Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough admitted that trading Isaiah Thomas – at least when he did – was a mistake.
McDonough told Arizona Sports 98.7 on Wednesday that he’d have almost certainly been better off holding onto Thomas until summer.
“I think in retrospect trading Isaiah Thomas when we did was a mistake,” McDonough told hosts Jon Bloom and Greg Esposito on the team’s midseason special show. “I think sometimes in the recruitment process things sound better in July (luring Thomas in free agency) than they do in November.
“He wanted more, he wanted a bigger role and I understand why: He’s a talented player,” McDonough continued. “In retrospect, we should have carried him into the summer. If there’s one that stands out, if I could get a mulligan, that’d be it.”
Thomas was dealt to Boston at the 2015 trade deadline in exchange for guard Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first round draft pick that originally belonged to Cleveland, thus putting it toward the end of the first round. Thomas turned into an All Star in Boston, while Phoenix has floundered this season. Thomas was on a cheap deal and it stands to reason that, if the Suns were going to trade him, they could have received a much better return had they waited until summer, and it sounds like McDonough knows what now.
