traded a young Goran Dragic and a first round pick for Brooks only to basically lose Brooks to an overseas team through the lockout. Horrible GM-ing there. Now Brooks is just a journeyman backup point guard for teams with oft-injured starting point guards who need a fill-in or a scoring punch off the bench.

Marcin Gortat

New team: Washington Wizards

Role with Wizards: Starting center, rebounder, scorer, defender

Years with Phoenix: 3 (2010-13)

Comments: Steve Nash made a lot of people a lot of money over his career. Maybe none more so than Gortat. “The Polish Hammer” was stuck behind Dwight Howard in Orlando and then came out to Phoenix where he thrived alongside Nash. All the easy buckets due to Nash’s Hall of Fame caliber passing made Gortat look good. Gortat was decent as a Sun, but boy, am I not going to miss his bad hands/finishing around the rim.

Jared Dudley

New team: Milwaukee Bucks

Role with Bucks: Veteran presence, sixth man, scoring off the bench

Years with Phoenix: 5 (2008-13)

Comments: Dudley was such a fan favorite in Phoenix. He doesn’t have the athleticism as a lot of guys, but makes up for it with skill (shooting-wise), a high basketball IQ, quick hands, intensity and heart. During the Nash years and a little after, he was basically what P.J. Tucker is now (but a little worse defensively, better shooter/higher IQ). Definitely the heart and soul of the Suns back then.

Miles Plumlee

New team: Milwaukee Bucks

Role with Bucks: End of the bench center

Years with Phoenix: 2 (2013-15)

Comments: Miles Plumlee was certainly a pleasant surprise. Just so you remember how much of a genius Ryan McDonough is, he got Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee AND a first-round pick for an aging Luis Scola. Plumlee broke out and became the starting center, as the perfect stop-gap, while we waited for the coming of Alex Len. His jumpshot and hookshot made us cringe, but his dunks made us very happy.

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