To that effect, McDonough's moves seemed focused on the future. He traded veteran defender Jared Dudley for the younger Eric Bledsoe. He shipped out an aging Luis Scola for a first-round pick, Miles Plumlee and Gerald Green, then considered to be on an unfortunate contract. He drafted a project big man in Alex Len, waived Michael Beasley, freed Caron Butler and -- just days before the season began -- traded starting center Marcin Gortat for Emeka Okafor (out for the season and on an expiring contract) and a first-round pick.
McDonough, in conjunction with ownership and the broader front office, also decided to hire a rookie head coach, Jeff Hornacek. That may have been the most important move of all.
Because Hornacek had no designs on losing as many games as possible in order to pick Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker. And not only that, he's a really good coach. He's turned Green into a top contributor. The Morris twins are darned good -- Markieff might be the best reserve in the land. Goran Dragic was very nearly an All-Star in the stacked West. Plumlee is a contributor. Bledsoe began hitting his considerable potential from Day 1. Channing Frye stepped right back in to where he'd been before sitting out the 2012-13 season.
Everything's worked, and after Thursday's victory over the West-leading Thunder, Phoenix is a stunning 36-25, No. 7 in the conference.
The question is whether McDonough intended for his team to be 36-25. There are two minds on this. One is that the moves he made clearly removed veteran contributors for picks and young players. Those are certainly the types of moves rebuilders -- not contenders -- make. (Consider McDonough's trading partners on those move: the title-or-bust Pacers, the star-reaching Clippers and the playoff-starved Wizards.) Further, McDonough was one of two or three main suspects in the case of Which NBA GM Admitted To Tanking Before The Season Began?. (The teams of the other suspects all stink, by the way.)
But there’s also some evidence McDonough didn’t intend to tank. For one, he said that it’s insulting to suggest he can’t pick good players outside the top five, that he needs to lose big to add impact contributors. The trade for Bledsoe was much more of a building move than a rebuilding decision: E.B. was already 23 and in his fourth year, not to mention due for a new contract in July 2014. Further, waiving Beasley never made a team worse, Gortat had a rough relationship with the franchise, Scola’s on his last legs and McDonough held on to the Suns’ best player, Dragic, despite him being a veteran. McDonough could have gone full Hinkie and traded Dragic for assets. The Suns would definitely not be 36-25 if that had happened.
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We expected a rebuilding year in Phoenix, which is the polite way of saying a tank year. McDonough instead intended, it appears, to offer up a building year: a season incorporating new, fresh talent with a few existing pieces under a new scheme, all while hoarding draft picks and looking ahead to a new era of Phoenician glory.
As it turns out, everything went better than expected, and the Suns are there without giving up any of their picks. McDonough still has an outside shot at claiming four first-round picks in 2014 (the best draft in maybe a decade). He’ll almost assuredly have three. That could help boost the team’s depth, or he could package them to move up and grab a potential star. He has a winning team and options. Not a whole lot of clubs can boast that.
The thing is that McDonough should have been a contender for Executive of the Year even if the Suns weren’t winning. He’s made some great moves. Leasing out Gortat for a pick was brilliant; Phoenix hasn’t missed him despite the heightened expectations. Hornacek has been a perfect fit. Keeping a Dragic in his developmental peak was the right call. And those picks will pay off, even if Len has yet to.
Executive of the Year invariably goes to the playoff team that has made the most impressive leap with a new star or two. In reality, rebuilding clubs should get some love in the category, too. Thanks to the stunning Suns’ quick rise, McDonough may meet both requirements on his way to the trophy.
