One wrong step, one wrong step! Trading half of the championship team for half-empty Green? The Suns four major operations are too outrageous.

In the NBA, a league full of variables, the rise and decline of a team is often just a matter of thoughts. The rise and fall of the Phoenix Suns is the cruelest footnote to this sentence. From the glory of the 2021 Finals to the turmoil of the 2025 offseason, it only took the Suns 4 years to tear apart a team that had competed for several championships. This team, which was once just one step away from the championship, now faces an embarrassing situation with an unbalanced lineup and a confused future. And all this stems from a series of incredible operations by the management.

In the 2020-21 season, the Suns, under the leadership of head coach Monty Williams, performed amazingly. The addition of Chris Paul has completely activated the team, Devin Booker has grown into a super scorer, DeAndre Ayton is rock solid in the interior, and Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson provide top wing support. The team made it all the way to the finals and fought the Bucks in six games before losing the championship. Despite not reaching the summit, the future is bright for the sun.

In the subsequent 2021-22 season, the Suns took a step further and achieved the league's first record of 64 wins and 18 losses. Paul's court control, Booker's explosive scoring, Ayton's efficient finishing, and the 3D attributes of Bridges and Johnson make the team's offensive and defensive system almost perfect. However, just when the fans were looking forward to the Suns' comeback, the management's "saucy operation" completely changed the team's trajectory.

The first outrageous operation: tearing down the top lineup in exchange for Durant

In the middle of the 2022-23 season, the Suns still remained competitive with the fourth record in the Western Conference. Although the team has suffered some injuries, the overall framework remains solid. However, the management chose to take a gamble before the trade deadline and reached a deal with the turbulent Nets, sending Bridges, Cameron Johnson and multiple draft picks in exchange for Kevin Durant.

On the surface, acquiring a historical scorer like Durant seems to be an excellent choice to "win in the moment". But upon closer analysis, this deal sowed the seeds of the sun’s decline. First of all, Bridges and Johnson are indispensable puzzle pieces in the team system. Bridges is not only a top perimeter defender, but has also developed a stable independent offensive ability; Johnson is one of the most reliable shooters in the league, and his off-ball running and spatial attributes perfectly fit the playing styles of Paul and Booker. The departure of the two directly led to the collapse of the Suns' wing depth and defensive system. Any one of them is a better fit for this system than Durant.

Secondly, Durant's arrival changed the team's tactical core. The pick-and-roll system that the Suns had relied on for a long time was completely abandoned and turned into a rotation of singles between Durant and Booker. Paul and Ayton's roles were marginalized, and the team's chemistry was damaged. Although Durant averaged 29 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists in the playoffs, the Suns were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals.

What’s even more ironic is that Bridges, who was sent away, exploded with the Nets, averaging 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Last season, the Knicks gave Bridges to the Nets in order to get Bridges. 4 unprotected first-rounders, 1 protected first-rounder (from the Bucks), 1 first-round swap and 1 second-rounder; Johnson averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and is still one of the most efficient shooters in the league. This season, he was traded away from the Nets by the Nuggets as a puzzle piece for the championship! The Suns exchanged two young and suitable players for a superstar who has passed his peak, which is undoubtedly sacrificing the future for an uncertain present.

The second outrageous operation: sending Paul away, ignoring the need for point guards

In the summer of 2023, the Suns management continued to "seek death" and traded both Paul and Ayton away from the team. Paul's departure is particularly puzzling. Despite his age, Paul is still the league's top field master. His organizational skills and leadership are the core of the Suns' tactical system, which can relieve Booker's organizational pressure and stimulate his scoring ability. However, the team chose to trade Paul for Bradley Beal, a shooting guard whose position and function highly overlap with Booker's.

The addition of Bill has completely unbalanced the Suns' backcourt. Neither he nor Booker were pure organizers, and the team's offense became disorganized. Bill was forced to make sacrifices, reduced from a star to an ordinary starter, and was even DNP for a time. Although he still averaged 17 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, shooting 49.7% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range, his struggle and frustration are obvious. The Suns blindly piled up scorers without solving the point guard problem, which ultimately led to a deformed lineup.

The third outrageous operation: send Ayton away in exchange for the unsuitable Nurkic

At the same time, the Suns traded Ayton to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic. Although Ayton is controversial, his pick-and-roll, mid-range shooting and defensive coverage are important parts of the Suns system. Although Nurkic's rebounding and support abilities are acceptable, he moves slowly and has obvious defensive loopholes, and cannot provide enough space and frame protection for the Suns.

In his first season with the Suns, Nurkic averaged only 10.9 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists per game. Due to his inability to adapt to the team's offensive needs, he quickly faded out of the rotation and was eventually sent to the Hornets. It is undoubtedly a huge waste of resources for the Suns to exchange a No. 1 center in his prime for a player who is gradually marginalized.

The fourth outrageous operation: Selling Durant in a hurry to get the half-hearted Jaylen Green

In the face of the team's poor record, the Suns rashly negotiated a deal with the Warriors without asking Durant's opinion, which completely angered Durant..

Dillon's joining is understandable, as his defense can make up for the holes in the Suns' backcourt. But the arrival of Jaylen Green was difficult for fans to accept. As a young player with outstanding talent but not yet fulfilled, Green averaged only 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in the playoffs last season. His shooting efficiency was low and his defensive awareness was weak. More importantly, his playing style is similar to Booker's. He is good at offense but not good at organizing and linking up. He is also not a pure point guard, so it is difficult to find a suitable position in the Suns.

Because Bill's contract was too large, the Suns had no choice but to buy out and terminate the contract. So far, inside and outside, the Suns have lost a master of field control in Paul, two top 3D players in Bridges and Johnson, No. 1 pick Lang Ayton, and cleared the team's first-round pick in three years. In exchange, they got the half-empty Jaylen Green, an embarrassing future who wants to rise but has no immediate ability to fight, and wants to rebuild without a draft pick!

The decline of the sun is not accidental, but the inevitable result of a series of short-sighted operations by management. From dismantling the finals lineup and betting heavily on Durant, to sending away Paul and Ayton in exchange for unsuitable players, to having no choice but to send away Durant in exchange for Jaylen Green, the Suns paid for their mistakes every step of the way. Now, the team has not only lost its competitiveness, but also overdrawn its future draft picks. The road to reconstruction is long and difficult. The Suns' lesson once again proves that basketball is not a simple stack of superstars, but requires lineup balance, chemical reactions and long-term planning. One wrong step, one wrong step after another - the Suns' management spent three years personally destroying a team that could have continued its glory.