Valley of the Suns
Fansided

The Phoenix Suns should avoid Isaiah Thomas like the plague

By Adam Maynes

OAKLAND, CA - MARCH 14: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Golden State Warriors on March 14, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - MARCH 14: Isaiah Thomas #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Golden State Warriors on March 14, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 19: Isaiah Thomas #3 and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers look on against the Indiana Pacers in the first half of a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 19: Isaiah Thomas #3 and Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers look on against the Indiana Pacers in the first half of a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 19, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

He doesn’t have the right intangibles

Yes, the Phoenix Suns will have enough cap space to sign or trade for a free agent star this summer. They need at least one to pair up with Devin Booker and Josh Jackson, specifically to take the scoring load off of them when defenses have no one else on the court to focus on.

But I have long argued that point guards do not win titles. It is easy to believe that Thomas would help make the Phoenix Suns a better team, but he wouldn’t make them good enough to compete for a title, and certainly not good enough to do so immediately. Sure, the team would be better off, but is that enough? Would signing Thomas fit any sort of plan for the future? Would he at least provide leadership enough to guide the younger players (specifically Booker) with a level of championship pedigree that they couldn’t get elsewhere?

There really isn’t anything that he would bring that would make the young roster that much better in the future when he is no longer around. Sure, they would be winning more, and maybe  with Thomas on the roster they do make the playoffs as a lower seed in the Western Conference, but aren’t there potentially several  players available in free agency that could provide the Young Suns with guidance enough to make them better in the long term? Aren’t there multiple players in free agency that could still put this team over the top into the playoffs, not to mention the younger players will be a year more mature, and that alone could make them a low playoff team, not to mention the addition of whoever they will draft in June.

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