NBA Trade Verdict

Bulls Win

Chicago acquired Craig Hodges from Suns for Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), cash, producing a clear realized-value win.

December 14, 1988 Chicago Bulls / Phoenix Suns Record confidence: High

Phoenix Suns Received

Player Ed Nealy
Draft Pick 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton)
Cash cash

Trade Analysis

What Changed Hands

The December 14, 1988 transaction between Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns is easiest to evaluate by reconstructing the trade before judging the result. Chicago acquired Craig Hodges from Suns for Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), cash, producing a clear realized-value win. The list of assets identifies 4 distinct pieces: Craig Hodges, Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. Chicago Bulls received Craig Hodges, while Phoenix Suns received Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. That distinction matters because a trade can combine players, draft rights, picks, cash, or transaction mechanisms whose value is not interchangeable. The retrospective grade therefore follows what the specific assets became and how much useful basketball or asset value each side ultimately captured, rather than treating every line item as equal simply because it appeared in the same transaction.

How the Verdict Was Earned

The verdict is Bulls Win, with Chicago Bulls graded A and Phoenix Suns graded C+. The realized-value outcome is a clear Chicago win. Hodges became an elite specialist and rotation contributor on the first two championship teams. The price was modest for a player who fit the dynasty perfectly. Those findings define the direction of the evaluation. The relevant comparison is Craig Hodges for Chicago Bulls against Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash for Phoenix Suns. Roster need, contract timing, competitive window, and front-office intent can help explain why a team accepted a particular return, but they do not replace the realized-value record. Based on the results, the stronger side is Chicago Bulls; the grade shows the size of that advantage without requiring every asset in the winning package to have become a major success.

The Package That Won Out

Chicago Bulls' return centered on Craig Hodges. The available evidence explains the advantage this way: The realized-value outcome is a clear Chicago win. Hodges became an elite specialist and rotation contributor on the first two championship teams. The price was modest for a player who fit the dynasty perfectly. That is the core support for the A grade. The point is not merely that Chicago Bulls received a package with a recognizable name or a particular number of pieces. It is that the assets credited to that side produced the more consequential result in the historical record. A winning package may derive most of its value from one player, one draft conversion, or one asset that later created additional leverage. Here, the trade details are strong enough to place Chicago Bulls on the favorable side of Bulls Win while keeping the evaluation tied to the exchange itself.

The Cost on the Other Side

Phoenix Suns received Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. That package still has to be evaluated on its own terms rather than dismissed because the verdict favors the other side. The grade for Phoenix Suns is C+, which measures the completed return against what Chicago Bulls obtained. A lower grade can still include a useful player, a pick, financial flexibility, or a defensible short-term objective; the issue is whether those benefits matched the value surrendered. In this case, the analysis does not place the two returns on equal footing. The gap between Chicago Bulls' A and Phoenix Suns' C+ reflects the difference in realized production, asset conversion, or durable value documented for Craig Hodges versus Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash.

Final Verdict

Bulls Win. The grades are Chicago Bulls A and Phoenix Suns C+. The trade itself was: Chicago Bulls received Craig Hodges, while Phoenix Suns received Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. The realized-value outcome is a clear Chicago win. Hodges became an elite specialist and rotation contributor on the first two championship teams. The price was modest for a player who fit the dynasty perfectly. That evidence is enough to preserve the verdict without rewriting the trade around hindsight that is unrelated to the assets actually exchanged. The grade evaluates the completed transaction, not whether every front-office motive was unreasonable on the day of the deal. On that basis, Chicago Bulls produced the stronger realized return, and the A/C+ grade relationship captures how clearly that side finished ahead.

For Hardcore NBA Heads

Chicago Bulls–Phoenix Suns: What the Trade Became

The deeper story of the December 14, 1988 Chicago Bulls–Phoenix Suns trade is the difference between the transaction's surface simplicity and the value that emerged from its component parts. The four locked transaction sources document the exchange from both franchise histories, while the canonical record supplies the Bulls Win judgment and the explicit A/C+ grades. The deal moved Craig Hodges, Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. Following those pieces keeps the review disciplined: the analysis can recognize trade-day context, but the historical verdict stays anchored to what Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns actually received from this specific exchange.

The Deal's Most Important Piece

The most important value on the favorable side was concentrated in Craig Hodges. The realized-value outcome is a clear Chicago win. Hodges became an elite specialist and rotation contributor on the first two championship teams. The price was modest for a player who fit the dynasty perfectly. That finding is what separates a substantive retrospective evaluation from a simple transaction recap. Asset count alone is a poor guide because one productive player, one meaningful draft outcome, or one reusable trade asset can outweigh several smaller pieces. For Chicago Bulls, the A grade reflects the consequence attached to the package rather than its length. The supplied record identifies enough realized value in Craig Hodges to make that return the central reason the trade finishes as Bulls Win.

What the Supporting Assets Added

The rest of the exchange provides the scale for that conclusion. Across the full trade, Chicago Bulls took in Craig Hodges and Phoenix Suns took in Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. Secondary assets matter because they can narrow a gap, add optionality, or reveal what each side was willing to pay to accomplish a roster objective. Cash, lower-order picks, draft rights, exceptions, and secondary players are therefore counted, but they are not automatically valued like a proven contributor. Nothing in the available evidence indicates that the supporting pieces reverse the direction of Bulls Win; instead, they complete the picture around the decisive value already identified in the analysis.

Why Context Matters Without Reversing the Result

The deal can make sense from both front offices' perspectives and still produce an uneven result. Chicago acquired Craig Hodges from Suns for Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), cash, producing a clear realized-value win. That is the trade-day structure; the retrospective grade asks a different question—what did those choices ultimately yield? Historical analysis should not pretend that teams had perfect foresight, but it also should not erase the evidence that became available once the players and draft assets developed. The A grade for Chicago Bulls and C+ for Phoenix Suns preserve that distinction. Context can explain the decision, while the realized return determines why the final judgment remains Bulls Win.

How the Final Grades Fit

The grade spread—Chicago Bulls A, Phoenix Suns C+—is more informative than a winner label by itself because it shows the degree of separation supported by the record. Chicago Bulls are credited for Craig Hodges; Phoenix Suns are credited for Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. Each package is measured by the value it actually produced, including meaningful player contribution and draft conversion when the supplied record identifies them. The grades are not a claim that every secondary asset had identical importance or that the losing team received nothing. They are a compact expression of the completed exchange, and in this case that exchange supports Bulls Win.

Deep-Dive Verdict

Bulls Win. The full analysis reaches the same conclusion: Chicago Bulls A, Phoenix Suns C+. The available sources confirm the trade and show Chicago Bulls receiving Craig Hodges while Phoenix Suns received Ed Nealy, 1989 second round pick (#46-Ricky Blanton), and cash. The analysis is decisive: The realized-value outcome is a clear Chicago win. Hodges became an elite specialist and rotation contributor on the first two championship teams. The price was modest for a player who fit the dynasty perfectly. That conclusion does not depend on inflating the significance of cash, draft mechanisms, or minor pieces, and it does not assume a team would have made different downstream choices with an asset it never controlled. It follows the value tied to this transaction. On that record, Chicago Bulls' package finishes ahead of Phoenix Suns', making Bulls Win the durable historical judgment.

Research sources (4)