8. Trade Neal Walk to NO in 74-75
Forever remembered at the player the Suns selected in 1969 when they lost the infamous coin-flip for the right to draft Lew Alcindor, Neal Walk was a decent center for Phoenix who for two seasons averaged a double-double.
Coming off of his second such season, Walk had already seemed to have reached the peak of his talent and Jerry Colangelo, still in the beginning of his perpetual search for size and toughness, wanted to add such a quality to the roster through trade. At the time Phoenix was generally a smaller roster against a conference of bigs, and he knew that size would help push Phoenix through.
When Colangelo traded Walk, the move was the single biggest transaction in franchise history totaling six moving parts. Phoenix traded Walk and a 1975 second-round pick for Dennis Awtrey, Curtis Perry, Nate Hawthorn and a 1976 first-round pick.
All three players received in return played valuable roles of varying degrees for the Suns over at least two seasons including the team’s 1976 run to the NBA Finals.
Hawthorn added the size Colangelo required and was a regular fixture in the rotation for two years. Awtrey and Perry too held important roles, although Perry played the more integral part. Each lasted four years in Phoenix with Awtrey averaging 6.1 points and 1.3 rebounds. But Perry, the most athletic of the group, was by far the best all-around player of anyone involved in the trade – and a double-double machine.
Racking up 12.8 points and 11.4 rebounds in his first three seasons, Perry was the team’s leading rebounder (by average) in his first two seasons and the third or fourth leading scorer over those three years as well. Unfortunately his body began to break down during the 1976-77 season and by the following year his back had given out forcing an early retirement at the age of 29.
For the Jazz, Walk played only 37 games before a trade to the Knicks. He played an additional season plus 11 games in the 1977-78 season before retiring at the age of 28 due to failing health as well.