NEW YORK — Should the staggering Suns slip into qualifying as a 50-plus-win lottery team (as opposed to the Nuggets or Warriors), their fans will be astonished to learn this closet consequence:

For agreeing to assume Kurt Thomas' $8 million salary, the Sonics own the Suns' utterly unprotected first-round pick this June. They also own Phoenix's No. 1 selection in 2010; I'm unsure of that arrangement.

That deal, mandated by owner Robert Sarver, was all about getting under the luxury tax, one of the most infuriating aspects of the league today; business takes precedence over personnel.

The failure to safeguard the Suns in case of a catastrophe (like Steve Nash going down for the count) is all about rookie executive Steve Kerr's inexperience.

Nobody remotely predicted a fall from playoff grace, of course. Most felt a top-five finish was a lock. Nevertheless, you would think Kerr wouldn't have repeated Isiah Thomas' Eddy Curry-Bulls blunder.

I'm not saying the Suns are in any danger of dropping below No. 14, but didn't the Magic win the pick of the litter in 1993 (Chris Webber) despite possessing the worst chance imaginable?

At the bare minimum, Kerr should have protected Phoenix's top three spots come June.

Did the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol provoke the Suns into trading Shawn Marion for Shaquille O'Neal?

That's the common perception. And that may indeed have had something to do with it.

Still, wasn't their inability to contain Tim Duncan in the playoffs the compelling factor, I asked Mike D'Antoni 10 days ago in Phoenix prior to the Lakers game?

"What do you mean playoffs? We couldn't beat them during the regular season," he underlined with a painful laugh.

Now the Suns can't beat teams that can outrun them, and that's six out of 10 since Shaq suited up.

Before Shawn Marion was flippantly exiled to Miami, the few teams that dared to drag race the suped-up Suns wouldn't have the legs, the wind, the will or the outage to survive Phoenix's fourth-quadrant power surge.

Friday night, the road-docile Jazz outscored the Suns at home in the final 12 minutes, 41-24.

The Lakers, Pistons, Hornets, 76ers and Nuggets have employed a similar pedal-to-the-metal approach with the same favorable result, twice wearing down Phoenix long before the fourth quarter began.

"The Suns' decision makers underestimated Marion's value at both ends of the floor," asserted a West Coast executive who questioned the wisdom of the trade from the moment of its announcement.

They discounted Shawn's perimeter defensive impact, particularly when assigned to guard the point, thus allowing Steve Nash 15 minutes or so of on-court rest. They neglected also to take into account the numbers mismatches he created.

Because of Marion's warp speed, inevitably the Suns would have a 3-2 advantage in transition off misses, makes or turnovers, or a 4-3 advantage or a 5-4 advantage.

"Shawn would run right to the basket and if Steve couldn't get the ball to him he would circle out to 3-point range and be open from there," the exec explained. "Now it's 3-3, 4-4 and 4-5 with Shaq straggling behind and the Suns are the ones at a huge disadvantage."

More so on defense, actually; many teams flaunt a center and a power forward whose outside touch must be taken seriously, meaning Shaq must cover someone 5 or more meters from the basket or watch his man drain uncontested jumpers.

Shaq may have notched his Suns-high of 20 points against the Jazz, but Mehmet Okur (25) and Carlos Boozer (23) took turns burning him or abusing his replacement inside.

Where's Kurt Thomas when you need him?

Playing alongside Duncan — thanks to the trade that earned the Sonics a third No. 1 pick — instead of playing against him; the ultimate absurdity.

Thomas' promotion to the starting lineup means the Suns at least aren't in danger of being beaten downcourt on a regular basis.

The bad news is, the Spurs now have an established mid-range shooting big man other than Duncan to torment Shaq and Amare Stoudemire when pulled out of the paint.

"We all heard about the sibling squabbling featuring Shawn," allowed the same exec. "But that stuff shouldn't persuade a team to make a trade unless it effects winning or becomes dysfunctional."

Peter Vecsey covers the NBA for the New York Post.