The NBA is an evolving league. Certain aspects of the evolution have caused fans to believe that the level of competition has declined, no matter how fair or foul that theory may be.
The most common criticism of this era is that players and teams have a newfound, albeit not previously uncommon mentality: those who hurt you most are the players who must be acquired.
For instance, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Shawn Marion—the same Marion who locked down franchise player LeBron James in the 2011 NBA Finals. Similarly, former Chicago Bulls star Luol Deng went from being a bitter rival of the Miami Heat to joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on a two-year deal with a player option.
Or maybe those teams just value talent. That’s too logical an explanation, though, so let’s have fun with the former.
One deal that didn’t get enough attention was the Phoenix Suns’ crafty decision to acquire breakout star Isaiah Thomas. Thomas is fresh off of a season in which he averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 assists on an efficient slash line of .453/.349/.850.
As for why the Suns pulled the trigger on the deal for Thomas, fellow point guard and teammate Eric Bledsoe may have the answer.
“@Isaiah_Thomas lit us up in the past. That’s what he came here to do, give other teams the same problems.”~ @EBled2 pic.twitter.com/bS0k9m1vuf
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) October 9, 2014
That’s not the actual reason—not the only one, at least—but Bledsoe isn’t wrong.
In four games, Thomas averaged 18.8 points on 54.0 percent shooting from the field. That includes 19 points in 24 minutes on Nov. 19, 23 points in 27 minutes on Nov. 20 and 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting on Dec. 13.
The only time Thomas didn’t torch Phoenix was when he played limited minutes in the meaningless season finale.
The No. 1 question in Phoenix isn’t whether or not Thomas can play, but instead how he will. The Suns’ backcourt includes the 6’1″ Bledsoe, the 6’3″ Goran Dragic and, now, the 5’9″ Isaiah Thomas. All three players are worthy of starter’s minutes.
As for how head coach Jeff Hornacek plans to handle this situation, it’s clear that size means nothing to him.
“We’re going to go with the best guys out there. I don’t care if that’s five guards or five bigs.” ~ Coach Hornacek pic.twitter.com/fkif0Uilt0 — Jeramie McPeek (@Jeramie) October 9, 2014
To be fair, Hornacek did lead Phoenix to a 23-win improvement and its highest victory total since 2010. Unconventional as it may be, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
To be even more fair, Thomas averaged more than 20 points per game in 2013-14, Dragic won Most Improved Player and Bledsoe is a defensive stud who can lock down both guard spots.
There are significant question marks, but in Phoenix, trust is something Hornacek has earned.