10 worst NBA front offices

Did the Phoenix Suns have themselves a great 2016 NBA Draft? Yes, they drafted Dragan Bender at No. 4, were able to trade for Marquese Chriss at No. 8 with the Sacramento Kings, and got a steal of a player in Kentucky Wildcats star Tyler Ulis at No. 34 in the second. Phoenix got a terrific player in the 2015 NBA Draft by getting sharpshooter Devin Booker at No. 13.

While Phoenix might have itself an exciting young corps behind recently promoted head coach Earl Watson in 2016-17, the Suns haven’t been relevant since Steve Nash left the organization. Yes, Phoenix achieved 48 wins in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year in 2013-14, but the Suns became progressively worse in the latter two years of the Jeff Hornacek era in the Valley of the Sun.

Hornacek was fired mid-season in 2015-16 and the Suns were about as toxic of a basketball team as any club in the NBA. Much of that has to do with some of the head-scratching moves made by general manager Ryan McDonough.

On paper, playing three point guards with the upside of Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, and Isaiah Thomas/Brandon Knight seemed intriguing, but both Thomas and Dragic grew dissatisfied about not being able to make plays with the ball in their hands as often as they would have liked. Dragic, the once heir apparent to Nash in Phoenix, now plays for the Miami Heat. Thomas is now an All-Star for the Boston Celtics.

Then there’s the whole Morris Twins debacle. McDonough and owner Robert Sarver thought it was a good idea to give the twins a lump sum of cash to split between the pair to hopefully keep them happy and playing well for the Suns. Markieff is arguably the better of the two twins. When Marcus was traded to the Detroit Pistons without Markieff’s consent, he became irritable and eventually forced a trade to the Washington Wizards, all the while costing Hornacek his job.

Nobody is going to pick apart McDonough’s moves to grab Chris at No. 8 from dysfunctional Sacramento this summer or the sneaky-good pickup of Booker at No. 13 last year, but the Sarver/McDonough partnership pales in comparison the marvelous work the Colangelos (Jerry and Bryan) did for decades in the Valley of the Sun.

Phoenix doesn’t have to contend for the Western Conference Playoffs this season, but progress has to be made or else McDonough might be on the hot seat. He’s been with the Suns for three full seasons now. If he can’t make the Suns respectable by the end of year four, it might be time for Sarver to not give him the benefit of the doubt because of the sports family McDonough comes from.

Next: 9. Cleveland Cavaliers.