Can anyone figure out what the Phoenix Suns are doing in terms of their backcourt? First, they took a shot on Goran Dragic, signing him as a free agent for $30 million over four years and he blossomed. Then it looked like they landed a steal when they acquired Eric Bledsoe. And while the team seemed to have great building blocks in the backcourt, things got wonky from there.
They bizarrely acquired Isaiah Thomas last offseason and then on top of that spent a first-round pick on guard Tyler Ennis. They created a massive logjam and instead of addressing the team’s other weaknesses, they kept fortifying the team’s strongest area.
So we knew eventually, they had to do something – maybe move one of the three starter-caliber players. Instead, they moved three of the four players with Isaiah Thomas going to Boston to join the Celtics, Tyler Ennis to the Milwaukee Bucks, and Goran Dragic to the Miami Heat. And acquired Brandon Knight to play alongside Bledsoe.
They Tried To Fit Hornacek’s Style
This collection of moves over the years was always in service to the perceived needs of new head coach Jeff Hornacek, who played for many years with the Suns and was a core member of the team that made the 1989 and 1990 Western Conference Finals before the team lost to the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers, respectively.
Hornacek came to Phoenix as a much-admired figure and when he then stepped in and won 48 games in his first season, very nearly leading the team to the playoffs, he became even more popular. Suns management wanted him to have plenty of options at the point guard spot since Hornacek runs an attacking, up-tempo offense, one that doesn’t sit back or just dump the ball in the low post in isolation situations. The Suns play a speed game and having multiple point guards keeps players fresh, sustaining the style Hornaceck wants to use. The Dragic-Bledsoe combo worked, so they thought that more weapons at position would be more of a good thing.
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Everything In Moderation
Then things got really weird, and Phoenix seemed to overplay its hand. With Thomas and Ennis in the mix, there simply wasn’t enough minutes to make everyone happy. The Suns evidently wanted to offer a cushion for Hornacek at the point but the move served to unsettle Dragic, who had not played quite as well in 2015 as he had been in 2014. It was in the 2013-14 season when he really came of age and turned into a next-level NBA point guard, averaging just over 20 points per game and winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
By comparison, Dragic’s 2015 scoring average was just under 17 points per game. He was forced to share the ball with Thomas while Ennis barely ever saw the floor before being sent to the NBA’s Developmental League.
Goran’s Days Were Numbered
Looking at Dragic specifically, he was not pleased with the Suns’ continued moves at the backup point guard spots, which led to his recent demand that he be traded. When the trade deadline arrived, only the Heat remained in contention and the Suns swung into action with a deal that sent him to Miami for multiple future first-round draft picks and some other side pieces. Dragic’s sour attitude made him a sour apple in the locker room and it was affecting the team. It’s possible they could have moved Thomas and Ennis, and kept Dragic to see if they put things back to the way they were but after he demanded a trade, they decided best not to test that out.
Why Move Thomas?
While Dragic was expected to go, the trade of Thomas – and Ennis – caught people off guard. Ennis was sold for 10 cents on the dollar just months after critics questioned the Suns drafting him. And for Thomas, the Suns only got a Cleveland Cavaliers first-round draft pick that’s top-10 protected until 2019, so it’s virtually useless – especially given how they draft (see: Ennis). Even more bizarre is that Thomas is a solid point guard making an affordable $7 million for the next three seasons.
While it’s bizarre, the Suns felt that the backcourt needed to be blown up. In hindsight, sticking with the Dragic-Bledsoe combo would have been the best but that was off the table. And they didn’t feel comfortable with handing the reigns fully to Thomas. So instead, they moved around a bunch of pieces and landing a more traditional point guard in Brandon Knight, got some draft picks and hit the reset button.
At the end of the day, it’s a bit of a mess and the Suns are not a better team right now but they’re hoping that with Knight, better chemistry and more draft picks that they become a stronger contender in the future.
