Suns GM on trading Lakers pick: 'We felt it was the right time to cash it in'
The Phoenix Suns were in a bind on trade deadline day, with All-NBA point guard Goran Dragic publicly requesting a trade amidst declarations of his intentions to bolt as a free agent in the offseason.
That made a flaming wreck of any leverage the Suns might have had in trade negotiations, and it was up to the team's savvy front office to make the best of a bad situation and try to change course on the fly.
The Suns pulled in a decent return from the Miami Heat in the Dragic trade, netting two first-round picks, but it was the subsequent deals they made that raised a few eyebrows.
The Suns also dealt nominal Dragic backup Isaiah Thomas, and then replaced their pair of outgoing point guards with Brandon Knight, for whom they had to part with one of the league's most valuable assets: The Los Angeles Lakers' top-five protected 2015 first-rounder.
As the Lakers toil away with the league's fourth-worst record, it looks increasingly unlikely that the pick will be conveyed this year. If not, though, it will roll over to next year's draft, where it's only top-three protected. Ditching the pick seemed a steep price to pay for a player who will be a restricted free agent this offseason.
In an interview with Bryan Gibberman of SB Nation's Bright Side of the Sun blog, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough explained his decision-making process in dealing the pick:
With a pick like that our analysis was that we probably weren't going to receive the pick this year. That pushes the pick into next year, the protection drops to three, but I think analyzing the Lakers situation there's pretty high variance there as to what the pick could be. If you ask me how the Lakers are going to be a year from now I have no idea. Obviously, they've struggled some recently, but they're going to have a lot of salary cap space this summer and they're in a market that's traditionally been one of the top draws for free agents.
We know the risks. The pick next year could be the fourth pick in the draft, it could be the 14th pick in the draft, it could be the 30th pick in the draft. We felt it was the right time to cash it in.
Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie, who acquired the pick in exchange for point guard Michael Carter-Williams in the three-team trade, also doesn't believe the pick will be conveyed this year. But, unlike McDonough, he doesn't see the Lakers' fortunes improving any time soon.
"Those picks do not move around very much," Hinkie said at a press conference after the trade. "It is almost impossibly hard to get your hands on a pick that at least has a chance to be a high lottery pick. It's very rare that they move."
- With h/t to Yahoo