The Rockets finally found a taker for Ryan Anderson’s massive contract.

Houston sent Anderson and rookie G De’Anthony Melton to the Suns for Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight. For the Rockets, the trade provides salary relief and flexibility. For Phoenix, it’s yet another transaction in a series of confusing offseason moves, leaving the direction of the franchise increasingly unclear.

The Suns have been mired in the Western Conference quagmire for almost a decade now. The last time Phoenix was in the playoffs, Amare Stoudemire actually played a full NBA season. After missing the playoffs despite going 48-34 in 2013-14, it appeared the Suns were finally on the right path with a pair of star guards and a treasure chest of draft assets. Phoenix added two more scorers in the following offseason in Isaiah Thomas and T.J. Warren and looked poised to make the playoffs.

In the middle of the 2014-15 season, the Suns inexplicably parted ways with Thomas and Goran Dragic, who had just won Most Improved Player the season before. It seemed GM Ryan McDonough was committed to a full rebuild. However, he then engineered a deal sending a top-five protected first-round draft pick for Knight, who has played 117 games for Phoenix in three seasons. In a stroke of luck, the Suns somehow got Devin Booker with a late lottery selection in the 2015 draft. Booker has flourished as a three-point shooter in his three seasons with Phoenix and was rewarded this offseason with a five-year, $158 million contract.

What the Suns got right with Booker, they got wrong in the 2016 draft. After taking Dragan Bender fourth overall, Phoenix gave up its two remaining first-rounders to select Chriss at the eighth spot. Chriss was unable to fit into role in a crowded frontcourt, but it was surprising for the Suns to give up on a player two seasons after they sacrificed a pair of first-round picks to get him. Meanwhile, Bender has gotten every opportunity to develop slowly. Ironically, his best-case scenario looks like Ryan Anderson.

Phoenix parted ways with Bledsoe, the remaining guard from its 2013-14 season, early last year after he posted a suspicious tweet. The Suns got a protected first-round pick for Bledsoe to add to its assets in what was now an extended rebuild. In the 2018 draft, the Suns appeared to land a franchise center in DeAndre Ayton and took the high-flying Zhaire Smith with the 16^th overall pick.

But in yet another case of not knowing what their direction is, the Suns sacrificed Smith and an unprotected first-round pick to acquire Mikal Bridges. Phoenix then gave Trevor Ariza, who plays the same position as Bridges, a one-year deal worth $15 million in free agency.

The inconsistent front office moves go beyond the roster. Phoenix has had three head coaches since 2013 and made another change at the position this offseason, giving Igor Kokoskov the gig. Kokoskov was an assistant with the Suns from 2008-13 and has experience coaching the Georgia and Slovenia national teams. Many in NBA circles thought Phoenix could select Luka Doncic after hiring Kokoskov due to their time together. The Suns have to hope this is the final reset at the position for a long time.

After the Anderson trade, Phoenix has a logjam at the power forward position. Anderson will take away minutes from Bender’s seemingly endless development curve, although you may not notice a difference in performance regardless of who’s on the floor.

The Suns have an even bigger problem at their other forward spot with four players vying for time. Bridges, Ariza, Warren and 2017 lottery selection Josh Jackson all deserve minutes, but Ariza and Warren have bigger contracts and will present an unnecessarily thorny situation for Kokoskov. However the rotation plays out for both forward spots, at least two promising prospects will miss out on key minutes. When the Suns attempt to go small, either Ayton or Bender will have to sacrifice time.

Booker is no longer on a rookie deal and will need to have more to his name than an All-Rookie First Team selection. The Suns could potentially ask him to play point guard with no good options currently on the roster, freeing up another wing spot to alleviate the logjam at small forward. That could have adverse consequences in Booker’s game. Melton, a rookie combo guard, will likely be relied on for minutes at both guard spots.

The Suns will likely have another high lottery selection in the 2019 draft and still own Milwaukee’s pick, which likely won’t transfer until 2020. They are no closer to the playoffs five years into their rebuilding phase and McDonough has not established a clear path for their key young players to get the playing time necessary to develop.

Phoenix’s longest playoff drought in franchise history prior to its current one happened from 1970-75. If this futile streak hits the 10-year mark, the calls for a full reset from top to bottom will be louder than ever.