Kevin Durant is not the first last-minute blockbuster trade for the Suns
Heartbreak and The Valley have always come hand-in-hand. Whether it’s losing in the NBA finals, or trading away a favorite player. Either way, we know the pain of both.
In the summer of 1992, the Phoenix Suns traded Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang & Tim Perry for someone named Charles Barkley. Barkley would go on to win MVP the following year but the Suns ultimately came up short against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. Though I was not old enough to be a fan back then, I was told trading Hornacek and these players was a devastating loss to a team that just was coming off four 50-win seasons in a row. But Barkley was the piece to put us over the hump.
Overall the Barkley move did not work out as we ended up trading him a few years later to the Rockets for four players that did not last longer than a few seasons. But, we gave up a beloved player for an MVP quality player and the Suns went to the NBA Finals.
In the Fall of 1995, Phoenix traded away “Thunder” Dan Majerle, who was, to say the least, a damn near icon for the Suns’ basketball organization and the city of Phoenix. In return from the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Suns received John “Hot Rod” Williams (RIP “Hot Rod”). Ultimately that trade did not work out for the Phoenix Suns as we never made it to the Finals while “Hot Rod” was on the team.
In 1996, the Phoenix Suns traded Michael Finley, AC Green, Sam Cassell, Tony Dumas & Loren Meyer for future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd. AC Green was a HUGE fan favorite at the time and Michael Finley was a rising young star. You could just see the athleticism and confidence oozing out of Finley. So when this trade went down, a lot of fans were very upset at first and didn’t want to let those players go, me included. Ultimately, Jason Kidd turned into an All-NBA and All-Star type of player, but unfortunately due to a domestic violence charge against Kidd, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Stephan Marbury in 2001.
At the deadline in the 2008 season, another fan favorite Shawn Marion was traded to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O’Neal. This was a shocking move but everyone had talked themselves into the fact that Shaq, who was clearly out of his prime, was an upgrade over Shawn Marion, a player who we all loved for so many years after being drafted in 1999. Sadly, Shaquille O’Neal was traded a year and a half later and we never escaped the first round of the playoffs.
I don’t need to bring up Steve Nash being traded to the L.A. Lakers, do I?
Kevin Durant can be a game changer
So, we have been here before Phoenix fans and last night at 11:05 PM, the Phoenix Suns traded for Kevin Durant in exchange for Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. Though I am sad to see the twins go, I am so happy knowing these two homegrown guys were a part of a culture change during a very tumultuous ownership regime. I will forever root for them.
Unfortunately for Bridges and Johnson, this trade is eerily similar to when the Suns traded beloved players Kelly Oubre and Ricky Rubio to the Thunder for Chris Paul. Two players we absolutely loved and adored, but had to be sacrificed for a better all-around NBA Hall of Fame-type player. Those type of players do not turn up often, and in fact, it is more of a compliment to Mikal and Cam Johnson that they were traded for a player like Kevin Durant, and not Kyle Kuzma or Rui Hachimura.
At the end of the day, I think you have to ask yourself, would you rather trust Kevin Durant with the ball under five minutes left in Game 7 or Mikal Bridges? And it’s sad to say, but we have not been able to depend on Cam Johnson since his game-winning buzzer-beater against the New York Knicks last season.
I am all in favor of this trade because we deserve a championship and you never know what lies on the horizon…there may be an opportunity to come back to the organization. You never know! Isn’t that right T.J. Warren?
