Word is Suns more apt to try to move IThomas before trade deadline, to restore last season’s roster balance, rather than surrender GDragic
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 14, 2015
The above from Marc Stein this morning, just as I was warming up my coffee. Such a course makes sense and is the route I thought all along would actually come to fruition. The thinking there would be that Dragic is the superior player but Thomas could yield the higher return in trade. Why trade Dragic for pennies on the dollar? There are, of course, other variables. If you trade Thomas, and then lose Dragic in the summer, you’ve really screwed up. I think the question revolves around a determination of Thomas’ value. He’s instant offense, locked up long term on a very cap friendly deal. But on the other hand, he offers little else, has gotten a bad reputation, and really isn’t even amongst the top 20 point guards in the entire league. By comparison, Aaron Brooks is making the league minimum. Would someone be willing to give Phoenix an asset more valuable than New Orleans’ pick for Thomas? I highly doubt it.
I think understandably, Phoenix will shop Thomas first and see what is being offered. Concurrently, Morey offers the two second rounders he owns for Dragic. If the Suns find something they like for Thomas, Morey calls them up and ups the ante, offering the Pelicans pick and a chance to avoid the scenario of losing both players (if Dragic were to leave outright in the summer). And the Suns probably know he’s ready to play this card. If someone blows Phoenix away with an unexpected offer for Thomas, that is obviously the best course of action.
It would be plausible for Phoenix to just hold onto both players for now and reassess the market this summer. The risk there is that Dragic has made no indication toward loyalty, stating he will test the market. What if they can’t find a deal they like for Thomas in July and Dragic walks?
Houston has to like its chances. Understand that if they acquire Dragic, it would absolutely be with the intent of retaining him long term. Further, this would be it and this would be their team. They’d be locked into a core of Harden/Howard/Dragic and would then hope to retain the likes of Josh Smith and Corey Brewer. Is that team good enough to sacrifice flexibility? Absolutely.
