Ish Smith traded to Philadelphia 76ers: Winners and losers

Loser: Phoenix Suns

Their came a time when the Phoenix Suns won 48 games and were on the verge of being one of the young and upcoming teams in the league. Then things went south on the franchise over the last year, and suddenly they are on the verge of blowing everything up again.

Ish Smith was a key member and a great locker room influence on that team that won 48 games. They didn’t bring him back after that, and suddenly the Suns aren’t very good at passing the ball and bringing some uptempo offense to the court like they did when Smith would come off the bench and provide a spark.

In fact, the team just seems so disinterested in playing basketball, that there is no passion or energy on the court at all, save for a few guys like Ronnie Price, Jon Leuer and P.J. Tucker. Bringing Smith back is a move the Suns should have been looking to make all the way a season ago, when it was clear that their point guard trio wasn’t working.

Now things aren’t working again for the Suns, and those players that brought everything they had on a nightly basis, just aren’t in as high a quantity on the roster as it used to be.

After the Suns blew a disappointing game, head coach Jeff Hornacek really got on the effort of his current guards on the roster. That’s something that the team would have never need to worry about with Smith. He’s a guard that could have been easily attainable in a trade, and he’s a player their locker room really needs.

Even worse, the brain trust in Philadelphia, including the man who brought basketball to the desert, Jerry Colangelo, was savvy enough to go out and get Smith.

Next: Philadelphia 76ers