The Phoenix Suns have had one remaining roster spot since the trade deadline passed, and the expectation had always been that they would dip their toes back into the buyout market, in order to get another player for their postseason run.
Which made the news from Shams Charania of The Athletic so surprising on Saturday, as he broke the story that the Suns would be bringing point guard Isaiah Thomas into the fold on a 10-day contract. It is no secret that Thomas has worked his tail off to get back into the league, and nobody could begrudge him getting another opportunity.
But why exactly did the Suns feel the need to be that team, and what does it say about how their season has unfolded that this move happened?
Obviously this is just a 10-day deal, and so to freak out over this roster move would be an overreaction. Thomas might just be gone as quickly as he arrived, and it will go down as nothing more than a strange quirk in a Suns season that has plenty of talking points.
Then again, Thomas is 35-years-old and was undersized for his position even when he was an All-Star between 2015-17 with the Boston Celtics. There might be a feel good element to all of this, but the last thing the Suns need right now is good vibes. As shown by letting the Milwaukee Bucks hang 82 points on them in a half in a loss on Sunday, what they actually need is more defense.
The Suns gave up 82 points in the first half.
— Mr. Az (@MrAzSports) March 17, 2024
The Bucks shot 66.7% from 3pt (18-27). 18 Threes ties a NBA record for most Threes in a half.
Suns shot 23.1% from 3pt (3-13) pic.twitter.com/m2uzRWtBxn
Which Thomas will not provide, and head coach Frank Vogel isn't exactly the kind of guy to lean into what Thomas can provide either. Would this final roster spot not have been better served bringing in a player with some defensive value - even if that was only for 10 days initially - just to see if they could provide a spark?
The Los Angeles Lakers did this last season with Stanley Johnson, signing him to a couple of 10-days before having him stick around beyond that. Johnson is a point guard, but he's also only 27-years-old as of today, and was known to be an above average defender for his position. Everything the Suns look like they could use right now.
Really the franchise should have been looking for a defensive-minded player who could play a different position entirely. As we've examined recently, the need for different options at the backup center position is of more urgency right now, with Drew Eubanks a limited player and Bol Bol not a conventional big by any metric.
Besides, didn't coach Vogel only claim recently that the Suns didn't need a point guard, because the combo of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal has worked so well? Which it has, the only problem has been keeping both on the court. Perhaps then the idea of Thomas on this roster is to help eliminate turnovers, a topic coach Vogel doesn't have any interest in discussing.
But taking care of the ball is one of a number of problems the Suns have right now, and an over the hill and smaller than most floor general hanging around for a week and a half isn't going to solve that problem. Or any issues really, which makes this signing a curious one that isn't in line with where the organization is at right now. It might help the vibes, but this group needs a lot more than that to succeed.