Tyson Chandler
(10.5 WS/ .124 WS per-48)
Tyson Chandler‘s (10.5 WS/ .124 WS per-48) arrival to Phoenix came at an odd time. The Suns were in the midst of a rebuild but decided that they wanted to take a shot at LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldrdige, coming from Portland, wanted to be a power forward and not a center. The Suns didn’t have a reliable center (Alex Len was starting at the time, but far from worth banking on), so as part of a covert strategy, they signed Chandler, who is also friends with Aldridge, as a sign of good faith that Aldridge wouldn’t have to play center in Phoenix. LaMarcus ended up signing with San Antonio, but Chandler would be a pretty decent center in his own right with the Suns, tying the franchise record for most rebounds in a single game with 27 against Atlanta in 2016.
Danny Ainge
(12.5 WS / .117 WS per-48)
In order to acquire Charles Barkley, the Phoenix Suns needed to trade away shooter Jeff Hornacek. The move would allow Dan Majerle to take Hornacek’s spot in the starting lineup, but Colangelo believed that he needed another shooter off the bench – and it didn’t hurt that the best man available also had championship pedigree, something that no one else on the roster had. Danny Ainge was the perfect savvy veteran to acquire, and helped Phoenix to an NBA Finals appearance, followed by two semifinals appearances as well. His most memorable moment? Being chased off the court in 1993 by Greg Anthony during one of the biggest fights in league history.
Tom Gugliotta
(13.1 WS / .099 WS per-48)
Antonio McDyess had just been acquired in a huge trade the year prior and was seen as the sidekick to Jason Kidd for the next decade. But when he snuck off in the middle of the night returning to Denver, Phoenix panicked and signed veteran power forward Tom Gugliotta in his stead. Googs often gets a bad rap from Suns fans because he never lived up to the hype that McDyess set. Not only that, but he was already on the downslope of his career, and while he wasn’t bad, he just wasn’t great, making it a lose-lose situation for both he and the Suns. To make matters worse, three months into his career with Phoenix and following a road game, as he had got to the team bus, Gugliotta suffered a seizure, a severe medical issue that was tied to a supplement he had been taking. Between that health scare and injuries that slowed his career down prematurely, and he was never the player they hoped they were getting when he was first acquired.