Two years ago, during the first season for Jeff Hornacek as head coach and Ryan McDonough as general manager, the Phoenix Suns caught the league off guard with their success. Expected to be one of the NBA's worst teams, the Suns instead won 48 games and tied the best record ever for a lottery team.
With the benefit of hindsight, it's now clear that Phoenix's surprising success was the worst thing that could have happened both for Hornacek and the organization as a whole.