1. The Trade Deadline
For better or worse, the 2015 NBA Trade Deadline changed the Phoenix Suns — not only for the season, but for years to come. Technically, it all started with the offseason acquisition of Isaiah Thomas, but things really kicked into high gear when Goran Dragic, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, said he wouldn’t re-sign in Phoenix.
Citing a lack of trust with the front office for bringing in another point guard and playing him off the ball so much, the Suns had to trade away Dragic just to get some value for him. They also panic-traded away I.T. and the coveted top-five pick from the Los Angeles Lakers. In return? They got Brandon Knight and a few draft picks that won’t amount to much until years down the road.
By shipping away one-third of the roster, the Suns were simultaneously retooling for a playoff run AND building for the future. Trading Dragic meant the Suns wouldn’t have to pay him a max contract this summer, and they went from a 29-year-old point guard to a 23-year-old one.
However, disrupting what little chemistry the Suns had built meant the team heavily struggled after the deadline. It was a tale of two seasons as the Suns’ offense died a horrible death. Bledsoe was more turnover-prone than ever, Knight went down with an injury, Marcus Morris had to play in the starting lineup and youngsters T.J. Warren and Archie Goodwin were heavily relied upon off the bench.
In the long run, the Suns are still okay. They’ll have to overpay to keep Knight and depending on what happens with the Morris twin charges, bigger decisions may need to occur. The Suns still need a star player and they desperately need veteran leadership. General manager Ryan McDonough lost a lot of believers this season based on the moves he made over the last year.
Personally, I think he did about as well at the trade deadline as could be expected. Dragic did only give him 48 hours notice with his comments, after all. But trading that Lakers pick and burning that bridge with Dragic in the first place with the I.T. sign-and-trade means McDonough has his work cut out for him to get this rebuild back on track.
That whole deviation from the main path of rebuilding started with the turning point of the season, the 2015 NBA Trade Deadline.
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