Suns forward P.J. Tucker feared he’d been traded before learning of flopping fine

The trade deadline came and went with little commotion Thursday afternoon, as the Phoenix Suns elected to stand pat and enter the final 30 games of the 2013-14 season with the roster as its currently constituted.

While no moves were made, that didn’t necessarily mean that every Suns player was cool, calm and collected over the last 48 hours or so.

In fact, as president of basketball operations Lon Babby shared with Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Dan Bickley Show with Vince Marotta, one particular starter was alarmed when he received a call from the Suns’ brass this week.

“We had one — I thought it was funny, but I don’t think he did — moment yesterday,” Babby said. “Ryan [McDonough] and I, once they’re were announcing his fines for flopping, we wanted to call P.J. [Tucker] first and let him know this about to be announced. And, so we leave him a message. We get this breathless call back.

“Ryan and I look at each other and immediately realized that he probably thought he was being traded. So, he was probably the happiest guy in the world that he was only fined $5,000.”

While Tucker didn’t exactly sound all that thrilled about his newfound perception as a flopper, Babby is right about one thing, it sure beats getting traded from a playoff contender.

This season, Tucker is averaging 9.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He’s one of only three Suns players to start all 53 games, as well.