The Phoenix Suns’ decision to trade an unprotected first-round pick, Grayson Allen and Royce O’Neale for Miles Bridges was met with immediate and sweeping criticism.
Even before Bridges played a single minute for the Suns, pundits were calling the trade the worst move of the entire offseason, and a sluggish start for Phoenix didn’t help matters. But at least one report indicates things could have started out even worse for the Suns if a deal for a different power forward had interested the front office.
Suns reportedly had no interest in trading for Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon
On a recent episode of the Third Apron Podcast, Yossi Gozlan and CBS Sports' Sam Quinn turned their attention to Denver Nuggets’ power forward Aaron Gordon.
“There was a report that the Suns weren’t even interested in Aaron Gordon,” Gozlan said. “And that was just kind of a sign, like, really? I think if Aaron Gordon is good, that would help the Suns a lot, I think, more than Miles Bridges.”
Quinn countered by saying that what the Suns ultimately wanted out of Bridges is what Gordon brought to the table for the Nuggets. An athletic power forward who can rebound and step out to spread the floor with the 3-point shot.
“What they wanted out of Miles Bridges was the former Aaron Gordon, which Miles Bridges has never been and Aaron Gordon is no longer currently,” Quinn said.
In 10 games played so far through his age-31 season, Gordon has really sputtered for Denver. After averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game a season ago, those marks have all dipped to 11 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest.
Even worse for AG and the Nuggets, Gordon is shooting a woeful 38 percent from the field and 25.6 percent from 3-point range. He made 49.7 percent of his field goals and 38.9 percent of his 3-pointers a season ago, so he's seeing a pretty significant drop in shooting efficiency.
The 2023 NBA champion simply hasn’t looked like himself, and if the Suns had an opportunity to acquire him, they at least made a better decision by dealing for the younger Bridges.
Though Bridges, like Gordon, has also never been named an All-Star in his career, his numbers to this point in the season are far superior to Gordon’s.
Bridges is averaging 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists while converting 44.4 percent of his field goals. The major rub has been his outside shooting, which currently sits at a career-worst 30.6 percent … but that’s still considerably better than Gordon so far.
Phoenix is off to a mediocre 5-6 start, while ranking 26th in the NBA with a 118.2 defensive rating. They’ve won four of their last five games, though, and will take on Gordon and the Nuggets on Monday, Nov. 16, in a key Western Conference showdown.
The early returns with Bridges in tow haven’t been very pretty, but it’s clear that Phoenix would be in an even worse spot had they opted to give up assets to acquire Gordon. The veteran says he’s healthy and feels good physically, per The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando, but if he doesn’t regain his prior form soon, the Nuggets will be a clear target for the Suns to overtake in the standings before the playoffs roll around.
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