elindholm
edited for content
And Marion for O'Neal.
Nash was only 30 when he rejoined the Suns, and Paul was 35, not 36. Even so, what strikes me about both of those moves is that neither was expected to make the Suns a contender. The goal for each trade was to get "good," not to get "great."
Nash was brought in to help Stoudemire get to the next level, but the Suns were a dismal 29-53 the previous season, and no one could have imagined the difference Nash would make. That was an ideal move because the upfront cost was minimal, a modest return would have made it seem worth it, and everything on top of that was gravy.
The Paul trade was similar. They were trying to get back to the playoffs after spending the first several years of Booker's career in the lottery. No one expected a Finals run, certainly not in the first season.
On the face of it, the Hardaway trade looks similar to the Durant one. Like Durant, Hardaway came with an injury history and questions about his attitude. But the Suns gave up Danny Manning, who had been going through a stretch of good health and contributed on both ends of the court, two first-round picks, Pat Garrity as a throw-in ... and that was it. The price for Hardaway was roughly half what they would later pay for Durant.
Who might have been. It remains to be seen whether Doncic gets there. He's more impactful than Ayton by a wide margin, but he's not a champion yet.
Pretty sure we know Vlade.
