Trading #1s

[Cap]

When they come in:

February 25, 1988

Traded Larry Nance, Mike Sanders and a 1988 1st round draft pick (Randolph Keys was later selected) to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Tyrone Corbin, Kevin Johnson, Mark West, a 1988 1st round draft pick (Dan Majerle was later selected), a 1988 2nd round draft pick (Dean Garrett was later selected) and a 1989 2nd round draft pick (Greg Grant was later selected).

[picks going in both directions, but we moved up, so I’ll call this an “in”]

GREAT!


September 23, 1994

Traded Cedric Ceballos to the Los Angeles Lakers for a 1995 1st round draft pick (Michael Finley was later selected).

GREAT!


September 25, 1996

Traded Elliot Perry to the Milwaukee Bucks for Marty Conlon and a 1999 1st round draft pick (James Posey was later selected).

NOT PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL


June 24, 1998

Traded Steve Nash to the Dallas Mavericks for Pat Garrity, Martin Müürsepp, Bubba Wells and a 1999 1st round draft pick (Shawn Marion was later selected).

GREAT!


September 20, 2000

As part of a 4-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded [CENSORED] to the New York Knicks; … the New York Knicks traded Chris Dudley and a 2001 1st round draft pick (Jason Collins was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns; …

GOOD


November 16, 2001

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded Jud Buechler to the Orlando Magic; the Phoenix Suns traded Vinny Del Negro and cash to the Los Angeles Clippers; and the Orlando Magic traded Bo Outlaw and a 2002 1st round draft pick (Amar'e Stoudemire was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns. Philadelphia had the option to swap 2nd round draft picks with Los Angeles in 2005 but did not do so.

GREAT!


February 20, 2002

Traded Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers to the Boston Celtics for Randy Brown, Joe Johnson, Milt Palacio and a 2002 1st round draft pick (Casey Jacobsen was later selected).

GREAT!


January 5, 2004

Traded Anfernee Hardaway, Stephon Marbury and Cezary Trybański to the New York Knicks for Howard Eisley, Maciej Lampe, Antonio McDyess, Milos Vujanic, Charlie Ward, a 2004 1st round draft pick (Kirk Snyder was later selected) and a 2010 1st round draft pick (Gordon Hayward was later selected).

GREAT!


August 19, 2005

Traded Joe Johnson to the Atlanta Hawks for Boris Diaw, a 2006 1st round draft pick (Rajon Rondo was later selected) and a 2008 1st round draft pick (Robin Lopez was later selected).

GOOD

Could have been great, but we threw Rondo away.


December 18, 2010

Traded Earl Clark, Jason Richardson and Hedo Türkoğlu to the Orlando Magic for Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickaël Piétrus, cash and a 2011 1st round draft pick (Nikola Mirotić was later selected).

GOOD


July 11, 2012

Traded Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers for a 2013 1st round draft pick (Nemanja Nedović was later selected), a 2013 2nd round draft pick (Alex Oriakhi was later selected), a 2014 2nd round draft pick (Johnny O'Bryant was later selected) and a 2018 1st round draft pick (Mikal Bridges was later selected).

Uh, GOOD? I’d call it great if the Bridges pick hadn’t then run a lap around the league before returning to us. But maybe that’s irrelevant and it should be called great anyway.


July 27, 2012

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded Robin Lopez, Hakim Warrick and cash to the New Orleans Hornets; the Phoenix Suns traded a 2014 2nd round draft pick (Johnny O'Bryant was later selected) to the Minnesota Timberwolves; the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Wesley Johnson and a 2017 2nd round draft pick (Semi Ojeleye was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns; … and the New Orleans Hornets traded Jerome Dyson, Brad Miller and a 2016 2nd round draft pick (Rade Zagorac was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns. (NOH traded MIN's 2016 2nd-round pick back to MIN; MIN traded top-13 protected 2014 1st round pick, which became 2016 and 2017 2nd round picks, including the pick MIN re-acquired from NOH, to PHO.)

NOT PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL (and we ended up not getting the pick)


July 27, 2013

Traded Luis Scola to the Indiana Pacers for Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee and a 2014 1st round draft pick (Bogdan Bogdanović was later selected).

GOOD


October 25, 2013

Traded Shannon Brown, Marcin Gortat, Malcolm Lee and Kendall Marshall to the Washington Wizards for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 1st round draft pick (Tyler Ennis was later selected). (Pick is top 12 protected.)

NOT PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL


February 19, 2015

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded Goran Dragić and Zoran Dragić to the Miami Heat; … the Miami Heat traded Danny Granger, a 2017 1st round draft pick and a 2021 1st round draft pick (Tre Mann was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns; and the New Orleans Pelicans traded John Salmons to the Phoenix Suns. Conditional 2017 1st-rd pick did not convey

MEH. Dragic had to go, but it would have been nice to get more.


February 18, 2016

Traded Markieff Morris to the Washington Wizards for DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries and a 2016 1st round draft pick (Georgios Papagiannis was later selected). (2016 1st-Rd pick is top-9 protected)

ADDITION BY SUBTRACTION


November 7, 2017

Traded Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks for Greg Monroe, a 2018 2nd round draft pick and a 2020 1st round draft pick (Desmond Bane was later selected). Conditional 1st-rd pick did not convey in 2018 or 2019, conveyed in 2020 2018 2nd-rd pick did not convey

MEH. Again, Bledsoe had to go, but it would have been nice to get something out of it.

When they go out:

October 7, 1995

Traded Antonio Lang, Dan Majerle and a 1997 1st round draft pick (Brevin Knight was later selected) to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Hot Rod Williams.

BAD


October 1, 1997

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded a 1998 1st round draft pick (Tyronn Lue was later selected), a 1999 1st round draft pick (James Posey was later selected), a 2000 2nd round draft pick (Dan McClintock was later selected), a 2001 1st round draft pick (Joseph Forte was later selected) and a 2002 2nd round draft pick (Rod Grizzard was later selected) to the Denver Nuggets; the Phoenix Suns traded Tony Dumas and Wesley Person to the Cleveland Cavaliers; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded a 2005 1st round draft pick (Sean May was later selected) to the Phoenix Suns; and the Denver Nuggets traded Antonio McDyess to the Phoenix Suns.

HORRIBLE


January 23, 1999

Traded Mark Bryant, Martin Müürsepp, Bubba Wells and a 1999 1st round draft pick (Metta World Peace was later selected) to the Chicago Bulls for [CENSORED].

HORRIBLE


August 5, 1999

Traded Pat Garrity, Danny Manning, a 2001 1st round draft pick (Jason Collins was later selected) and a 2002 1st round draft pick (Amar'e Stoudemire was later selected) to the Orlando Magic for Anfernee Hardaway. Trade originally included promised 1st-rd pick that became 2001 pick after it was acquired by Phoenix from New York

BAD


February 19, 2004

Traded Tom Gugliotta, a 2004 1st round draft pick (Kirk Snyder was later selected), a 2005 2nd round draft pick (Alex Acker was later selected) and a 2010 1st round draft pick (Gordon Hayward was later selected) to the Utah Jazz for Keon Clark and Ben Handlogten.

BAD


June 28, 2006

Drafted Sergio Rodríguez in the 1st round (27th pick) of the 2006 NBA Draft.
Sold player rights to Sergio Rodríguez to the Portland Trail Blazers.

NOT PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL, but kind of insulting to fans.


July 20, 2007

Traded Kurt Thomas, a 2008 1st round draft pick (Serge Ibaka was later selected) and a 2010 1st round draft pick (Quincy Pondexter was later selected) to the Seattle SuperSonics for a 2009 2nd round draft pick (Emir Preldžić was later selected). Phoenix also received a trade exception from Seattle.

OUCH


February 24, 2011

Traded Goran Dragić and a 2011 1st round draft pick (Nikola Mirotić was later selected) to the Houston Rockets for Aaron Brooks.

POOR

I don’t know why anybody thought this was a good idea, but it wasn’t very impactful. Mirotić might have been nice to have.


January 9, 2015

Traded a 2016 2nd round draft pick (Rade Zagorac was later selected) and a 2017 2nd round draft pick (Semi Ojeleye was later selected) to the Boston Celtics for Brandan Wright. (The 1st round pick is top-12 protected in both 2015 and 2016. If the pick is still held in 2016 it will become two 2nd-round picks.)

NOT PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL (we ended up not getting the pick)


February 19, 2015

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded a 2018 1st round draft pick (Mikal Bridges was later selected) to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Phoenix Suns traded Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee to the Milwaukee Bucks; the Milwaukee Bucks traded Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall to the Phoenix Suns; …

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! How can somebody earn seven figures for making decisions like this?


July 6, 2019

Traded a 2020 1st round draft pick (Desmond Bane was later selected) to the Boston Celtics for Aron Baynes and Ty Jerome. (top-7 protected)

NOT PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL


November 16, 2020

Traded Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio and a 2022 1st round draft pick (Peyton Watson was later selected) to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Abdel Nader and Chris Paul. 2022 1st-rd pick is PHO own

GREAT!


February 9, 2023

As part of a 4-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded Jae Crowder to the Milwaukee Bucks; the Phoenix Suns traded Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, a 2023 1st round draft pick (Noah Clowney was later selected), a 2025 1st round draft pick, a 2027 1st round draft pick, a 2028 1st round draft pick and a 2029 1st round draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets; the Brooklyn Nets traded cash to the Indiana Pacers; the Brooklyn Nets traded Kevin Durant and T.J. Warren to the Phoenix Suns; the Indiana Pacers traded Juan Vaulet to the Brooklyn Nets; the Milwaukee Bucks traded a 2028 2nd round draft pick and a 2029 2nd round draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets; and the Milwaukee Bucks traded George Hill, Serge Ibaka, Jordan Nwora, a 2023 2nd round draft pick (Isaiah Wong was later selected), a 2024 2nd round draft pick (Quinten Post was later selected) and a 2025 2nd round draft pick to the Indiana Pacers. 2023 2nd-rd pick was CLE own 2024 2nd-rd pick is MIL own 2025 2nd-rd pick is IND own Brooklyn also received multiple trade exceptions 2023 1st-rd pick was PHO own 2025 1st-rd pick is PHO own 2027 1st-rd pick is PHO own 2028 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2029 1st-rd pick is PHO own 2028 2nd-rd pick is MIL own 2029 2nd-rd pick is MIL own

Maybe a little early to give this a precise grade, but I think it will end up somewhere between CATASTROPHIC and END OF DAYS TYPE SHIT.


June 23, 2023

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded Chris Paul, Landry Shamet, cash, a 2024 1st round draft pick, a 2024 2nd round draft pick (Melvin Ajinça was later selected), a 2025 2nd round draft pick, a 2026 1st round draft pick, a 2026 2nd round draft pick, a 2027 2nd round draft pick, a 2028 1st round draft pick, a 2030 1st round draft pick and a 2030 2nd round draft pick to the Washington Wizards; the Phoenix Suns traded a 2028 2nd round draft pick to the Indiana Pacers; the Indiana Pacers traded Bilal Coulibaly to the Washington Wizards; the Washington Wizards traded Jarace Walker and a 2029 2nd round draft pick to the Indiana Pacers; and the Washington Wizards traded Bradley Beal, Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd to the Phoenix Suns. 2024 1st-rd pick was a right to swap, did not convey 2026 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2028 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2030 1st-rd pick is a right to swap Teams also received trade exceptions

HORRIBLE/CATASTROPHIC


July 11, 2023

Traded Isaiah Todd, a 2024 1st round draft pick and a 2030 1st round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for a 2028 2nd round draft pick and a 2029 2nd round draft pick. 2024 1st-rd pick was a right to swap, did not convey 2030 1st-rd pick is a right to swap 2028 2nd-rd pick is MEM own 2029 2nd-rd pick is MEM own

Part of the HORRIBLE/CATASTROPHIC trade above.


February 8, 2024

As part of a 3-team trade, the Phoenix Suns traded Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe and a 2026 1st round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies; the Phoenix Suns traded Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin, a 2026 2nd round draft pick, a 2028 2nd round draft pick and a 2029 2nd round draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets; the Brooklyn Nets traded Royce O'Neale to the Phoenix Suns; the Memphis Grizzlies traded Vanja Marinkovic to the Brooklyn Nets; and the Memphis Grizzlies traded David Roddy to the Phoenix Suns. Memphis also received a trade exception 2026 1st-rd pick is a right to swap Brooklyn also received a trade exception 2026 2nd-rd pick is least favorable 2028 2nd-rd pick is MEM own 2029 2nd-rd pick is MEM own

‘26 pick out, Royce in? INCOMPLETE


June 26, 2024

Drafted DaRon Holmes II in the 1st round (22nd pick) of the 2024 NBA Draft.
Traded DaRon Holmes to the Denver Nuggets for Ryan Dunn, a 2024 2nd round draft pick (Kevin McCullar Jr. was later selected), a 2026 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected) and a 2031 2nd round draft pick ( was later selected). 2026 2nd-rd pick is DEN own 2031 2nd-rd pick is DEN own

BKRef seems to have missed this part: The 2024 #2 (McCullar) was packaged with our own #2 to move up and take Oso.

GOOD.

When it's kinda complicated:

June 24, 2004

Drafted Luol Deng in the 1st round (7th pick) of the 2004 NBA Draft.
Traded Luol Deng to the Chicago Bulls for Jackson Vroman and a 2005 1st round draft pick (Nate Robinson was later selected).

[pick in one draft for pick in another]


June 28, 2006

Drafted Rajon Rondo in the 1st round (21st pick) of the 2006 NBA Draft.
Traded Brian Grant and Rajon Rondo to the Boston Celtics for a 2007 1st round draft pick (Rudy Fernández was later selected).

[ditto]


June 21, 2018

Drafted Zhaire Smith in the 1st round (16th pick) of the 2018 NBA Draft.
Traded Zhaire Smith and a 2021 1st round draft pick (Tre Mann was later selected) to the Philadelphia 76ers for Mikal Bridges. 2021 1st-rd pick is MIA own

[up in one draft, out of another]

I know it's a heck of a lot of data to crunch, but I wonder if anybody can find a pattern.

And let me know if I missed any. I've only had 37 years to work on this post.

[Ring_Wanted]

haha love it. Just for fun I fed this to AI and this is what it gave me (beware of possible hallucinations):

Spoiler: show/hide

1. General Themes When First-Round Picks Come In

Trading Veterans (or Stars) at the Right Moment
Examples:
1988 trade sending Larry Nance to Cleveland, returning (among others) the pick that became Dan Majerle.
1994 deal sending Cedric Ceballos to the Lakers for a 1995 first-round pick (ultimately Michael Finley).
Pattern: The Suns have repeatedly used established or semi-established players—often at or near prime value—to secure future first-round assets. This can be part of a rebuild strategy or retooling cycle.

“Rebuild” or “Reset” Packages
Examples:
2004 trade: Penny Hardaway and Stephon Marbury to the Knicks for multiple players plus 2004 & 2010 first-round picks (Kirk Snyder and Gordon Hayward).
2015 trade: Goran Dragić to Miami for two future first-round picks (one of which became Tre Mann).
Pattern: When the Suns decide to reset their roster (often midseason or in the offseason), they ship out marquee names to accumulate picks and prospects.

Multi-Team Deals Yielding Picks
Examples:
2015 three-team trade with Miami & New Orleans (yielding two first-rounders from the Heat).
2016 deal with Washington (Markieff Morris for a top-9 protected pick, turned into Georgios Papagiannis).
Pattern: The Suns often get firsts in complicated multi-team arrangements, usually as the “retooling” partner who provides a good player to a contender and in turn receives a pick (and sometimes salary filler).

Picks Acquired for Future Flexibility
Examples:
2017 Bledsoe-for-Monroe swap, ultimately netting the 2020 first-round pick that became Desmond Bane.
Pattern: Some picks never convey right away (due to protections or swaps). Yet, the Suns have often built a “war chest” of picks—some of which might only convey a few years later.

Using Cap Space or Willingness to Take on Salary
Examples:
2000 four-team deal with Knicks (Suns took on Chris Dudley + a pick that became Jason Collins).
Pattern: By absorbing an unwanted contract, Phoenix extracted a first-round pick as compensation.


==

2. General Themes When First-Round Picks Go Out

Swinging for Established Stars
Examples:
1995 trade: Dan Majerle + 1997 first-round pick (Brevin Knight) for Hot Rod Williams.
1999 trade(s) as the Suns tried to build around Jason Kidd, Penny Hardaway, or chase marquee players.
2023 trade: Multiple unprotected firsts and pick swaps to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant (and T.J. Warren).
2023 & 2024 trades: Large packages of first-rounders and pick swaps for Bradley Beal.
Pattern: Whenever Phoenix sees a window to contend or add an All-NBA–level star, the franchise is not shy about mortgaging future first-round picks—even if unprotected. These “all-in” swings are fairly common in Suns history (especially in the Sarver and now Ishbia eras).

Including Picks as Sweeteners to Clear Contracts
Examples:
2004 trade: Tom Gugliotta + first- and second-round picks to Utah, largely to clear cap space.
2007 trade: Kurt Thomas + two future firsts (one became Serge Ibaka) to Seattle, again a money-saving move under Robert Sarver’s ownership.
Pattern: Ownership has at times used first-rounders to offload heavier contracts. This was especially noticeable in the mid-to-late 2000s.

Facilitating Larger Multi-Team Deals
Examples:
1997 three-team trade that sent multiple future picks (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002) to Denver to reacquire Antonio McDyess.
2015 Brandon Knight trade (ultimately shipping away a 2018 first that became Mikal Bridges).
Pattern: Like many NBA teams, the Suns will attach picks as “glue” to make multi-party deals work—especially if they expect an immediate on-court upgrade.

Selling or Swapping Firsts on Draft Night
Examples:
2006: Drafted Sergio Rodríguez at #27, sold rights for cash.
2011: Goran Dragić + 2011 first (Mirotić) to Houston for Aaron Brooks.
Pattern: Not all firsts go toward star acquisitions; sometimes the Suns simply cash out or move up/down the board to align with short-term strategy (e.g., chasing financial flexibility or a different specific prospect).

==

3. Patterns in “Complicated” or Swap-Based Deals

Draft-Night Swaps (Immediate)
Examples:
2004: Luol Deng (#7) to Bulls for Jackson Vroman + 2005 first (Nate Robinson).
2006: Rajon Rondo (#21) plus Brian Grant to Boston for a 2007 first (Rudy Fernández).
2018: Zhaire Smith (#16) + 2021 first (Tre Mann) to Philly for Mikal Bridges.
Pattern: The Suns have a history of drafting a prospect on behalf of another team, then immediately dealing him for a different pick in the same draft or the very next year. Often, it’s about targeting one specific player they like (e.g. Mikal Bridges in 2018).

Pick Swaps in Larger Deals
Recent examples:
2023 Kevin Durant deal includes a 2028 pick swap plus several unprotected picks.
2023 Bradley Beal deal includes multiple future swaps (2024, 2026, 2028, 2030).
Pattern: In modern trades for superstar talent, pick swaps have become just as important as pure picks. Phoenix (under new owner Mat Ishbia) has shown willingness to include these swaps if it lands marquee names.

==

4. Overarching Observations

Willingness to Part with Firsts to Chase Contention

From the Barkley/KJ era to the late-1990s pursuit of Antonio McDyess/Jason Kidd, then the mid-2000s clearing cap space for Steve Nash and Shawn Marion’s prime, all the way to 2023’s Durant/Beal trades—the Suns are consistently among the more aggressive teams in using future picks to upgrade the roster immediately.
Periodical “Reset” Strategies

Just as often as they go “all-in,” the Suns will pivot, trading star players (e.g., Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash, Goran Dragić, Eric Bledsoe) for picks when a contender window closes or a star requests out.
Ownership Priorities & Financial Factors

There is a notable difference between the mid-2000s “cost-cutting” moves (Sarver era) where the Suns sold picks or attached them to offload contracts, versus the modern approach under Mat Ishbia, which has been extremely aggressive in using picks/swaps to form “super-teams.”
Draft-Night Maneuvering

The Suns aren’t shy about drafting for another team if it means getting a future pick or the right player in return. They’ve done this with Luol Deng (2004), Rajon Rondo (2006), and Zhaire Smith (2018).


Evolution of Protections and Pick Swaps

Early deals (1990s into early 2000s) involved more straightforward picks (top-10, top-13 protection).
Recently, the Suns’ trades often include unprotected or minimal protection firsts, plus multiple years of pick swaps—a sign of the evolving NBA trade market, especially for top-tier talent.

==

5. Concluding Takeaways

Frequent Deal-Making with Firsts: The Suns’ history is marked by a relatively high turnover of first-round picks—both incoming and outgoing—compared to some other franchises.

Aggressive “Buy Now” Moves: From Kevin Johnson to Kevin Durant, Phoenix has a track record of packaging picks for a star when it sees a window.
Likewise Willing to “Sell Big” or Reset: When contention falters, the Suns have no qualms reversing course, trading marquee names for multiple future firsts to restock the cupboard.

Ownership Influence: The strategy behind dealing or accumulating picks often reflects ownership priorities—ranging from financial flexibility under Robert Sarver to the all-in super-team approach now under Mat Ishbia.

Draft-Night Creativity: Phoenix routinely completes draft-day (or draft-night) swaps that shift one year’s first-round pick into a future pick or vice versa, indicating a willingness to move picks around as currency rather than hold them.

In short, the biggest pattern is that Phoenix oscillates between using first-round picks as currency for established stars and accumulating first-round picks when it’s time to reset. Over many eras—whether for Barkley, McDyess, Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, Durant, or Beal—the Suns’ front office has repeatedly shown that no future pick is off-limits if the right deal arises.

[Mori Chu]

IMO we have as a franchise been too willing to give away our 1st round picks. Early-era Sarver was the worst, where he'd just literally sell picks for cash or trade players with picks simply to get off their salary (Kurt Thomas). But Late Sarver and now Ishbia are all too willing to throw them around like candy to get trades done. It's rare that we pull in one or two picks in a trade; we almost always seem to be sending them out. Just once I want to be more of an OKC where we stockpile picks and trade away old veteran players to get more and more of them.

[SunsRIt]

What I see is a few hits(Majerle, Stoudemire, Finley, Marion, etc) and whole lot of who the hell is that. It seems like the Suns make terrible misuse of picks even when they have them.

[Kryptonic]

As is the draft is a huge swing, hence why a lot of people are good with trading them for people who are already either proven or have a high ceiling for potential.

ChatGPT was dead on, and I think we can all confirm its results in RW posts.... we constantly utilize picks to dump mistakes, which in turn is what is burying this team. We can't keep mortgaging the future for a short-term gain.

[Superbone]

IMO we have as a franchise been too willing to give away our 1st round picks. Early-era Sarver was the worst, where he'd just literally sell picks for cash or trade players with picks simply to get off their salary (Kurt Thomas). But Late Sarver and now Ishbia are all too willing to throw them around like candy to get trades done. It's rare that we pull in one or two picks in a trade; we almost always seem to be sending them out. Just once I want to be more of an OKC where we stockpile picks and trade away old veteran players to get more and more of them.

The KD trade was a piñata for the Nets. I hope they are enjoying their explosion of candy.

[Split T]

As much as we can complain about the recent trading of 1sts…that 2004-2007 era when we were trading picks to dump salary is much worse…at least we traded picks for a top 10 all time player.

[Cap]

haha love it. Just for fun I fed this to AI and this is what it gave me (beware of possible hallucinations):

Spoiler: show/hide

1. General Themes When First-Round Picks Come In

Trading Veterans (or Stars) at the Right Moment
Examples:
1988 trade sending Larry Nance to Cleveland, returning (among others) the pick that became Dan Majerle.
1994 deal sending Cedric Ceballos to the Lakers for a 1995 first-round pick (ultimately Michael Finley).
Pattern: The Suns have repeatedly used established or semi-established players—often at or near prime value—to secure future first-round assets. This can be part of a rebuild strategy or retooling cycle.

“Rebuild” or “Reset” Packages
Examples:
2004 trade: Penny Hardaway and Stephon Marbury to the Knicks for multiple players plus 2004 & 2010 first-round picks (Kirk Snyder and Gordon Hayward).
2015 trade: Goran Dragić to Miami for two future first-round picks (one of which became Tre Mann).
Pattern: When the Suns decide to reset their roster (often midseason or in the offseason), they ship out marquee names to accumulate picks and prospects.

Multi-Team Deals Yielding Picks
Examples:
2015 three-team trade with Miami & New Orleans (yielding two first-rounders from the Heat).
2016 deal with Washington (Markieff Morris for a top-9 protected pick, turned into Georgios Papagiannis).
Pattern: The Suns often get firsts in complicated multi-team arrangements, usually as the “retooling” partner who provides a good player to a contender and in turn receives a pick (and sometimes salary filler).

Picks Acquired for Future Flexibility
Examples:
2017 Bledsoe-for-Monroe swap, ultimately netting the 2020 first-round pick that became Desmond Bane.
Pattern: Some picks never convey right away (due to protections or swaps). Yet, the Suns have often built a “war chest” of picks—some of which might only convey a few years later.

Using Cap Space or Willingness to Take on Salary
Examples:
2000 four-team deal with Knicks (Suns took on Chris Dudley + a pick that became Jason Collins).
Pattern: By absorbing an unwanted contract, Phoenix extracted a first-round pick as compensation.


==

2. General Themes When First-Round Picks Go Out

Swinging for Established Stars
Examples:
1995 trade: Dan Majerle + 1997 first-round pick (Brevin Knight) for Hot Rod Williams.
1999 trade(s) as the Suns tried to build around Jason Kidd, Penny Hardaway, or chase marquee players.
2023 trade: Multiple unprotected firsts and pick swaps to Brooklyn for Kevin Durant (and T.J. Warren).
2023 & 2024 trades: Large packages of first-rounders and pick swaps for Bradley Beal.
Pattern: Whenever Phoenix sees a window to contend or add an All-NBA–level star, the franchise is not shy about mortgaging future first-round picks—even if unprotected. These “all-in” swings are fairly common in Suns history (especially in the Sarver and now Ishbia eras).

Including Picks as Sweeteners to Clear Contracts
Examples:
2004 trade: Tom Gugliotta + first- and second-round picks to Utah, largely to clear cap space.
2007 trade: Kurt Thomas + two future firsts (one became Serge Ibaka) to Seattle, again a money-saving move under Robert Sarver’s ownership.
Pattern: Ownership has at times used first-rounders to offload heavier contracts. This was especially noticeable in the mid-to-late 2000s.

Facilitating Larger Multi-Team Deals
Examples:
1997 three-team trade that sent multiple future picks (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002) to Denver to reacquire Antonio McDyess.
2015 Brandon Knight trade (ultimately shipping away a 2018 first that became Mikal Bridges).
Pattern: Like many NBA teams, the Suns will attach picks as “glue” to make multi-party deals work—especially if they expect an immediate on-court upgrade.

Selling or Swapping Firsts on Draft Night
Examples:
2006: Drafted Sergio Rodríguez at #27, sold rights for cash.
2011: Goran Dragić + 2011 first (Mirotić) to Houston for Aaron Brooks.
Pattern: Not all firsts go toward star acquisitions; sometimes the Suns simply cash out or move up/down the board to align with short-term strategy (e.g., chasing financial flexibility or a different specific prospect).

==

3. Patterns in “Complicated” or Swap-Based Deals

Draft-Night Swaps (Immediate)
Examples:
2004: Luol Deng (#7) to Bulls for Jackson Vroman + 2005 first (Nate Robinson).
2006: Rajon Rondo (#21) plus Brian Grant to Boston for a 2007 first (Rudy Fernández).
2018: Zhaire Smith (#16) + 2021 first (Tre Mann) to Philly for Mikal Bridges.
Pattern: The Suns have a history of drafting a prospect on behalf of another team, then immediately dealing him for a different pick in the same draft or the very next year. Often, it’s about targeting one specific player they like (e.g. Mikal Bridges in 2018).

Pick Swaps in Larger Deals
Recent examples:
2023 Kevin Durant deal includes a 2028 pick swap plus several unprotected picks.
2023 Bradley Beal deal includes multiple future swaps (2024, 2026, 2028, 2030).
Pattern: In modern trades for superstar talent, pick swaps have become just as important as pure picks. Phoenix (under new owner Mat Ishbia) has shown willingness to include these swaps if it lands marquee names.

==

4. Overarching Observations

Willingness to Part with Firsts to Chase Contention

From the Barkley/KJ era to the late-1990s pursuit of Antonio McDyess/Jason Kidd, then the mid-2000s clearing cap space for Steve Nash and Shawn Marion’s prime, all the way to 2023’s Durant/Beal trades—the Suns are consistently among the more aggressive teams in using future picks to upgrade the roster immediately.
Periodical “Reset” Strategies

Just as often as they go “all-in,” the Suns will pivot, trading star players (e.g., Stephon Marbury, Steve Nash, Goran Dragić, Eric Bledsoe) for picks when a contender window closes or a star requests out.
Ownership Priorities & Financial Factors

There is a notable difference between the mid-2000s “cost-cutting” moves (Sarver era) where the Suns sold picks or attached them to offload contracts, versus the modern approach under Mat Ishbia, which has been extremely aggressive in using picks/swaps to form “super-teams.”
Draft-Night Maneuvering

The Suns aren’t shy about drafting for another team if it means getting a future pick or the right player in return. They’ve done this with Luol Deng (2004), Rajon Rondo (2006), and Zhaire Smith (2018).


Evolution of Protections and Pick Swaps

Early deals (1990s into early 2000s) involved more straightforward picks (top-10, top-13 protection).
Recently, the Suns’ trades often include unprotected or minimal protection firsts, plus multiple years of pick swaps—a sign of the evolving NBA trade market, especially for top-tier talent.

==

5. Concluding Takeaways

Frequent Deal-Making with Firsts: The Suns’ history is marked by a relatively high turnover of first-round picks—both incoming and outgoing—compared to some other franchises.

Aggressive “Buy Now” Moves: From Kevin Johnson to Kevin Durant, Phoenix has a track record of packaging picks for a star when it sees a window.
Likewise Willing to “Sell Big” or Reset: When contention falters, the Suns have no qualms reversing course, trading marquee names for multiple future firsts to restock the cupboard.

Ownership Influence: The strategy behind dealing or accumulating picks often reflects ownership priorities—ranging from financial flexibility under Robert Sarver to the all-in super-team approach now under Mat Ishbia.

Draft-Night Creativity: Phoenix routinely completes draft-day (or draft-night) swaps that shift one year’s first-round pick into a future pick or vice versa, indicating a willingness to move picks around as currency rather than hold them.

In short, the biggest pattern is that Phoenix oscillates between using first-round picks as currency for established stars and accumulating first-round picks when it’s time to reset. Over many eras—whether for Barkley, McDyess, Nash, Shaquille O’Neal, Durant, or Beal—the Suns’ front office has repeatedly shown that no future pick is off-limits if the right deal arises.

Wow, AI’s really complicating things.

The pattern I meant is simply this: most of the “pick in” deals worked out good to great, and I don’t think any of them actually harmed the franchise; the “pick out” deals mostly range from horrible to catastrophic, with just two (Rubio for CP3, dumping Googs) working out well.

[Kryptonic]

I think we've learned that any good, stable dynasty needs to be a construction of drafting well and good FA aquisitions... neither which we've done

[Cap]

The one trade I was really wrong about at the time was dumping Googs. I hated that one. Two #1’s just to dump Googs? Come on, his contract’s not THAT much of an albatross. They’re just doing this to save money, not for basketball reasons! JC’s not even going to be here when the picks come due! I had no idea that the cap room generated by the trade would help us get the next two MVPs when other teams could offer more and there were no MVP-level players on the market.

Steve Nash? Don’t make me laugh. He’s a great player, sure, an All-Star, but not MVP-level. The PG we just traded away (Marbury) and the one we traded for Marbury (Kidd) and the one we traded for Kidd (Cassell) are better than Nash. (Yes, I really did think that. Cassell had a great year in 2003-04 and finished 10th in MVP voting.)

Boy, was I wrong. Even though one of the picks turned out to be Gordon Hayward, the trade turned out great.

[specialsauce]

IMO we have as a franchise been too willing to give away our 1st round picks. Early-era Sarver was the worst, where he'd just literally sell picks for cash or trade players with picks simply to get off their salary (Kurt Thomas). But Late Sarver and now Ishbia are all too willing to throw them around like candy to get trades done. It's rare that we pull in one or two picks in a trade; we almost always seem to be sending them out. Just once I want to be more of an OKC where we stockpile picks and trade away old veteran players to get more and more of them.

The KD trade was a piñata for the Nets. I hope they are enjoying their explosion of candy.

That 13-24 record is explosive

[Cap]

I went back to the original post and added grades for each trade based on how they worked out. Could be subjective, so let us know what you think! Grade the trades!

[Charlie Smithy!]

I went back to the original post and added grades for each trade based on how they worked out. Could be subjective, so let us know what you think! Grade the trades!

Man, I did not realize we also gave up a first round pick to get hot rod Williams...wtf...

[Cap]

Tallies:

In: 12 green, 0 red, 5 black

Out: 2 green, 10 red, 4 black

Complicated: 1 green, 2 red, who cares

[Cap]

Man, my high-effort posts have really been swing-and-a-miss around here.

I cataloged, categorized and graded 36 picks over 37 years. I identified a pattern so strong it can fairly be called a rule, that nobody seems to be aware of, that has major implications for how we think and talk about trades, which we all the time here, especially lately… yet nobody even notices. What am I getting wrong about everybody? I kinda get why Saucy wouldn’t be interested in the “mystical magical theoretical” history of this franchise, but I’m otherwise confused.

[Kryptonic]

Man, my high-effort posts have really been swing-and-a-miss around here.

I cataloged, categorized and graded 36 picks over 37 years. I identified a pattern so strong it can fairly be called a rule, that nobody seems to be aware of, that has major implications for how we think and talk about trades, which we all the time here, especially lately… yet nobody even notices. What am I getting wrong about everybody? I kinda get why Saucy wouldn’t be interested in the “mystical magical theoretical” history of this franchise, but I’m otherwise confused.

I wouldn’t take it personal. The teams mega frustrating right now and people are prob not as motivated to mull in the “what ifs” and re-litigate our failures. Just doesnt solve our current problem and only reminds us of the mess we’re in.

[Split T]

I think you need to wait on a lot of the recent ones…I think the play of recent is warping your view of them…a lot of them haven’t even come close to showing how they turn out. I also think it’s not clear that some of those trades are swaps…and some are swaps of swaps…I wouldn’t count those the same.

The Desmond Bane for Aron Baynes one is kinda bad if you’re judging off how good Desmond Bane turned out.

I also think the McDyess one is tricky…it’s only bad because he left…it would have been great if he stayed.

There’s two others you call good that I’d question…Joe Johnson for Diaw and a 1st(we don’t get credit for drafting Rondo since we traded the pick). Joe Johnson easily the best player.

Also the JRich/Hedo for Vince/Gortat/1st…That one is pretty close.

[Cap]

Man, my high-effort posts have really been swing-and-a-miss around here.

I cataloged, categorized and graded 36 picks over 37 years. I identified a pattern so strong it can fairly be called a rule, that nobody seems to be aware of, that has major implications for how we think and talk about trades, which we all the time here, especially lately… yet nobody even notices. What am I getting wrong about everybody? I kinda get why Saucy wouldn’t be interested in the “mystical magical theoretical” history of this franchise, but I’m otherwise confused.

I wouldn’t take it personal. The teams mega frustrating right now and people are prob not as motivated to mull in the “what ifs” and re-litigate our failures. Just doesnt solve our current problem and only reminds us of the mess we’re in.

Everybody’s talking constantly about what we should do and what trades we should make. Yet nobody is interested in considering trends like this?

We should do X.

We’ve done that 16 times before. We almost always regret it. We’ve done the opposite 17 times and always benefit greatly.

I’m not interested in relitigating past failures. Do it!

:facepalm:

What do they say about those who refuse to learn from the past?

Time for me to learn from the past and stop trying.

[Furlanfufi]

Man, my high-effort posts have really been swing-and-a-miss around here.

I cataloged, categorized and graded 36 picks over 37 years. I identified a pattern so strong it can fairly be called a rule, that nobody seems to be aware of, that has major implications for how we think and talk about trades, which we all the time here, especially lately… yet nobody even notices. What am I getting wrong about everybody? I kinda get why Saucy wouldn’t be interested in the “mystical magical theoretical” history of this franchise, but I’m otherwise confused.

I wouldn’t take it personal. The teams mega frustrating right now and people are prob not as motivated to mull in the “what ifs” and re-litigate our failures. Just doesnt solve our current problem and only reminds us of the mess we’re in.

Everybody’s talking constantly about what we should do and what trades we should make. Yet nobody is interested in considering trends like this?

We should do X.

We’ve done that 16 times before. We almost always regret it. We’ve done the opposite 17 times and always benefit greatly.

I’m not interested in relitigating past failures. Do it!

:facepalm:

What do they say about those who refuse to learn from the past?

Time for me to learn from the past and stop trying.

It's not personal, but also due to the fact that even agreeing with you, the decision ultimately it's not ours.

[virtual9mm]

Man, my high-effort posts have really been swing-and-a-miss around here.

I cataloged, categorized and graded 36 picks over 37 years. I identified a pattern so strong it can fairly be called a rule, that nobody seems to be aware of, that has major implications for how we think and talk about trades, which we all the time here, especially lately… yet nobody even notices. What am I getting wrong about everybody? I kinda get why Saucy wouldn’t be interested in the “mystical magical theoretical” history of this franchise, but I’m otherwise confused.

Oh, I am with you all the way. Just depressed about the state of affairs.