How the Sonics Screwed Over The Suns

Its a bleak day for Seattle. The word is that neither Seattle nor Super Sonics will be a part in the name of an NBA team next year.

The team is not doing much better either. A fusion of lack of veterans, KD bricks, and questionable decision making have lead to a disappointing record. They are not the Indians from Major League, nor can they defeat many foes.

One team however, can 'thank' the Sonics for its fall. [Yes, I know they are hot right now, but does anyone think they can defeat the Lakers, Hornets, Spurs, or even the Jazz?] This team is the Phoenix Suns. Allow me to elaborate. Less than a year ago, the Suns were arguably the most entertaining team since Showtime. They played an uptempo style of basketball orchestrated by a 2 time MVP. It looked like their year after handily defeating my Lakers in the first round. However, a questionable decision by the league lead to key 1 game suspensions, and subsequently defeat in the series and a sure opportunity to win a championship.

As the season ended, the Sonics received a trade exception from the Rashard Lewis trade. Now, this enticed the Suns to trade Kurt Thomas to save money. Would there have been another trade had the Sonics trade not been there? I do not know, although, I do not believe there would have been another option whose marginal value was good enough so that Kurt Thomas should have been traded. Now, had that trade not happened, the Suns would not have needed to trade for Shaq, and would not have to pay him 20 mil per year for two more years, and would have matched up well with the current teams.

Next up, lets look at what would have happened if the Sonics wanted to remain competitive and this did not trade Ray Allen. Its easy to forget, but, it was this trade that essentially brought KG to Boston. Now had this not happened, the Celtics would have had more than enough assets to trump the Lakers offer for Gasol, and Kobe would have been forced to play as a one man show. The Lakers arguably would not have been in 1st without Bynum, and Phoenix would have safely been in 1st place, while still playing an entertaining style of ball.

Finally, giving away Kurt Thomas to the Spurs, [even though better deals were possible] and subsequently releasing Brent Barry so that he could go back to the Spurs, may come back to haunt the Suns if they face the Spurs.