Phoenix Suns NBA trade grades: Torrey Craig, Aaron Holiday make team trade deadline winner

The 2022 NBA trade deadline is in the books and the Phoenix Suns made two deals in acquiring Torrey Craig from the Indiana Pacers and Aaron Holiday from the Washington Wizards.

How did NBA writers react to those deals?

Check out their grades and reaction to Phoenix's moves, where several listed the Suns as a winner at the NBA trade deadline.

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Phoenix Suns' NBA trade grades for Torrey Craig deal

SB Nation gave the Suns an A- for the move.

Ricky O'Donnell wrote: "Craig was a member of Phoenix’s NBA Finals team last season and will provide toughness and defense in the front court. Smith was a former lottery pick who Phoenix declined a team option on at the start of this season, but he’s shown flashes of promise this year. Smith represents another shot at a shooting big for the Pacers, while the Suns are all-in on trying to win the title this season."

Bleacher Report handed Phoenix a B.

Dan Favale wrote: "Anyone still bellowing "They could have drafted Haliburton!" needs to drop the bit. It happened. The Suns botched the No. 10 pick in 2020. They've moved on. Everyone else needs to as well. Smith was both redundant and irrelevant in a Suns rotation that is suddenly overloaded with centers. (And yes, Smith is a center.) Shipping him out for a wing is a victory for roster balance.  And it helps that said wing is Craig, who was fairly impactful during his partial-season go-round with Phoenix last year. His offensive limitations are well-known, but he's a sneaky-good rebounder, can put pressure on the basket and, yeah, sometimes gets hot from three for weeks at a time. His gritty defense will serve the Suns well against longer teams or foes with deeper rotations of perimeter scorers.  Better still: Phoenix doesn't have to worry about failing to keep him this offseason. He's under contract next year for $5.1 million—a hyper-reasonable sum for a peripheral-rotation upgrade that can also be used as expiring salary fodder if the Suns pursue bigger trades over the summer."

Fansided was the highest on the transaction, giving the Suns an A+.

Collin Helwig wrote: "Almost from the get-go, everyone saw the Suns not picking up their team option on Jalen Smith’s rookie deal as a mistake. Whether as a trade or rotation piece, that decision hurt Smith’s value, as it set him up to become a free agent this summer. That meant, and still means now, that whoever acquires him would have to do so with no guarantee that he will come back to the team this offseason. However, James Jones turned that mistake around almost in full, and it only cost him a second rounder. The fact that Phoenix got back a guy we already know resembles a good fit with this team and finds himself attached to a two-year, $10 million dollar deal—it makes Jones look like a wizard. With his magic wand, he more or less turned an awkward situation with Smith into one with security and in support of team chemistry."

More:Phoenix Suns trade reaction for Torrey Craig, Aaron Holiday deals at NBA trade deadline

Phoenix Suns' NBA trade grades for Aaron Holiday deal

Bleacher Report was not as high on this move for Phoenix, giving the Suns a C.

Dan Favale wrote: "Full details finally trickled out on this mega-blockbuster. As it turned out, the Suns applied for and were granted a disabled player exception for Dario Saric that they will use to absorb Holiday into. Acquiring the third Holiday brother doesn't really move the needle. He helps if you're worried about Cameron Payne's wrist injury or Landry Shamet's ankle issue, but he isn't garnering minutes over either of them if they're available. And at 6'1", he isn't big enough to unlock three-ball-handler lineups featuring both Devin Booker and Chris Paul. Holiday might add a dose of rim pressure and overall finishing, but not a ton—certainly not enough to threaten a healthy Payne's spot in the rotation. He is also a perpetual inconstant, with truly low lows. Phoenix may actually prefer the, er, stability of Elfrid Payton. Lacklusterness in mind, Holiday is optionality for a secondary guard rotation that needs it, and the Suns don't owe him anything beyond this season. Unless they're inexplicably waiving someone whom they should keep to make room for him, they can't lose. It's just unclear whether this has the potential to be a win—especially knowing Phoenix had the tools, the immediate title window and the urgency incumbent of relying on a 36-year-old Chris Paul to angle for a splashier addition."

Fansided gave the Suns get a B+ for this trade.

Collin Helwig writes: "When Suns fans heard of their initial trade with the Indiana Pacers, they likely hoped it would include Aaron Holiday’s brother Justin, who earlier this month hit seven triples against Phoenix en route to an impressive 25-point outing. But alas, Phoenix will now take on Aaron, who averaged 6.1 points and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field for Washington this year. Those numbers might not jump out at you, but the Suns will not ask Holiday to do much given their wide range team depth. If anything, he strikes like a solid candidate to come off the bench and provide a few relief minutes for Devin Booker each night, especially during games where Landry Shamet cannot find his stroke. He may also back up Chris Paul at the point depending on Cameron Payne’s injury. But regardless, Phoenix only gave up some cash for Holiday, similar to their deal for Craig last year. With this team clearly going all-in to win a title, they need to unload all their assets to fill out their roster as best they can, so trading away that money for immediate production remains the right call."

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Phoenix Suns a big winner at NBA trade deadline

Sports Illustrated listed the Suns as a big winner at the NBA trade deadline

Rohan Nadkarni wrote: "The Suns added some depth and none of their competitors got better. At worst, Phoenix is going to be back in the conference finals. Anything less would be a shock."

Fox Sports appeared to really like Phoenix's moves at the deadline.

Ric Bucher wrote:  "The insurance move by the Suns was reacquiring forward Torrey Craig from the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Smith. Craig was part of the Suns’ Western Conference title-winning team last season before he signed a two-year deal with the Pacers in the offseason. His statistics this season are nearly identical to Smith’s; this is simply bolstering the Suns’ wing depth with a more mature, proven player they trust and one who already knows their system.  With a league-leading 44-10 record, it’s not as if Phoenix is shoring up a weakness, particularly with how well Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges are playing. … But the Bucks and Suns already looked primed to meet again in the Finals."

Uproxx also listed the Suns as a winner for their moves.

Robby Kalland wrote: "While the top contenders in the East were going wild, the Suns went about their business, bolstering depth as they look to cement their place at the top of the West. Torrey Craig returns, and having to only give up Jalen Smith and a second is a worthwhile price for a team that wanted some more wing depth and was overflowing with centers ahead of Smith. They also went out and snagged Aaron Holiday for a touch more guard depth, which is more of a regular season help as Cam Payne continues to rehab a wrist injury (and make some headlines by jumping in Twitter Spaces)."

More:Suns bring back Torrey Craig, trade Jalen Smith, add Aaron Holiday

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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