Playoff heroics of injured star make Suns' lack of trade activity even worse

One of the biggest mistakes the Phoenix Suns made in a season that was littered with them, was failing to make a move at the trade deadline. In their defense, the only realistic option was to trade Kevin Durant, which is easier said than done. The franchise attempted to do this, but they were only ever going to send Durant to a location he was happy with.

That never happened - the Golden State Warriors rumored to be interested in his services - with the 36-year-old unwilling to go back to the city where he won his only two championships to date. Devin Booker was never going anywhere while Bradley Beal has a no-trade clause - and despite the Suns' attempts at landing Jimmy Butler - they failed to do so.

Butler's attitude in the playoffs continues to make Suns look bad.

As we all know by now, the Warriors instead made a late push to acquire Butler from the Miami Heat, and the rest is history. They went on a run to end the regular season, with the fit in San Francisco between Butler, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green looking excellent. That trio now has the Warriors one win away from beating the Houston Rockets in their first round series.

An outcome that would have looked unthinkable before the deadline - the Warriors weren't even sure to make the postseason - and now they're almost certainly one of the four remaining teams standing in the Western Conference. That is the impact Butler has had, and it could have been the Suns where this happened instead.

It's no secret that they struggled with energy and intensity throughout the campaign - intangibles that Butler brings in spades - and he would have helped them finish higher than 27th in defensive rating as well. It was his performance in Game 4 against the Rockets however, that will rightly live long in the memory no matter how far the Warriors go.

Butler suffered a pelvis contusion during Game 2 that forced him off the court - and although he was clearly hobbled out there in the Game 4 victory - he still had an impact on both ends of the court to help his team win. He spent much of the game visibly wincing in pain, yet still found the energy to play nearly 40 minutes and lead the team in scoring with a massive 27 points.

Contrast that with the likes of Beal who - with the Suns' season on the brink last month - somehow saw the funny side in Curry torching his team on the court. That was just one example of the poor effort shown by the Suns all season, with the fact Beal and Durant couldn't stay healthy not helping matters either.

That isn't their fault - and rushing back from calf strains as both had can lead to what happened to Damian Lillard recently - but it is worth contrasting with Butler. In the playoffs his team needed him to step up against a young and frisky opponent, who are also a two seed. He did just that, and proved to everybody in the league that he has still got that special sauce needed in the postseason to win.