Phoenix Suns: 5 Underrated Transactions That Built This NBA Finals Team

After 28 seasons, the Phoenix Suns have won the Western Conference once again. A team that was 19-63 just two seasons ago, now has home court advantage for the NBA Finals.

This achievement would not be possible without the players, coaching staff, and front office all working collectively. Since being appointed, general manager James Jones has made various shrewd moves including the hiring of Monty Williams, someone believed by many to be deserving of the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award this season.

Under Williams’s guidance, almost all new acquisitions to the team have fit in almost seamlessly. Phoenix’s core has shown some serious growth as well, rounding out their winning formula to collectively establish the Western Conference-winning product before you today.

But quite frankly, that is something easy to say at this point with the Finals just a few days ahead. For some time though, it felt tough to trust the moves Phoenix made, as the team struggled so extensively. Undergoing an 11-year playoff drought will just do that to you, no way around it.

Giving those decisions some credit though is something better to do late, rather than never at all. So with that said, here are five underrated transactions made by the Suns that ultimately helped us get to where we are now.

Phoenix Suns Underrated Transaction #1: Trading for the  No. 10 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft

The biggest news for the Suns out of the 2018 draft was their number one selection of Arizona big man Deandre Ayton. But later in the draft, Phoenix made a trade that would pay huge dividends as well.

Using the package they got for Goran Dragic three years earlier (Miami’s 16th pick in the 2018 draft and a future first in 2021), the Suns then traded for the 10th pick of the 2018 draft, which became Mikal Bridges via the Philadelphia 76ers.

After showing a lot of promise in his first two seasons, Bridges had his best campaign this year and broke out as premier wing player in the league with insane efficiency and elite defense. In the 2020-21 regular season, Bridges became one of four non-centers (Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, and Michael Porter Jr.) to average at least 13.0 points per game with a true shooting percentage at 66.0 percent or higher.

Defensively this year, Bridges’s 1.1 steals per game clocked in as the second most for the Suns. He nearly averaged a block per game as well, rejecting 0.9 shots per contest. That’s not too bad for a generally undersized forward, and collectively—not bad at all for two late first rounders.

Phoenix Suns Underrated Transaction #2: Trading Trevor Ariza for Kelly Oubre Jr.

In 2018, the Washington Wizards were trying to shop promising wing Kelly Oubre Jr., as he was on an expiring contract which they could not realistically extend. The Suns, a young team with plenty of cap flexibility, jumped on the opportunity to trade for the then 23-year old.

For Oubre Jr. and Austin Rivers (who would later be waived), the Suns gave up their free agency signing: a 33-year old Trevor Ariza. This trade would prove to be just as lopsided as initially expected.

Oubre Jr., a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019, would show promising signs in the 2018-19 season with a bigger offensive role, as he averaged 16.9 points and 1.6 assists per game, both coming as career highs at the time. After the season, Oubre Jr. accepted a reasonable two-year, 30 million dollar contract to stay with the Suns.

The following season went down as Oubre Jr.’s best one to date. He expanded his scoring first of all, averaging a new career high at 18.7 points per game, and shot very efficiently with a 56.0 true shooting percentage.

We can attribute both of these statistical improvements to Oubre Jr.’s improved shooting from outside, as he shot a career high 35.2 percent from beyond the arc. With the Suns record being the best it had been since 2015, it became clear that Oubre Jr. was an impactful young wing, valued by many teams especially on a favorable contract like his. That established value helped the Suns acquire Chris Paul, which we will get into later.

Phoenix Suns Underrated Transaction #3: Signing Ricky Rubio

Along with various draft busts and roster mismanagement, one of the biggest failures in the first four years of Devin Booker’s tenure with the Suns was his team’s inability to find him a fitting backcourt partner. But after clearing cap-space, the Suns were finally able to do so, as Booker got to play with one of the league’s best passers in Ricky Rubio.

With Coach Williams, a new point guard, and general feeling of improvement all coming Phoenix’s way, the Suns looked great in their first game of that season. They beat the Sacramento Kings by 25 points, as Rubio facilitated for the offense brilliantly, dishing out 11 assists in the process. Booker looked as great as ever, even while not having to take on an insane offensive load for once. The Suns had 6 double digit scorers and outscored the Kings by 19 points in the 4th quarter that night.

However just a day after this statement win, the Suns faced the first of the many setbacks they would run into that year. The NBA suspended Ayton for 25 games after he violated the league’s anti-drug policy. The Suns initially coped well without the top overall pick from 2018 with Aron Baynes breaking out, but things started to fall apart after that due to injuries, including one that sidelined leading scorer Oubre Jr. during the team’s bubble-run.

But even with a heavily injured roster and little-to-no expectations, the Suns proved everyone wrong during said bubble-run, playing their best basketball. Phoenix went 8-0, and only had to exit because of a tie-breaker with the Memphis Grizzlies. They had actually covered 6 games on the Grizzlies while playing in just eight contests!

Booker continued his individual excellence (with the team success to show for it this time) as he averaged more than 30.0 points per game. Replacing the injured Oubre Jr., rookie Cameron Johnson was also brilliant, while Ayton played like the best version of himself on both ends of the floor.

But from the top was still Rubio, facilitating for the entire offense. With his great play, Rubio gave the Suns the idea of adding a prototypical point guard to their team to lead their young core.

The numbers first and foremost validate his fit with Booker and Ayton. In 2019-20, the Suns had a +0.2 net rating, barely above neutral. In terms of wins in an 82-game season, the Suns had a net rating that would lead to 41 or 42 wins. However, during the minutes when Booker and Rubio shared the floor together, the Suns net rating rose all the way up to +6.02, with win projections at 57.

Similarly in the the minutes that Rubio, Booker and Ayton shared the floor, the Suns had a net rating of +8.16, equivalent to a 63-win team. Along with other upgrades, Rubio’s impact on the team had turned them from a laughing stock, to a playoff caliber group when healthy.

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Phoenix Suns Underrated Transaction #4: Trading for Chris Paul

This one is not so much underrated, but at the time of the trade, most did not think the Suns landing Chris Paul would make them immediate championship contenders. However, that’s exactly where we are right now, making said transaction a bigger deal than initially understood.

For the Suns, two things were clear after their 2019-20 season. First, they had to get the best out of their core, needing a high IQ point guard to do so. Second, if they could upgrade their roster a bit more, the Suns can build something special.

Trading for CP3 met the criteria for these both points. Coming off the back of a stellar season in Oklahoma City where he unexpectedly led the Thunder to the five seed in the West, Paul possessed many of the important traits carried by Rubio, while being a very clear upgrade in many regards as well.

A high IQ playmaker, disciplined defender, and all-time great mid-range score? Trading for Paul could unlock something special: possibly winning a playoff series for the first time in 11 years.

But to trade for the savvy veteran, the Suns would need to give up some important pieces to OKC. The Thunder were not necessarily looking for players to keep, but rather any valuable assets they use to help fuel their rebuilding efforts. They ended up dealing Rubio, Oubre Jr., and a few other pieces.

Obviously, the trade worked out great for Phoenix. Supported by Booker’s continued excellence, another incredible Chris Paul season, and contributions from an incredibly deep roster, the Suns went from out of the playoffs the year before—to having the second best record in the whole league.

Even while he remained influential on the court, Paul had a very important locker-room role too, acting as one of the more vocal leaders on the team, and helping certain players get better. Being one of those players, Ayton gave credit to Paul for his leadership after a Western Conference Finals victory over the Clippers, naming him the “best thing that happened to [his] career.”

Also doing well for himself, CP3 has had some unreal games this postseason. Most notably, he put on a midrange clinic vs the Denver Nuggets in Game 4, and later an insane 41-point game to close out the Clippers.

While some expected the Paul trade to be nothing more than a desperation move for a playoff appearance, it has paid off handsomely.

Phoenix Suns Underrated Transaction #5: Signing Jae Crowder

A few days after trading for Paul, the Suns made another move that showed their ambitions for contention. During the 2020 free agency period, Phoenix signed recent NBA Finals participant Jae Crowder to a three-year, 29 million dollar deal.

For the Suns, Crowder typically plays at the power forward position, and works as an ideal three-and-D wing. But his experience and leadership for a generally young team has also been very important.

In the playoffs, Crowder has stepped up in some monumental games. During the closeout Game 6 vs the Los Angeles Lakers, Crowder’s 6-9 shooting from outside with an absurd 100.0 true shooting percentage really helped the team. His elite perimeter defense played a key role in slowing down LeBron James and allowing the Suns to consequently move on.

In another closeout Game 6, this time against the Clippers, Crowder again put on a show, scoring 19 points on 80.0 percent true shooting. It sent him to his second straight NBA Finals, and the first for Phoenix since 1993. 

Honorable Mention: Signing Cameron Payne

To fill their roster for the bubble, the Suns made what many saw as an insignificant signing: inking a deal with point guard Cameron Payne.

At this point, Payne’s career as a basketball player was overshadowed by his dancing sequences with Russell Westbrook. However, what barely went noticed was how well Payne was playing since being cut by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors in 2019.

He first started turning things up during his short stint in China, and then he would ball out in the G-League soon after, even earning a Player of the Week Award for the Texan Legends. This likely prompted the Suns to sign him.

But Payne refused to let his new team down in the bubble, and played like one of the best sixth man options in the league, scoring and facilitating at a great level. After making valuable contributions off the bench in the regular season during the second year of his contract, the biggest moment of Payne’s NBA Career would come in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.

Deputising for the injured Chris Paul, Payne provided a point guard masterclass, as he added 29 points, nine assists, two steals, and two blocks with no turnovers to give the Suns a 2-0 lead vs the Clippers. He joined LeBron James, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson as the only players to put up a 29-point and nine assist performance with zero turnovers in a Conference Finals or NBA Finals game.