Did Suns Dodge a Bullet With Kyrie Irving?

The Phoenix Suns swung and missed with the attempted trade for Kyrie Irving. Perhaps that was best for the organization moving forward.

The Phoenix Suns are looking to maximize their championship window, and with that comes a slew of trade rumors and whispers on what the organization considers the proper step to take in order to see a title parade come to fruition. 

Dealing the disgruntled Jae Crowder has been at the top of the agenda for awhile now since the two essentially agreed to a divorce prior to the start of the season. 

Yet the NBA's Feb. 9 deadline has quickly approached, and the Suns have yet to find a proper dancing partner - it takes two to tango in the league, sometimes even three. 

While Phoenix was sorting through their potential options on Crowder, a new opportunity arose with news of Kyrie Irving demanding a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. 

The Suns were already reportedly trying to organize their future past Chris Paul, who will be 38-years-old at the beginning of next season. Phoenix has a middle-aged core of Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson to work with for the future, and a fresh presence at point guard could keep the Suns right at their current level for the next few years. 

Irving, one of the most talented players at the position, would ideally slide into Paul's spot and form one of the best duos in the league with Booker beside him at shooting guard. 

Phoenix - along with both Los Angeles teams - entered what was a short and sweet two-day bidding war that saw the Dallas Mavericks win the Irving sweepstakes in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a future first-round pick and two future second-round picks according to The Athletic. 

The Suns reportedly sent an offer of Paul, Crowder and a first-round pick to Brooklyn. In that same report, Shams Charania says three first-round picks would have brought Irving to the Valley according to his sources, but Suns general manager James Jones is notorious for squeezing out value where he sees fit. 

Jones didn't see that price tag worthy, and perhaps it's for the best. 

Irving is one of the best ball-handlers in the league. His ability to creatively do damn near everything on a basketball court captivates crowds every time he steps on the floor. 

When it comes to Irving the basketball player, there's no a lot to debate. When it comes to everything else, however, that's how we've gotten to this point. 

To exactly put pen to paper on the luggage that comes with Irving on a personal level would put airlines out of business. A quick scroll through his Wikipedia page will land you somewhere between his flat-earth theories and anti-Semitic words that earned him a suspension earlier this year. 

Perhaps the Mavericks will receive a fresh version of Irving, one that's able to keep those distractions to a minimum and let his play outshine anything else. 

Yet that's what the Cavaliers thought before trading him to Boston. That's what the Celtics thought before trading him to Brooklyn. And - shocker - that's what the Nets thought before shipping him to Dallas. 

The common denominator here is Irving, who to his credit helped bring a championship to Cleveland but has gone downhill at speeds that would make Olympic bobsledders envious.  

There's hope that the Suns can mold themselves into a title winner sooner than later, but the job coach Monty Williams has done in terms of transforming the culture in Phoenix simply would not mesh well with Irving's presence. No nonsense is the term used often in the Valley, and feels inevitable that the circus that comes with Irving would jeopardize that. 

Perhaps Irving will turn a new leaf, but recent history suggests that might not be the case. He's yet to escape the shadow of winning with LeBron despite playing multiple other superstars on fairly good squads. The outside noise could potentially be excused if Irving was considered a serial winner, yet that's not the case either. 

All in all, the Suns probably dodged a bullet by missing out on Irving.