Phoenix Suns: Grading The Offseason

The Turning Point

Up until this point, the Suns were having a fantastic offseason. The Chandler signing came out of nowhere, but it suddenly launched Phoenix into the Aldridge sweepstakes for real. Unfortunately, in order to clear up enough cap space to offer LMA a max-level deal, some tough decisions had to be made.

One decision that would come back to haunt the front office for the rest of the summer was trading Marcus Morris, Danny Granger and Reggie Bullock to the Detroit Pistons for nothing more than a future second round draft pick.

To be clear, none of those players were elemental to Phoenix’s success in the present or in the future, but the Suns are still dealing with the unfortunate trickle-down effects of this move.

In and of itself, the deal was a lopsided one because it was a salary dump. But once Aldridge wound up choosing the San Antonio Spurs, the Suns were left holding an empty bag…and then had to face the wrath of an inconsolable, pissed off Markieff Morris.

After a season riddled with technicals, sideline shouting matches, calling out fans and felony aggravated assault charges, the Suns didn’t “owe” the Morrii anything. The twins played better together, but they were also more embattled than they’d ever been in their careers. Having two players with a penchant for getting in trouble just wasn’t good policy, regardless of the outcome of the Aldridge sweepstakes.

Still, once the Suns knew Aldridge was lost, that lack of a common courtesy phone call to let the twins know what was going on came back to haunt them. Marcus and Markieff are basically the same person; they lived together, had the same tattoos, had almost always played together and lived by their “Team FOE” motto.

For a team that suddenly needed Markieff Morris to be its starting power forward to make a run at a playoff spot in 2015-16, this trade could have severe ramifications. Keef has repeatedly stated his intentions to be traded, that he will never forgive the Suns and that even if he has to show up for training camp, he’s not counting on suiting up for the Suns again.

The Suns still hold the power here, especially with Keef locked in for $32 million over the next four years. If his actions are detrimental to the team, they can suspend him without pay rather than acquiesce his request for a trade that will net Phoenix pennies on the dollar in return.

However, when the best option to get your starting power forward to play for you is to threaten him with a suspension or hope that he magically changes his mind, things clearly haven’t gone according to plan.

It’s hard to blame the Suns too much for taking a chance on a bonafide superstar in LaMarcus Aldridge, but to recap: Phoenix traded a decent part of its bench away for virtually nothing, in order to sign a star free agent they wound up losing and in the process, alienated their starting power forward with no one capable of replacing him other than Mirza Teletovic or Jon Leuer. Not ideal.

Grade: D

Next: The Mirza, The Merrier