2024-11-02 10:10:03
It’s been more than a year since the Phoenix Suns parted ways with Deandre Ayton in a three-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks right before training camp. The trade involved Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, a 2023 second-round pick, Toumani Camara and draft picks.
So, who won the trade?
Technically speaking, the Boston Celtics did. Just days later, they sent Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III and two draft picks to Portland for Holiday. The All-Star guard wound up playing a key role in the Celtics’ NBA-record 18th NBA title.
Since the Celtics weren’t in the three-team deal, again, who won the trade?
The Bucks landed the best player, Lillard, who made the NBA’s 75th-anniversary team and is a forever legend in Portland.
The Blazers acquired Ayton, the top overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Arizona; Camara, a 2029 first-round pick; and two first-round pick swaps from the Bucks in 2028 and 2030.
The Suns ended up with Nassir Little, Keon Johnson and Nurkic from Portland and got Allen from the Bucks.
It looked as if Milwaukee won it on paper at the time, but that’s not the clear case anymore. It’s close in the sense each team isn’t completely satisfied with the results to date and can look back and ask, “What if?”
Right now, the edge goes to Phoenix, but it’s debatable.
The Suns (4-1) have the best record of the three teams heading into Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against Ayton and the Blazers (2-3) at Footprint Center.
How about no one won — or lost — the trade?
This is worth a deeper dive, starting with Milwaukee.
Looked great on paper
The Bucks landed the best and most accomplished player by far in Lillard. Pairing him up with two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sounded so right, but the two never consistently showed the connection of two premier talents.
Milwaukee fired Adrian Griffin after 43 games, even though he had a 30-13 record, and replaced him with Doc Rivers.
Milwaukee was eliminated by Indiana in the first round. Antetokounmpo missed the playoffs with a calf injury and Lillard was hampered by an Achilles injury. In the end, the Bucks underachieved despite having two of the best to ever play the game.
New season, worse results.
The Bucks are 1-4, losers of their past four games despite Antetokounmpo averaging 30.4 points on a career-best 65.6% shooting and 11.6 rebounds. Lillard is averaging 23.3 points and 6.2 assists, but he’s at a career-low 26.7% this season.
Portland: Slow start for Ayton
Ayton arrived with fanfare because at his best, he’s one of the league’s better young bigs.
The Blazers drafted guard Scoot Henderson third overall, and already have a budding star in Anfernee Simons to go with veteran Jerami Grant. Again, this looked good on paper, but Ayton started slowly.
The Athletic reported Ayton was all about “tardiness and tantrums” in the first half of his first season in Portland. He ended up averaging a double-double of 16.7 points and 11.1 rebounds, but played just 55 games last season.
He’s averaging 14.4 and 12.2 this season. The Blazers opened the season with an ugly 140-104 home loss to Golden State, but they split their next four games.
Portland (2-3) could be better, but the West is so brutal, the record may not reflect it. The one certainty the Blazers got out of the trade was Camara. He became a starter as a rookie. Coach Chauncey Billups loves Camara’s intensity and approach to the game. At 6-8, 220, Camara has great size, athleticism and much potential.
Allen was the deal’s steal
The Suns made the playoffs, but the Minnesota Timberwolves swept them in the first round. Johnson didn’t make it through training camp and Little was waived in the offseason after another injury-plagued year.
Nurkic had a solid first season in Phoenix (10.9 points on 51% shooting and 11 rebounds), but the 7-footer had his struggles defensively against athletic bigs. Playing with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal didn’t leave many offensive opportunities for Nurkic under Frank Vogel, who saw him more as a facilitator and rebounder than a scorer.
New coach Mike Budenholzer has given Nurkic more freedom to shoot 3s, but he’s just 2-of-13 from distance. Nurkic has been dealing with a left middle finger injury. He’s averaging fewer points (9.2) and rebounds (7.4) this season than his first in Phoenix.
He’s had two ugly games against Anthony Davis and the Lakers — four points, four fouls and four turnovers in a loss in Los Angeles and two points in 15 minutes of a win in Phoenix.
However, the Suns are a deeper team and aren’t relying on Nurkic as much as they did last season.
I still wonder how Ayton would’ve looked playing with Booker, Durant and Beal. He’s a lob threat who can score, but the Suns don’t need major offensive output out of their big at the five.
Plus, they saved money moving him.
Ayton is on the third year of a four-year, $132.9-million deal while Nurkic is in the third year of a four-year, $70-million deal. For a team that’s over the second tax apron with the league’s highest payroll, any way to save some dollars is a good thing.
Then there’s Allen, who had a great first season in Phoenix (career-high 13.5 points on 49.9% shooting in a starting role). He connected on a league-best and career-high 46.1% of his 3s.
The Suns rewarded him with a four-year, $70-million extension. Allen started this season slowly, averaging a career-low 4.3 points but he’s played in only three games, hampered by an Achilles.
The addition of point guard Tyus Jones has put Allen on the bench, but that’s helped the Suns become a deeper team. They’ve started fast even though Allen and Nurkic haven’t been major contributors.
Maybe no one has won or lost the trade.
It’s debatable. Highly debatable.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.
