Suns coach: Trade deadline can be stressful for players

With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, the Phoenix Suns can finally relax.

Even though there were no specific rumors about any one player on the team, the possibility of a move being made very much weighs on a player.

With that no longer an issue, the team can just play basketball.

“It’s like that every team every year when that trade deadline comes,” Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told the Doug and Wolf Show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday. “Because most of the time, anything can happen.”

Hornacek would know, as he was part of one deadline deal back in 1994 when the Philadelphia 76ers sent him to the Utah Jazz.

“When that day comes, I think maybe two, three games prior to that the guys tend to start maybe pressing a little bit, maybe worrying about it,” he said. “But then once it’s done and gone, they’re happy they are where they’re at.”

The Suns split their first two games after the deadline, beating the San Antonio Spurs comfortably while losing a close one to the Houston Rockets.

They’ve done so with the same team they had prior to the deadline, which is a group Hornacek is glad to keep coaching.

“That was great,” he said. “This team has fought all year long. They’ve got great chemistry.

“You try to put a guy into the mix right at the end of the season, who knows how that will turn out.”

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