The Phoenix Suns have made plenty of moves since the start of the offseason, but they have yet to cash in on any of them, lazily tossing away any player that comes their way that would interfere with their youth movement.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, executives around the league have been “puzzled” by the choices made with assets like Tyson Chandler and Austin Rivers, who were bought out for their full contract amount and have or will link up with another franchise at some point this season.
Furthermore, the decision to cut Darrell Arthur, who was waived over the summer, will put Phoenix at nearly $30 million paid to players who will never take the floor for them again. Not the best idea when it comes to managing assets.
There was zero effort made to consider guys like Chandler, Rivers or Arthur as trade chips. Rivers was waived because the Suns did not want to disturb a positive chemistry between the current backcourt, despite endlessly looking for a point guard to pair alongside Devin Booker.
The Suns like De'Anthony Melton a lot, but so did they with Tyler Ulis, Mike James, Isaiah Canaan and a plethora of point guards who have come through the organization in the past 16 months. Phoenix had actually made out well in the trade, getting two players for one veteran, but they squandered that gain by waiving Rivers and shelling out money for no reason at all.
Chandler walked his way into a veteran's minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that same way, as the Suns parted ways with their trusty veteran for the sake of going young, yet inexplicably refusing to think of him as a potential asset, which he has proven to be for the Lakers.
Decisions like these are the type of ones to have an entire city frustrated with owner Robert Sarver, who has installed an inept front office and meddled in a business he has run to the ground in the past five years.
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