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Suns Throwback: The Gar Heard Trade

Phoenix held the number four overall pick two years in a row (1974, 1975). The latter selection, Alvan Adams, wound up being the runaway Rookie of the Year and an All-Star in the same season.

The former, John Shumate, was just as instrumental in the Suns’ 1976 NBA Finals run, albeit in a much different manner.

Shumate had missed his intended rookie year (1974-75) due to blood clots, but was cleared to play the following season – the same year Adams was to make his debut. Two top-five picks hitting the court in the same year? Surely that, combined with a reinvigatorating trade for Paul Westphal, would catapult the previously moribund Suns back into relevance.

Problem was, Shumate’s game was similar to nearly everyone else’s. In other words, the guy could shoot the ball.

Phoenix had more than enough gunners already on the roster. Adams was a high-post forward/center, using his combination of mid-range touch and exceptional passing to serve as the “point center” in the Suns’ offense. Westphal, Dick Van Arsdale, Keith Erickson, Curtis Perry…Phoenix was loaded with guys who could fill it up on offense.

Defense was the issue. Preseason expectations, buoyed by exceptional summer league performances by Westphal and Adams, were higher than they’d been since immediately after Connie Hawkins led the Suns to their first playoff appearance in 1970.

Those hopes, however, gave way to erratic disappointment. By the end of January, the Suns were 19-27, clinging to the fifth and last playoff spot out West. It had been three weeks since they’d held an opponent to less than 100 points.

With the trade deadline approaching, Buffalo – in need of an offensive jolt – expressed interest in Shumate…and tossed Gar Heard into the conversation.

Heard was everything the Suns didn’t have – feisty, relentless defense without a hint of a jump shot. In 1973-74, the 6-6 power forward had averaged a whopping 15.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 1.7 steals per game…all while shooting a very modest 43.5 percent from the field.

His numbers had dropped off since then, but he was still a near-nightly double-double. Phoenix hoped a change of scenery might boost him to his earlier Buffalo numbers.

Problem was, Phoenix fans didn’t want their own scenery to be Shumate-less. The 6-9 forward had become quite popular, and they weren’t exactly eager to see him swapped out for a journeyman forward.

“In a way, this was one of the biggest challenges of my career. Obviously, [Suns head coach] John [MacLeod] knew I could play, but I was really anxious to show the people I could too.”

— Gar Heard after his Suns' debut

Heard, who was officially dealt to the Suns on Feb. 1, 1976, silenced any doubts and invited all manner of cheers in his desert debut. With Perry and Erickson both out with injuries, Heard made a resounding first impression: 17 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a 118-113 win over the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

“In a way, this was one of the biggest challenges of my career,” Heard said after the game. “Obviously, [Suns head coach] John [MacLeod] knew I could play, but I was really anxious to show the people I could too.”

Heard’s arrival signaled a season-changing turnaround. Phoenix finished the regular season with a 23-13 record with Heard starting alongside Perry and Adams in the frontcourt. In that span, he averaged 12.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, all while shooting a career-high 45.2 percent from the floor. This was only partly a surprise; Heard was, after all, playing for his one-time college coach, John MacLeod.

Phoenix rode its newfound momentum through the playoffs, where they upset Seattle and Golden State en route to the franchise’s first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals. In Game 5, Heard turned in one of the greatest plays in NBA history: a catch-and-shoot jumper with one second left to send the contest into a third overtime.

Not bad for a midseason acquisition.