Fansided

Hardwood Paroxysm presents: NBA trade deadline’s most memorable trades

By HP Basketball Network

Feb 25, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) pounds his chest before a game against the Washington Wizards at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett (21) pounds his chest before a game against the Washington Wizards at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) drives to the basket past Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) during the second half at Pepsi Center. The Suns won 110-96. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) drives to the basket past Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) during the second half at Pepsi Center. The Suns won 110-96. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

The Suns That Got Away

By Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg)

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” probably isn’t tattooed on the back of Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough.

Last season, McDonough and head coach Jeff Hornacek assembled and engaged a fantastically successful backcourt combination of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. While Bledsoe was what we hoped he would be, Dragic blossomed into one of the top guards in the NBA.

The two shared a symbiotic relationship, playing off and with each other well in the Suns pick-and-roll-centric offense and improving both of their respective games. As a result, the Suns improved their record by 23 wins and were expected to continue along that arc this season.

Then the summer and the opportunity cost-defective procurement of Isaiah Thomas happened. We know the fall out.

Dragic’s playing time, usage and stats decreased along with his morale. Now, he plays for the Miami Heat.

Meanwhile, the failed Thomas experiment ran its course. Now he’s on the Boston Celtics. The Suns were able to get Brandon Knight (due to be a restricted free agent) from the Milwaukee Bucks, but it cost them their first-round pick–point guard Tyler Ennis.

Despite McDonough being the Executive of the Year runner-up in 2013-14, he royally soiled the sheets this season.

Not only did he spend on Thomas rather than pay to keep Channing Frye, he spent a draft pick on another point guard and ended up crowding one position so tightly that he had to trade three of them just to stop the swelling. What he ended up with was Bledsoe and Knight–not a bad backcourt by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly not what he had.

The Dragic-and-Bledsoe combination was great, and even drafting Ennis for insurance behind the oft-injured Bledsoe was fine. Thomas, by no fault of his own, was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Now it’s gone. The Suns have plenty of future first-round picks but chemistry isn’t something that can be easily obtained or even coached.

Rather than evolving into the next Atlanta Hawks, a decade from now that Phoenix team could be remembered in the same breath as those Utah Jazz teams from 2011 to 2013 that seemed to be on the rise behind the front court pairing of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

When we talk about opportunity cost, we’re talking about weighing the value of the choice made against its alternatives. In an alternate universe, maybe the Suns don’t pull a point guard bunny out of a hat, then stuff more bunnies in the hat and hope for more magic to pop out. For the Suns, this was a blown opportunity.

Next: Stan Van Gundy hits a homerun in landing Reggie Jackson

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