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Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook, top, gets fouled by Phoenix Suns' Jermaine O'Neal (20) as he goes up for a shot during the first half in an NBA basketball game Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, in Phoenix.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
listen Listen: Lance Blanks, Suns General Manager
Doug and Wolf talk to Blanks about his time as the Suns GM.

The Phoenix Suns are coming off the second-worst offensive performance (69 points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder) in franchise history, currently sit alone (17-35) at the bottom of the Western Conference standings and appear to be going nowhere fast.

Still, based on recent rumors surrounding the team's interest in Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks and Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz, it appears Lance Blanks and Co. may surprisingly be buyers rather than sellers before the NBA trade deadline on February 21.

Then again, rumors are just that, rumors.

When asked on Arizona Sports 620's Doug & Wolf Monday if he anticipates everyone staying on the roster through the deadline, Blanks didn't hesitate.

"Yeah I do," Blanks said. "I anticipate that, but you've got to be careful with it. I don't want to get on the radio and pound my chest and tell you things will stay status quo and then sure enough a deal gets done and someone gets moved.

"We understand that we're not in a position to have this team static. Even the best teams in the league are not in that situation, but especially us, because we're trying to raise the level of our talent everywhere."

In addition to players like Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat being thrown around as possible assets contending teams might by eying, the Suns fit the bill as an attractive trade partner because of their collection of picks heading in to June's draft.

Currently, the Suns hold two lottery picks (their own and one acquired in the Steve Nash trade last summer with the Los Angeles Lakers). If the Lakers make the postseason, they would keep their pick, and the Suns would instead take the Miami Heat's selection at the end of the first round.

Phoenix also has two second round picks in 2013.

With those future selections in their back pocket, Blanks said the best move the front office might make in the coming weeks is not pulling the trigger on a deal.

"Sometimes it's the decision that you don't make that's the right decision," said Blanks. "I think we've done a good job thus far of balancing risk, while not doing something silly that puts our organization in the ditch."

Blanks' only deadline move as general manager came back in 2011, when the Suns sent Goran Dragic and a protected first-round pick to the Houston Rockets for Aaron Brooks. Brooks averaged just 9.6 points per game in 25 appearances with Phoenix.

Dave Dulberg, Web Content Editor - ArizonaSports.com

12 Comments   |   Join the conversation »
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  • Abuse
    Whatashame wrote...
    Flat out lie
    count on a trade involving a pick. Also count on it being a bad trade.
  • Abuse
    acvan80 wrote...
    I don't believe him
    I don't believe him one bit. I wouldn't be surprised what something doesn't go down on trade day. Robert Sarver is so cheap he wants to save all the money he can by getting rid of the best players.
  • Abuse
    mesa mad man wrote...
    Honestly
    Getting rid of the best players is the BEST move right now. Ive said it before, but guys like Gortat, Oneal, Telfair, and Brown (Scola in the summer too) are not going to be building blocks for our team long term. They are nice roleplayers on a contender. Theres no point in have them here now to bring us up to mediocrity. The better solution is to get what you can get for them as far as picks and prospects go. If we go through the deadline and DONT make a trade that nets us a pick/prospect I will be severely disappointed. Oneal, Telfair, and Brown likely wouldnt be back next year anyway
  • Abuse
    SunsDeuce wrote...
    Count on
    Suns fans can count on blanks making bad trades and drafting marginal players. The guy is clueless. Just go away and take your friend hunter with u!
  • Abuse
    mesadude wrote...
    say what ??
    he said during his interview how happy he is with the direction him and babby and sarver are going in and what they are trying to accomplish yet all of us in the valley know that those three are the whole problem with whats going on with the suns and we all know they suck as far as running the team and making the idiotic moves they've been making....then he said the only thing hunter lacks is experience...exactly !.so why in the world didn't you give the head coaching job to Thunder Dan ???? at least he had coaching experience you idiot !...he almost sounded as dumb as Rod Graves use to sound.
  • Abuse
    sundevil7901 wrote...
    More interested
    in what Babby has to say about the topic of trades, it seems that he's the guy that pulls the trigger, and not Blanks.Blanks just seems redundant with Babby around. At this point, Suns should hold on tight to those draft picks, maybe use to 2 2nd rounders to trade up into the 1st round and get a 3rd 1st round pick.
  • Abuse
    johnnyb588 wrote...
    So much ignorance
    @whatashame - And when they don't, will you recant? @acvan80 - The only players on the Suns worth having on an NBA roster are Dudley (a competent backup SF), Gortat (who isn't playing hard for PHX any more), and Dragic. You want to hang on to that? @SunsDeuce - You do know Blanks and Hunter weren't pals before all this, right? Where did that rumor even come from? @mesadude - Majerle had the same amount of head coaching experience as Hunter, and even LESS experience when it came to head coaching candidacy (Hunter was a finalist for the ORL job last year).
  • Abuse
    nsawy28 wrote...
    @johnnyb588
    So much ignorance? I hope that comment was meant for the Suns front office. You want Suns fans to recant? It will take more than not doing one bad trade for that to happen. By the way you don't have to be friends with someone before to be treated with bias favoritism. As far as head coaching experience I would say you get more experience from being an assistant head coach for 5 1/2 years than you do from being a player development guy but thats just me and being a head coach candidate for the Magic is nothing to brag about.
  • Abuse
    dennis schumer wrote...
    trade
    Unfortunately the Suns are tanking at season ticket renewal time. Without the chance of making the playoffs and without an All Star to cheer for it would seem prudent to obtain a new exciting player for fan interest to stimulate ticket sales for next year. That would give at least some concrete hope instead of just the chance that the ping pong ball gods would be favorable and that the choice itself would not spend it's usual time in the D league next year.
  • Abuse
    SunsDeuce wrote...
    @johnnyb588
    Shaking my head at you. Your lost. As far as Hunter and Blanks as pals, this has been widely reported. This is a known fact. You lost all credibility when you said Hunter had more coaching experience then Majerle. That statement is straight from comedy central!!!!
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