Suns' trade with Hornets is underwhelming Plan B after losing out on Jimmy Butler

For months, the Suns tried to find a path to adding Butler, complicated by their status as a second-apron team. They tried to find a way to clear room by trading Bradley Beal, but the $110M left on his contract, plus his no-trade clause, meant there were no takers.

But that was the Suns' whole strategy until the deadline loomed. They made a deal to send the Utah Jazz their unprotected 2031 first-round pick, a risky move designed to give them the ability to trade extra picks in a Butler deal. They didn't consider trading Kevin Durant, their only other option if they wanted to pair Butler with Devin Booker, until the last few days.

Perhaps with more time, they could have determined where Durant may have wanted to go. They at least should have realized he didn't want to return to the Golden State Warriors, especially after former teammate Draymond Green publicly slammed him last season.

They ended up using one of their new first-rounders simply to get rid of disgruntled center Jusuf Nurkic and bring in Martin, who was averaging 7.8 points for the Hornets and shooting 32.3% from three-point range. They also got Micic, a 31-year-old point guard averaging 7.5 points and 2.1 turnovers.

What especially stung this week was that the Suns dropped consecutive games to Nurkic's old team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Deandre Ayton, traded to Portland in the original Nurkic trade, scored 49 points in the two Blazers wins. Toumani Camara, also in the deal, went for 35.

It's a disappointing Plan B, or even Plan E or F, that the Suns settled for. They had two months to figure out a blockbuster. They ended up with two bench players from a 12-36 team.