NBA Trade Grades: Phoenix Suns move Eric Bledsoe to Milwaukee Bucks

Phoenix Suns

This is obviously a disappointing return for the Suns, who just shipped away their best player for an expiring contract who won’t be a part of the team’s future and yet another first round pick to pile onto a mountain of assets that, at some point, will need to transform into a competitive team.

However, given how bad the situation had gotten, and given how far Bledsoe’s trade value had fallen after his tweet, being sent home and everyone in the league knowing both sides wanted out, netting a first round pick and a second round pick is about as favorable an outcome as could’ve been expected.

Suns fans are understandably sick of relying on the draft, and some of McDonough’s more underwhelming selections there do little to reassure them the team’s stockpiled assets will amount to much. But the Suns now own their own first-rounder (currently slated to be a top-five selection), the Miami Heat’s first-rounder (top-seven protected, currently sitting at No. 7) and this Bucks pick.

The problem is the Bucks were already a likely playoff team before the Bledsoe trade, and his arrival ensures they’ll compete for a top-five seed in the East. This most likely ensures the pick won’t convey this year, making it potentially harder to package in a deal to move up in a top-heavy draft.

Unless the Bucks completely implode this year or next year, the Suns are probably looking at a top-seven protected pick in 2020, by which time the Greek Freak will be devouring planets whole. If he’s still doing so in Milwaukee, this pick will amount to a selection in the early 20s at best.

For a team with plenty of first-rounders coming its way, perhaps having some insurance for the long-term is a better play, but it’s impossible to know that yet. As of right now, the Suns just made it harder to move up in the 2018 NBA Draft order, though they they could still us an extra pick as a sweetener to dump Brandon Knight‘s contract somewhere else.

Monroe, who is 27 years old and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is currently sidelined with a calf injury and could be a candidate for a buyout. He’s averaged a pedestrian 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game over five appearances this season. Last year he put up 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 22.5 minutes per game off the bench.

In a crowded frontcourt that now includes Moose, Tyson Chandler, Alex Len, Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, Jared Dudley, he’ll probably play more than Suns fans would prefer if the team is unable to dump him somewhere else.

On the bright side, he’ll be gone by summertime and will provide Phoenix with some cap relief, giving them further flexibility moving forward. He’s not a part of the team’s future, so hopefully interim head coach Jay Triano won’t sacrifice minutes for Chriss, Bender or Len in the meantime.

Unfortunately for McDonough, this trade is still disappointing in or outside of a vacuum when you consider how high Bledsoe’s trade value was last season, when the team should’ve moved him before the deadline or over the summer to set their sights on a franchise point guard who fits #TheTimeline.

Now they’ll have to settle with Mike James and Tyler Ulis until they can address this problem, but even if they are able to position themselves for a top-two pick, the only player in that highly vaunted top-five who may be able to play point guard is Luka Doncic — the projected No. 1 overall selection. It’s all or nothing for Phoenix at this point to cash in on those assets.

There’s no way around it: Even if the return is about as good as could be expected, the Phoenix Suns totally botched this situation with a talented player whose value never should’ve depreciated this far.

With the team’s spotty track record for turning its assets into a winning core, the Suns can hardly be given the benefit of the doubt, even with another first round pick entering the equation. We’ll have to wait and see what these picks turn into, but until proven otherwise, this is yet another move that amounts to damage control for past mistakes.

Next: 2017-18 Week 4 NBA Power Rankings

Grade: C