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Phoenix Suns And The Ryan McDonough Era

By Simon Smith

Oct 31, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) and guard Isaiah Thomas (3) high five in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at US Airways Center. The Suns won 94 - 89. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 31, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe (2) and guard Isaiah Thomas (3) high five in the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at US Airways Center. The Suns won 94 - 89. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 6, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Brandon Knight (3) dribbles the ball against the Charlotte Hornets in the first half at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

Knightmare

The aforementioned Thomas trade has certainly not aged well. Having played just 46 games in Phoenix, McDonough decided to ship Thomas while acquiring Knight on the same day in a separate deal.

In essence, this was the outcome of the separate Thomas and Knight deals:

  • Phoenix Received: Knight, 2016 First-Round Pick (No. 28 overall)
  • Phoenix Traded: Thomas, Top 3 Protected Pick 2017/unprotected in 2018

Amazingly, McDonough noted at the time of the deals regarding the acquisition of Knight:

"“We feel like we got the best player in the trade, coming or going.”"

Even at the time, this statement was fairly bold. Right now, it sounds preposterous. Knight is presently seventh on the Suns’ roster for minutes per game. He is averaging 11.4 points and 2.4 assists in 21.9 minutes per game.

He has started just four games this season, with the emergence of second-year guard Devon Booker clearly eating into his playing time.

Most worryingly, Knight is an overall minus-291 when on the floor this season. This represents the third worst plus/minus total in the league, ranking him among a stack of Brooklyn Nets players.

To make matters worse, Thomas has just been named to his second straight All-Star Game, while Dragic is enjoying his best season since his aforementioned All-NBA campaign of 2013-14.

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