A ball-handling master, a top 3D and a No. 1 pick, but only Green was exchanged, and the team was completely useless!

Not long ago, this year’s China Game came to an end. The Nets and Suns each won one game. It has to be said that this year’s China Game was dim. Except for Devin Booker, there were almost no stars who could stand out. On the other hand, Jackie Chan, David Beckham, Yao Ming, Vince Carter and other stars gathered off the court, stealing the spotlight from the players on the court. Unlike the Nets, which are clearly trying to mess up, the Suns are currently in a state of turmoil. Although Booker is still on the team, the team's lineup is completely inferior. It is difficult to see any opportunities in the fiercely competitive Western Conference in the new season.

The team itself is responsible for the current situation. You must know that in the 20-21 season, the team reached the finals and was once only a stone's throw away from the championship. Then, in the 21-22 season, they achieved the league's first record of 64 wins and 18 losses. Logically speaking, they can still maintain sufficient competitiveness by maintaining the original lineup. But the team chose to keep trading, and the result was to send away Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton. After three years of continuous adjustments, only Jaylen Green and Dillon Brooks were exchanged. Let us take a look at what trading mistakes they made that put the team in such an embarrassing situation!

demolished the top lineup in exchange for Durant.

First of all, in the middle of the 22-23 season, the team obviously maintained a good combat effectiveness. Even though there were certain injuries that caused the record to fluctuate, it still stabilized at the fourth position in the Western Conference. But the Suns just weren't willing to give up. They took advantage of the turmoil within the Nets before the trade deadline and directly used Bridges and Cameron Johnson to trade Kevin Durant from the Nets.

Although Durant is still one of the best scorers, contributing 29 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in the playoffs that year, the team's tactical system has undergone tremendous changes due to his arrival. The roles and roles of Paul and Ayton have suddenly declined. The pick-and-roll tactics that the team has always valued have become Durant and Booker's singles. The result is a direct defeat in the Western Conference semifinals.

After Bridges arrived with the Nets, he broke out in full force, averaging 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Now he is an important member of the Knicks. Last season, Johnson steadily delivered 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists. He was one of the best shooters in the league. In this way, the team lost two important players, paving the way for its subsequent decline.

Send away Paul and Ayton in exchange for unsuitable players.

Then in the summer of 2023, the team actually began to build a team around Booker and Durant, expelling both Paul and Ayton. What is even more unexpected is that they lost Paul and did not strengthen the important point guard position, making the team's lineup extremely deformed. The positions of Bradley Beal and Booker overlap very much. Neither of them is a genuine ball handler. Therefore, Beal had to make sacrifices. Not only did he switch from a star to an ordinary starter, but he was once DNP by the team last season, and the team's poor record was also the case. The blame was placed on him, but he clearly contributed 17 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. His shooting and three-point shooting percentages also remained at 49.7% and 38.6% respectively. From this point of view, Bill was indeed struggling and frustrated.

At the same time, the team sent away Ayton in exchange for Nurkic, who was strong in offense and weak in defense. He was able to deliver 10.9 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in the first season, but because he could not create enough offensive space, he also faded out of the team's lineup last season and was eventually sent to the Hornets. In this way, the two players that the team traded for Paul and Ayton also became the team's weak spots.

had no choice but to send Durant away, but only got Green in exchange.

Finally, it’s this year’s offseason. Because Durant insisted on leaving, the team was forced to take action. You know, his contract is about to expire, and coupled with his increasing age, he has not attracted enough attractive chips in the trading market. In the end, the Suns could only make up for their losses as much as possible and reached a deal with the Rockets to get Jaylen Green and Dillon Brooks. If Dillon's arrival is understandable, after all, his defense is a huge addition to the team's back line, then the addition of Green makes it difficult for fans to see hope.

After all, Green has never fulfilled his talents over the years. In last season's playoffs, he only produced 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists, which was completely unable to meet the team's needs. And don't forget that his playing style is also similar to Booker's, and since he is not a pure point guard, there is a high probability that he will not be able to realize his value in the Suns. Because Bill's contract was too large, the team's final choice was to negotiate a buyout and terminate the contract. In this way, in three years, the Suns, despite having a high-quality lineup, ended up in a mess. Coupled with the loss of a large number of draft picks, I am afraid that they will enter the rebuilding stage in the future.