2014–15 Phoenix Suns season
Suns miss playoffs for fifth straight season.
The 2014–15 Phoenix Suns season was the 47th season of the franchise in the NBA and the last in which the arena was called the US Airways Center. The team finished third in the Pacific Division and tenth in the Western Conference with a 39–43 record, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year, tying the franchise's longest drought. The season was marked by a series of trades, including the acquisition and subsequent trade of Isaiah Thomas as part of a massive multi-team deal.
Quick Facts
- Team
- Phoenix Suns
- End year
- 2015
- Wins
- 39
- Losses
- 43
- Division
- Pacific
- Division place
- 3
- Coach
- Jeff Hornacek
- Owners
- Robert Sarver
Facts from the source article.
Key dates
The 2014–15 Phoenix Suns season began with the NBA Draft Lottery on May 20, 2014, followed by the draft itself at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 26. Free agency opened on July 1. On July 7, Channing Frye signed a four-year, $32 million deal with the Orlando Magic, marking the final departure of any player from the Suns’ 2010 playoff roster. Three days later, P. J. Tucker re-signed with Phoenix for three years and $17.5 million. The next day, the Suns acquired point guard Isaiah Thomas via a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings, sending Alex Oriakhi and a $7 million trade exception in exchange for Thomas’s four-year, $27 million contract. Ish Smith was waived on July 15 before his contract became guaranteed. Anthony Tolliver joined the Suns on July 16 with a two-year, $6 million deal. On July 28, Tucker was arrested for a “super-extreme DUI.” First-round picks T. J. Warren and Tyler Ennis signed on August 8. The NBA suspended Tucker for the season’s first three games on August 12. The league accidentally revealed on August 13 that the Suns would host the Los Angeles Lakers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on TNT. Phoenix earned 17 nationally televised games, including four on ESPN and six on TNT. After months of negotiations, Eric Bledsoe agreed to a five-year, $70 million contract on September 24. The next day, the Suns partially bought out Zoran Dragić’s contract to sign him for two years and $4,012,500. Media Day and training camp started on September 29, when twin brothers Markieff and Marcus Morris each signed four-year extensions worth $32 million and $20 million, respectively. The regular season opened on October 29. Tucker returned from suspension on November 4. On November 19, the Suns beat the Detroit Pistons 88–86 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, exactly ten years after the Malice at the Palace.
Offseason
The Phoenix Suns entered the 2014 NBA draft with three first-round picks and one second-round pick. Their own pick was the 14th overall, part of the draft lottery. The 18th pick came from the Washington Wizards via the trade that sent Marcin Gortat, Kendall Marshall, Shannon Brown, and Malcolm Lee to Washington, with Phoenix also receiving the rights to Emeka Okafor. The 27th pick came from the Indiana Pacers from the trade that sent Luis Scola to Indiana, with the Suns also acquiring Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee. The lone second-round pick was their own, based on their 48–34 record from the previous season. Two other second-round picks acquired in earlier trades—one from the Los Angeles Lakers (part of the Steve Nash trade) and one from the Toronto Raptors (from the Sebastian Telfair trade)—were both sent to the Milwaukee Bucks in subsequent transactions.
Roster
Due to past transactions from Lance Blanks' tenure, Josh Childress was still owed $7,317,500 from his amnestied contract, though this did not affect the Suns' salary cap for the season. Michael Beasley's buyout, agreed on September 3, 2013, required the Suns to pay him the equivalent of $2,333,333 over three seasons, which still affected the team's salary despite Beasley playing for the Shanghai Sharks in China that season before returning to the Miami Heat later in the year. The Suns also bought out the small contracts of Tony Mitchell, Kendall Marshall, and John Salmons after those players completed their deals with the Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively.
Awards and records
T. J. Warren was named to the All-NBA Second Team at the Las Vegas Summer League following his play in the 2014 edition of the event. Isaiah Thomas finished second in voting for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, splitting his season between the Suns and the Boston Celtics. Brandon Knight was in the running for the NBA Most Improved Player Award, having played for both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Suns. During All-Star Weekend, Thomas was chosen as one of eight players for the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. He faced John Wall of the Washington Wizards in his first matchup, but after Wall was replaced, Thomas lost in the opening round to Patrick Beverley, who went on to win the whole competition. Beverley also defeated Brandon Knight, but that came in the final round. After sending Shavlik Randolph to the Celtics and bringing in Reggie Bullock from the Los Angeles Clippers, the Suns were the only NBA team without a single player aged 30 or older. That roster held for roughly a month before they added 31-year-old Danny Granger through a multi-team deal and later signed 33-year-old Earl Barron from their D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam, to two 10-day contracts before keeping him for the rest of the season. In an overtime win over Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder, 117–113, Eric Bledsoe put up 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 blocks, and 1 steal. That stat line made him the ninth player in NBA history to reach those marks in a regular-season game and the first point guard to do so while shooting at least 50 percent from the field. That season, the Suns became the first team ever to have both a +43 and a -43 point differential in consecutive games. The -43 came between the overtime win against the Thunder and a 101–74 loss to the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The +43 happened between a tight 74–72 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans and a 117–102 road blowout of the Houston Rockets.
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