Suns GM Wants Mulligan On Isaiah Thomas Trade: 'It Was A Mistake'
BOSTON (CBS) -- When the Phoenix Suns traded Isaiah Thomas to the Boston Celtics last February, the undersized guard has been getting just 25 minutes per night. He was producing, but he wasn't getting big-time minutes in a crowded backcourt. And so, Phoenix Suns GM Ryan McDonough felt comfortable enough to send Thomas away to Boston in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a Cleveland first-round pick.
Now, with Thomas being an All-Star and leading the Celtics in points and assists, McDonough is stating the obvious: he made a mistake.
"I think in retrospect, trading Isaiah Thomas when we did was a mistake," McDonough said on 98.7 FM in Arizona. "We pitched Isaiah on the sixth man process on coming off the bench behind Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. I think sometimes in the recruitment process, things sound better in July than they do in November. We sold him on that. We had a decent amount of success through the first two-thirds of the season."
But of course, Thomas wanted more playing time, and so McDonough made the trade.
"He wanted more, he wanted a bigger role and I understand why: He's a talented player," McDonough said. "In retrospect, we probably should have carried him into the summer and hung onto him until the summer and then made a decision or tried to figure it out. He's gone on to play extremely well in Boston, which we thought he would. I kind of knew he would. He's a talented player, and they needed a guy like that.
"I think if there's one that stands out, if I could get a mulligan, that'd probably be it."
The host asked McDonough if he at least got a thank you note from Danny Ainge.
"No," McDonough laughed. "I was there when we won a championship in 2008 and I went to the Finals in 2010. You'd think I'd at least get a Swatch watch or something on the way out the door. But I got nothing."
On the one hand, McDonough showed impressive talent evaluation to negotiate a sign-and-trade with the Kings to acquire Thomas prior to the 2014-15 season. But seeing Thomas turn into an All-Star while essentially only getting Cleveland's 2016 first-rounder and now sitting with the third-worst record in the entire NBA? That is a move that'll sting McDonough and the Suns for some time.
