2013–14 Phoenix Suns season

The 2013–14 NBA season was the Phoenix Suns' 46th season in the NBA. This season marked the first time that purple was not a primary color for the team (although it was still involved with their system). It was also the first time since the beginning of the 1987–88 NBA season that the Suns ended up drafting in the top 5 of a draft. In addition, it was the first time since the beginning of the 2000–01 NBA season that the Suns made complete changes in not only their logos, but also their jerseys. When the Suns began the regular season, Goran Dragić, P. J. Tucker, Markieff Morris, and his twin brother Marcus Morris were the only players returning from playing with last season's team (while Channing Frye was still on last season's team, he didn't play any games due to a life-threatening heart ailment he had at the time). The Phoenix Suns, despite their winning record, failed to make the playoffs. This drew criticism from many fans regarding the conference system with the Atlanta Hawks, a sub-.500 team in the Eastern Conference managing to make the playoffs, with the Suns holding a Top 4 Eastern Conference seeded team had they been a part of that conference that year instead.

Key dates

*April 22, 2013: The Phoenix Suns fired general manager Lance Blanks.
*May 7, 2013: The Suns hired the Boston Celtics' assistant general manager Ryan McDonough as their new general manager.
*May 21, 2013: The NBA Draft Lottery took place.
*May 26, 2013: The Suns did not renew interim head coach Lindsey Hunter's contract; former Suns player Jeff Hornacek became Hunter's replacement as the official head coach.
*June 19, 2013: The Suns' newest logos were leaked out to the Internet.
*June 25, 2013: Former Boston Celtics affiliates Jerry Sichting and Mike Longabardi, as well as former Suns players Kenny Gattison and Mark West, were officially named assistant head coaches to the new coaching staff; both Noel Gillespie and Dan Panaggio were fired from their assistant coaching positions.
*June 26, 2013: The Suns officially revealed their newest logos and colors to start the new season.
*June 27, 2013: The 2013 NBA draft took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn; Phoenix traded their 30th draft pick (Nemanja Nedović) to the Golden State Warriors for the Oklahoma City Thunder's 29th pick ( Archie Goodwin) and Malcolm Lee (both of whom were added by the Warriors in earlier trades) to add to their own selections of Alex Len at pick number 5 and Alex Oriakhi at number 57.
*June 29, 2013: The Phoenix Suns officially waived center Hamed Haddadi from the team. The Suns saved $1.2 million since Haddadi was initially owed $1.4 million had he stayed for the season.
*July 1, 2013: The NBA free agency period began.
*July 2, 2013: The Suns agreed to trade shooting guard-small forward Jared Dudley to the Los Angeles Clippers and a 2014 second-round pick from either the Sacramento Kings or the Toronto Raptors (which was given to the team last season in a trade involving Sebastian Telfair) to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Eric Bledsoe and small forward Caron Butler, both of whom last played for the Clippers.
*July 10, 2013: Teams could officially sign, trade, and amnesty players to their liking.
*July 27, 2013: The Suns traded power forward Luis Scola to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a top 14-protected 2014 first-round draft pick.
*August 6, 2013: The NBA released the official 2013–14 league schedules.
*August 15, 2013: The team revealed their newest uniforms, nicknamed the "Speed of Light" uniforms. The new uniforms were worn by rookies Alex Len and Archie Goodwin, new player(s) Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler, and returning Suns player P. J. Tucker.
*August 29, 2013: The Suns traded small forward Caron Butler to his hometown team (the Milwaukee Bucks) in exchange for Ukrainian center Viacheslav Kravtsov and American point guard Ish Smith; Diante Garrett officially left to play for the Oklahoma City Thunder; Alex Len officially signed with the Suns.
*August 30, 2013: Channing Frye announced on Instagram that he was officially 100% healthy to play for the Suns once again.
*September 3, 2013: Michael Beasley had his contract bought out by the team, meaning he was officially waived by the Suns; buying out his contract resulted in the Suns saving close to over $3,000,000 through the next four years.
*September 30, 2013: The Suns confirmed that Channing Frye was officially 100% healthy for training with the team a day before training camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona begins.
*October 25, 2013: Center Marcin Gortat, shooting guards Shannon Brown & Malcolm Lee, and second-year point guard Kendall Marshall (who the Suns drafted last year) were traded to the Washington Wizards for forward-center Emeka Okafor and their Top 12 protected 2014 first round draft pick; the Suns also cut shooting guard James Nunnally from their training camp roster.
*October 30, 2013: The regular season for the Suns begins.
*November 11, 2013: Power forward Markieff Morris ends up winning the Western Conference's Player of the Week award from November 4–November 10, 2013 for his improved production off the bench, which included setting a record that only Dwight Howard and former Suns player Charles Barkley had reached before in their careers.
*January 2, 2014: Coach Jeff Hornacek wins the Coach of the Month award for December 2013 due to the team's performance during that month. He also becomes the third former NBA player (with Larry Bird and Larry Drew being the first two) to win both a Player of the Month and Coach of the Month award in their professional careers, as well as the first to win both awards with the same team.
*January 8, 2014: Former Suns fan favorite Leandro Barbosa signs a 10-day contract to play for the Phoenix Suns again.
*January 9, 2014: Eric Bledsoe has surgery to partially remove a torn meniscus in his right knee.
*January 18, 2014: Leandro Barbosa would sign another 10-day contract to continue playing for the Suns.
*January 26, 2014: The Suns would get their 25th win off of a 99–90 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. This would tie the total number of wins the team had throughout the entirety of their last season they played.
*January 27, 2014: The Suns surpassed their total number of wins from last season by winning 124–113 against the Philadelphia 76ers on the road.
*February 3, 2014: Guard Goran Dragić ends up winning the Western Conference's Player of the Week award from January 27–February 2, 2014 for averaging 26.8 points on 63.9% shooting and 69.2% three-point shooting, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds while averaging 29.2 minutes per game in all four victories during that week, with two full games having Goran recovering from an elbow injury their road game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
*February 6, 2014: Goran Dragić ends up being confirmed as one of 8 possible candidates for the newly revamped Taco Bell Skills Challenge.
*February 7, 2014: Center Miles Plumlee is announced to end up playing for former Phoenix Suns player Grant Hill's team in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge after initial rookie center candidate Pero Antić of the Atlanta Hawks was injured from the game.
*February 14, 2014: The 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend break begins.
*February 21, 2014: The Suns would get their 33rd victory against the San Antonio Spurs in a blowout 106–85 game. This ties the Suns' win total from the lockout shortened 2011–12 NBA season, which was also the last season the Suns would have Steve Nash playing for the team. They'd also get their first official sold–out game at home since around 2012 in the process, as well as beat the San Antonio Spurs by over 20 points for the first time since 1999.
*February 28, 2014: The Suns surpassed their total number of wins from Steve Nash's last season with the team by winning 116–104 against the New Orleans Pelicans at home. Goran Dragić would also score a career high 40 points against the team in the process.
*March 1, 2014: Center Viacheslav Kravtsov is waived from the team in order for the Suns to sign Chinese Basketball Association All-Star power forward Shavlik Randolph for the rest of the season.
*March 4, 2014: Leandro Barbosa fractures his right hand in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at home. As a result, he'd end up missing the rest of the regular season.
*March 12, 2014: Eric Bledsoe plays his first game of the regular season since December 30, 2013.
*March 21, 2014: The Suns win their 40th game against the Detroit Pistons in a close 98–92 victory at home. This ties the Suns' win total from the 2010–11 NBA season, which was the first season that former Suns general manager Lance Blanks and current Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby saw over the team's moves.
*March 23, 2014: The Suns win their 41st game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a close 127–120 victory on the road, which included a 22-point comeback throughout the game. This not only gives general manager Ryan McDonough more victories in his first year as general manager of the Suns than former general manager Lance Blanks, but it also gives the Suns their first guaranteed .500+ record since the 2011–12 NBA season (or the 2009–10 NBA season in terms of full seasons).
*March 24, 2014: The Suns win their 42nd game against the Atlanta Hawks in a 102–95 victory on the road. As a result, the Suns are now guaranteed to finish off their season with a record above 0.500 for the first time since the 2009–10 NBA season.
*April 23, 2014: Goran Dragić wins the Most Improved Player of the Year Award due to his performance with the Suns throughout this season.
*May 9, 2014: The Suns officially retained exclusive rights to the Bakersfield Jam under a hybrid affiliation.
*May 18, 2014: Mike Elliott was named the NBA's Strength & Conditioning Coach of the Year.
*May 22, 2014: Goran Dragić is honored with Slovenia's own "Javbolko Navdiha" (Apple of Inspiration) award after the performances he had throughout the season with not just the Suns, but also with the Slovenian national basketball team during the 2013 Eurobasket Tournament.
*June 4, 2014: Goran Dragić became a member of the All-NBA Third Team due to his overall performance throughout the season. Dragić also became the fourth overall player to make an All-NBA team after winning the Most Improved Player of the Year Award as well.

Offseason

Draft picks

The Suns had two first-round picks and one second-round pick this year. The first pick they had was their own pick that could have gone at number 1 at best or 7 at worst, with the best odds going for the pick to be at number 5. On the day of the NBA draft lottery, it was revealed that they would get pick number 5 in the first round. Their own second-round pick was traded to the Houston Rockets for Marcus Morris, the twin brother of Suns power forward Markieff Morris. Both their additional first and second-round picks came from different teams due to last season's sign and trade deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that sent point guard Steve Nash to the Lakers in exchange for four different draft picks. The first-round pick (which ended up being the 30th pick) came from the Miami Heat due to an earlier trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers involving LeBron James, while the second-round pick came from the Denver Nuggets due to a 2011 draft day trade that traded the Lakers' rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum to Denver in exchange for their 2013 second-round pick.

With the fifth pick, the Suns selected the Ukrainian-born center Olexsiy "Alex" Len, who was a sophomore from the University of Maryland. Len averaged 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in his last season with the Terrapins. The Suns then traded the 30th pick, which became the Serbian-born guard Nemanja Nedović from the Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for shooting guard Malcolm Lee and pick 29 that was originally from the Oklahoma City Thunder, which was Archie Goodwin from the University of Kentucky. Goodwin averaged 14.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in his only season with Kentucky. Finally, with their 57th pick, the Suns selected Alex Oriakhi, who used to play for the University of Connecticut until his senior season due to the university's NCAA Tournament ineligibility; he spent his senior season with the University of Missouri. In addition to winning an NCAA championship during his sophomore season with Connecticut, in his only season with Missouri, he scored 11.2 points, grabbed 8.4 rebounds, and recorded 1.6 blocks per game in 25.8 minutes of play for 34 games.

Free agency

Veteran player Jermaine O'Neal, as well as Wesley Johnson and rookie guard Diante Garrett were unrestricted free agents as of the end of the 2012–13 NBA season. On June 29, 2013, the Suns released Hamed Haddadi's contract in order to let him become an unrestricted free agent as well. Contrary to previous seasons, the Suns decided to not focus so much on the free agency market this year. On July 15, 2013, Wesley Johnson signed a veteran's minimum contract for one year with the Los Angeles Lakers. On July 23, 2013, O'Neal agreed to a one-year deal to play for the Golden State Warriors. Garrett officially announced on Twitter that he would be playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder on August 29, 2013, before playing officially for the Utah Jazz on November 13, 2013. Haddadi ended up going back to his home in Iran to play for Foolad Mahan Isfahan on September 12, 2013, during the 2013 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, only to then play for the Sichuan Blue Whales in China. An additional player the Suns decided to sign for this season was former Temple shooting guard Dionte Christmas, who had last played with Montepaschi Siena in Italy's Lega Basket Serie A, where he and the team not only won the league's championship, but also participated in the 2012–13 Euroleague; Christmas had also performed with the team's 2013 Summer League Las Vegas Tournament squad, where he averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists during the team's 6–1 streak. The Suns also had former UC Santa Barbara combo guard James Nunnally, who last played with the Miami Heat in the 2013 Las Vegas Summer League Tournament, during the Suns' training camp and preseason session.

One of the team's biggest signings from last season, Michael Beasley, was bought out of his contract on September 3, 2013. His buyout of the team's contract had the team paying Beasley only $4.66 million for this season as opposed to the $6 million he was initially owed (which saved the team $1.34 million in salary), and then has the team stretching his original guaranteed salary of $3,000,000 for one year to $2,300,000 for three straight seasons, with each year paying him only $766,666 instead of the entire guarantee he was owed. Because of Beasley being bought out of his contract, he was considered an unrestricted free agent by the NBA during his time of being waived. Beasley would end up signing with the team that first drafted him as the #2 pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the two-time champion Miami Heat on September 11, 2013. In addition to being signed by the Heat before the start of the regular season, some of the $4,660,000 that the Suns owed him now gets paid by the Heat instead.

On January 5, 2014, the Suns decided to bring back former fan favorite player Leandro Barbosa to a 10-day contract. However, his contract would not officially be signed until January 8 due to not only finding out whether Barbosa would be healthy enough to participate, but would also have to wait for FIBA to approve his move from Brazil to the NBA. The move was prompted due to star point guard Eric Bledsoe being out longer than the team had initially expected due to a knee injury that had later on turned into a torn meniscus that he got against his former team on December 28, 2013. The last NBA team Barbosa played for was with the Boston Celtics before an ACL tear led him to being traded to the Washington Wizards; he had then played for the Esporte Clube Pinheiros in Brazil as a means of playing while healing up from his past injury. He has been able to play under the shooting guard position with Ish Smith playing most of the back-up point guard duties while Eric Bledsoe remains injured. Barbosa would end up signing a second 10-day contract immediately after the first one ended on January 18, 2014, before being confirmed by Lon Babby and the staff that Barbosa would get $650,359 and remain on the team for the rest of the season on January 27, 2014.

During the post-trade deadline period of free agent signings, the Suns decided to waive back-up center Viacheslav Kravtsov out of the team on March 1, 2014. In exchange for Kravtsov's leave of absence on Phoenix, the Suns decided to sign former Boston Celtics and CBA's Foshan Dralions all-star power forward Shavlik Randolph on the same day. Randolph was signed to the Suns in order to have not only tried to help the team win enough games to make it to the playoffs for the first time in over three seasons, but to have also helped the team out in the postseason had the team actually made it to the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

Trades

On June 27, the Suns agreed to trade their 30th draft pick (which became Nemanja Nedović) to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for the rights to Malcolm Lee (who they first acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves) and the 29th pick (which became Archie Goodwin) that the Warriors first acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder. On July 2, the Suns participated in a three-team trade that had the Suns send Jared Dudley to the Los Angeles Clippers and a 2014 second round pick they acquired from the Toronto Raptors last season to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler, both of whom last played for the L.A. Clippers. On July 27, the Suns agreed to trade Luis Scola (who the team got from amnesty bids last season) to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee, and a 2014 lottery protected first round draft pick. The Suns would later trade Butler to his hometown team (the Milwaukee Bucks) on August 29, 2013, in exchange for Ukrainian power forward/center Viacheslav Kravtsov and American point guard Ish Smith. Finally, in the team's last trade before the regular season began, the Suns traded their center Marcin Gortat, alongside guards Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, and last year's lottery pick ( Kendall Marshall) to the Washington Wizards in exchange for power forward Emeka Okafor and their 2014 Top 12 protected first round draft pick on October 25, 2013. Of the players the Suns traded to Washington, only Gortat would end up playing for the Wizards before the regular season began as Marshall, Brown, and Lee were all waived by the Wizards three days later. In addition, back-up center Viacheslav Kravtsov would end up being waived from the Suns on March 1, 2014.

Coaching changes

Interim head coach Lindsey Hunter was officially granted a chance to be interviewed by the Detroit Pistons to be their head coach on April 24, 2013, which led to indications that the Suns were looking for a new head coach. On May 9, 2013, the Suns announced that along with Hunter, assistant coaches Brian Shaw of the Indiana Pacers, Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Rockets, Mike Budenholzer of the San Antonio Spurs, and Quin Snyder from PBC CSKA Moscow were considered options to be the team's head coach for this season. Five days later, the Suns announced that their search would expand to also include assistant head coaches Mike Malone of the Golden State Warriors, David Fizdale of the Miami Heat, and Jeff Hornacek of the Utah Jazz, with the latter assistant also being a Suns fan favorite. In addition to the aforementioned announced candidates, the Suns also announced interest in looking at Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford, Houston Rockets assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Villanova University head coach Jay Wright, Butler University head coach Brad Stevens, and Iowa State University head coach Fred Hoiberg. On May 26, 2013, the Suns announced that former Suns player Jeff Hornacek was the new head coach, to replace interim head coach Lindsey Hunter, who later signed with the Golden State Warriors in September 2013 as an assistant head coach. Hornacek got a three-year contract with an optional fourth year.

In addition to Hunter's departure as the head coach, assistant head coach Igor Kokoškov departed from the Suns to be an assistant head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 29, 2013. On June 12, it was announced that Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson would also not be an assistant coach with the Suns in 2013–14. On June 25, 2013, the Suns let go of remaining assistant coaches Noel Gillespie and Dan Panaggio. On that same day, Hornacek announced his four assistant coaches for the 2013–14 season: former Boston Celtics affiliates Jerry Sichting and Mike Longabardi, and former Suns teammates Kenny Gattison and Mark West. Jerry Sichting was a champion player for the Boston Celtics during the 1985–86 NBA season, and he was more recently an assistant head coach for the Washington Wizards last season. Mike Longabardi was an assistant head coach for the Celtics' last six seasons, which included their 2007–08 NBA champion team, and was also their defensive coordinator in his last two seasons with the Celtics. Kenny Gattison was a former 3rd round selection by the Suns in the 1986 NBA draft that also was an assistant head coach for Larry Drew during his head coaching tenure with the Atlanta Hawks. Mark West was a player for the Phoenix Suns from 1988 to 1994 and was on their 1999–2000 team before accepting a front office gig for the team afterwards until this season. Former Suns assistant head coach and Phoenix Mercury head coach Corey Gaines would also end up taking on the role of being a player developmental coach that Hunter had formerly taken the role of last season.

Front office changes

On April 22, 2013, the Phoenix Suns fired general manager Lance Blanks due to his lackluster performance in his position over the last three years. Their search for the newest general manager included former Indiana Pacers general manager David Morway, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant general manager Ronnie Lester, former New York Knicks executive Mark Warkentien, assistant general managers Jeff Weltman of the Milwaukee Bucks (a finalist for general manager back in 2010), Ryan McDonough of the Boston Celtics, Wes Wilcox of the Atlanta Hawks, and Troy Weaver of the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Tony Ronzone, Eddie Johnson, David Griffin, Gersson Rosas, and Sam Hinkie considered as possible candidates. Other candidates that had garnered interest in the job included former Bulls and Lakers head coach Phil Jackson, as well as former Phoenix Suns players Grant Hill and Charles Barkley.

On May 1, 2013, it was revealed that the four finalists for the job were Boston Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager Jeff Weltman, former Indiana Pacers general manager David Morway, and former Utah Jazz and New York Knicks executive/general manager and current San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden. Four days later, the finalists were narrowed down to either Jeff Weltman or Ryan McDonough being the newest general manager. Finally, on May 7, 2013, the Phoenix Suns announced that Boston's assistant general manager Ryan McDonough would be the Suns' newest general manager for the next four years. Ronnie Lester, along with the Washington Wizards' director of player personnel Pat Connelly, would later be hired by McDonough to be talent evaluators for the Suns. The Suns also hired Emilio Kovačić as an international scouting consultant for the Suns and Trevor Bukstein as an assistant general manager.

Roster

Salaries

Because Hamed Haddadi was waived by the Suns before July 1, he was only owed $200,000 by the team instead of the full $1,400,000 that he would have gotten had he stayed with the team. In addition, while Josh Childress is still owed $7,182,500 due to them amnestying his contract last season, his salary does not affect the Suns' overall salary cap to their season this year. Also, with the Michael Beasley buyout the Suns did on September 3, 2013, they now owe Beasley $4,660,000 for this season as opposed to giving him the full $6,000,000 had he stayed with the team during the regular season. Not only that, but some of the money that the Suns owed Beasley this season would be offset by the Miami Heat due to their re-signing of him for a second stint. To add to the post-season player movements, the Suns' waiving of back-up center Viacheslav Kravtsov has his contract of $1,500,000 being retained as a part of a pay-off for the rest of the season , in order to add room to using power forward Shavlik Randolph and his $306,036 contract.

Pre-season

, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 1
, October 7
, Maccabi Haifa
,
, Eric Bledsoe (22)
, Olexsiy "Alex" Len (6)
, Goran Dragić (5)
, US Airways Center
7,548
, 1–0
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 2
, October 9
, @ Portland
,
, Goran Dragić (19)
, Marcus Morris (7)
, Eric Bledsoe (9)
, Moda Center
12,653
, 2–0
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 3
, October 13
, @ San Antonio
,
, Gerald Green (19)
, Olexsiy "Alex" Len (9)
, Marcin Gortat (3)
, AT&T Center
16,203
, 3–0
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 4
, October 15
, L.A. Clippers
,
, Goran Dragić (20)
, P. J. Tucker (6)
, Eric Bledsoe (7)
, US Airways Center
11,516
, 3–1
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 5
, October 17
, @ Sacramento
,
, Markieff Morris (15)
, Markieff Morris (7)
, Eric Bledsoe (5)
, Sleep Train Arena
11,223
, 3–2
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 6
, October 22
, Oklahoma City
,
, Eric Bledsoe, Gerald Green (15)
, Channing Frye (9)
, Eric Bledsoe (7)
, US Airways Center
11,526
, 4–2
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 7
, October 23
, @ Denver
,
, Eric Bledsoe (21)
, Marcin Gortat (13)
, Goran Dragić (8)
, Pepsi Center
14,652
, 5–2

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 1
, October 30
, Portland
,
, Goran Dragić (26)
, Miles Plumlee (15)
, Goran Dragić (9)
, US Airways Center
17,208
, 1–0

, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 2
, November 1
, Utah
,
, Eric Bledsoe (18)
, Miles Plumlee (13)
, Eric Bledsoe (6)
, US Airways Center
14,662
, 2–0
, - style="background:#fcc;"
, 3
, November 3
, @ Oklahoma City
,
, Eric Bledsoe (26)
, Gerald Green (8)
, Eric Bledsoe (14)
, Chesapeake Energy Arena
18,203
, 2–1
, - style="background:#cfc;"
, 4
, November 5
, @ New Orleans