The Phoenix Suns were one of the busier teams during last week's trade deadline. They traded disgruntled guard Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas, as well as the Los Angeles Lakers pick, which they acquired back in the Steve Nash trade.

In return, they got the Milwaukee Bucks' Brandon Knight, two future first round picks from the Miami Heat, and instant offense guard Marcus Thornton.

Apart from moving on without Dragic and Thomas"”the central element of their past offseason's moves, trading away the Lakers' pick is what got the most criticism from their fans.

The pick is top-five protected in June's draft, which means that the Lakers keep it if the pick falls anywhere in the top five.

Should the Lakers keep the pick this year, which is likely considering the atrocious season they're having, the pick rolls over to 2016, when it becomes top-three protected.

In an interview with Bryan Gibberman of SB Nation's Bright Side of the Sun, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough explains the logic behind moving such a potentially valuable asset.

"With a pick like that, our analysis was that we probably weren't going to receive the pick this year. That pushes the pick into next year, the protection drops to three, but I think analyzing the Lakers' situation, there's pretty high variance there as to what the pick could be. If you ask me how the Lakers are going to be a year from now, I have no idea. Obviously, they've struggled some recently, but they're going to have a lot of salary cap space this summer and they're in a market that's traditionally been one of the top draws for free agents," McDonough explained.

Adding, "We know the risks. The pick could be the fourth pick in the draft, it could be the 14th pick in the draft, it could be the 30th pick in the draft. We felt it was the right time to cash in."

Tony Manfred of Business Insider notes that with the Lakers having the fourth-worst record in the league presently, they have an 81 percent chance of keeping the pick if their standing stays the same at season's end.