Phoenix Suns fans don’t need a reminder that the franchise has essentially perfected the art of losing trades. From draft day deals shipping away future stars like Luol Deng and Rajon Rondo to Steve Kerr’s infamous “If it works I’m a genius. If it doesn’t, I’m a moron” acquisition of an aging Shaquille O’Neal, Suns fans can pick their poison of what was the most painful trade in team history to them.
But the Suns no doubt have pulled off some good trades as well, which is why they’re represented on both sides of the coin by FanSided’s Oliver Fox in a ranking of the 25 worst trades in NBA history.
If you know your Suns lore, it’s surprising that only one trade decision was ranked among the 25 worst from Phoenix’s side of things, but as Fox explains in his methodology, this is his ranking.
Let’s dive in.
No surprise, Bradley Beal deal makes ranking of worst NBA trades
You don’t have to be a longtime follower of Suns basketball to know which trade made Fox’s list. He argues the Bradley Beal swap was one of the few NBA trades that meet the Luka Doncic criteria of knowing just how bad the deal was for one team the moment it occurred.
This move was all sorts of bad for Phoenix.
In addition to trading future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul, who helped guide the Suns to the NBA Finals in 2021, Landry Shamet was also included in the deal. The latter just got his New York Knicks championship ring after joining up with Mikal Bridges in the Big Apple to become a reliable role player for head coach Mike Brown.
The Suns also brainlessly included four first-round pick swaps, mortgaging a huge chunk of the franchise’s future to add another ball-dominant scorer alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
The above reasons are plenty to never pull the trigger on such a trade, but it somehow gets worse.
Beal at the time had a full no-trade clause—one of the few NBA players whose agent managed to work that into his contract. So, although the financial figure tied to Beal would have been ideal to package in future trades for contract-matching purposes, Phoenix ultimately couldn’t move him because he had the no-trade clause.
Fox (rightly) writes that the Suns now have one of the bleakest futures of any NBA franchise thanks in no small part to this deal.
“They couldn’t trade him, so they just bought him out and admitted they had traded their entire draft future for nothing. At least Kevin Durant was good when he played for them,” Fox writes.
But hey, at least the Suns got Jordan Goodwin in the deal (even though they had to reacquire him later on).
Sir Charles Barkley puts Suns among worst trades (for a good reason)
Back in 1992, Phoenix altered the course of its franchise history by trading Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry to the Philadelphia 76ers for a disgruntled Charles Barkley.
Barkley wanting out of Philly was Phoenix’s gain (in a big way). Sir Charles went on to win MVP honors by leading the Suns to a 62-win season and an NBA Finals berth in 1993. They ultimately fell to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, but the addition of Barkley put the Suns back on the map.
As Fox notes, the Sixers traded Hornacek not even two years later.
Never a good look when you give up a future MVP and get very little in return.
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