Phoenix early offseason in review (HW/bondom34/dbrandon/Slava/bwgood77)

[HartfordWhalers]

Phoenix Offseason Review

HartfordWhalers Review

Key Losses:
Mirza Teletovic
Jon Leuer

I'm not big fans of either. Long term I think they did very well by themselves not offering those contracts.

Losses:
Ronnie Price
Chase Budinger

Remember when Indiana took on the extra 4m of salary to have Budinger over Rudez? That made no sense then. The Jodie Meeks trade to Orlando of its time. I'm not picking on the trading of what turned out to be an 18th pick for him because he was a different player back then and cost controlled at under 1m; although that one worked out poorly as well. Speaking of Terrence Jones, if Budinger has anything left, New Orleans would be a great spot for him.

Draft:
#4 Dragan Bender
#8 Marquese Chriss (traded for)
#34 Tyler Ulis

Bender and Ulis were amazing picks. Although Ulis does feel like it puts the emphasis on the fact that maybe Phoenix should consider a pg trade. If Booker is a starting pg, then either Ulis is getting no minutes or someone in Knight/Bledsoe is getting really squeezed minutes wise. Or not healthy.
Chriss will be interesting to see what he becomes.

Trades:
Traded rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, #13, #28 and 2020 Det 2nd to Sacramento Kings for #8

This is a really interesting trade. Skal falling to #28 and Bogdanoic having a monster Olympics makes it look much better for Sac, while Pappagiannis at #13 makes it much better looking for Phoenix.

When people were talking about Chriss at #3 or #4 I did't see it at all. So, it isn't the clear home run that it would be if I was that bullish on Chriss, but it is the type of trade that you in general want to see a team make -- moving 2 dimes and a nickel for a quarter.

Free Agency:
Earl Watson (Head coach)
Jared Dudley 3/$30m
Leandro Barbosa 2/$8m (500k gtd year 2 only)
Dragan Bender rookie-scale
Marquese Chriss rookie-scale
Tyler Ulis 4/$4 million contract (2 years guaranteed)

Barbosa is a weird signing for me, but as a one year deal for the most part it is fine. Dudley will help set up the locker room right and he should be a perfect mentor for the new pf's. The thing I dislike is the length. A 2/30 would have felt better for me, even if thats insane sounding. Watson was well liked, and sticking with that is fine/good. I'm not sold he is the coach they should have in 3 years though, but I'm not sold he isn't.

Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Brandon Knight, Tyler Ulis, Archie Goodwin
SG: Eric Bledsoe, Leandro Barbosa, John Jenkins
SF: Devin Booker, P.J. Tucker, T.J. Warren,
PF: Jared Dudley Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss
C: Alex Len (in minutes) , Tyson Chandler, Alan Williams

Okay, I totally redid this. I think Len gets starting center minutes (but they might let Chandler do tips for his moody feelings) and Booker should start. Who rides the bench out of the 3 starting guards of Knight/Bledsoe/Booker? If they are all healthy I think they try all three on the court. Maybe not, but it would get interesting or flame out quick. Especially with Dudley as a stretch 4 it would enable a 4 out 1 in offense that could get Chandler some easy dunks.

Probably a better lineup has one of Knight/Bledsoe playing super 6th man.

Needs: Development. Len/Bender/Chriss/Booker/Warren Phoenix has 5 building blocks. Then an answer to that question of how Bledsoe/Knight fits with that young core; do they mesh or need to be traded?

Additional Thoughts: Phoenix has one of the two biggest incomplete rosters in the league as far as I am concerned. I don't think Knight/Bledsoe both work out long term, Chandler ws having issues being in a rebuilding team, Tucker is the classic why not flip him for any value to a win now team and Archie Goodwin is a guy who feels like my trash for your trash (or 2nd rounder) versus someone Phoenx should keep hoping on as they pile more bodies in front of him. I have a hard time grading them because it fees like an incomplete to me.

Also, since I like to throw out a trade for each team here is the Phoenix trade: Knight + Chandler for Brook Lopez I would rather see a straight rebuilding trade, but that one still makes some sense to me.

Projected Win/Loss: 26-56 Yes, I'm projecting them even worse than last year.

Off-Season Grade: B- They needed to make one more move for me, but I like what they did in general. Otherwise it was a B+

bondom34 Review

Key Losses:
Mirza Teletovic
Jon Leuer

Losses:
Ronnie Price
Chase Budinger

Draft:
#4 Dragan Bender
#8 Marquese Chriss (traded for)
#34 Tyler Ulis

Trades:
Traded rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, #13, #28 and 2020 Det 2nd to Sacramento Kings for #8

Free Agency:
Earl Watson (Head coach)
Jared Dudley 3/$30m
Leandro Barbosa 2/$8m (500k gtd year 2 only)
Dragan Bender rookie-scale
Marquese Chriss rookie-scale
Tyler Ulis 4/$4 million contract (2 years guaranteed)

I liked the Watson hire. Players seemed to like him from everything I read and he's not a traditional retread hire, give him a shot. Love, love, love the draft. Got 3 possible solid players and brought Dudley back from the past.

Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Tyler Ulis
SG: Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, Leandro Barbosa, John Jenkins
SF: P.J. Tucker, T.J. Warren
PF: Jared Dudley, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss
C: Alex Len, Tyson Chandler, Alan Williams

Needs:
Better SF and development. I really think a Chandler or Knight trade makes sense too, but that's not for sure just yet.

Additional Thoughts:
Overall like what they did. I still don't see a playoff team but a young team with upside. I wonder if they went for it a year too early and struck out which hurt last year (though I admit I liked their moves then), but now I think all is made up for. They've got a ton of upside and I think moving Knight for a wing (Gay?) would be something I'd look into. Other than that, just a solid offseason.
Projected Win/Loss:
32-50
Off-Season Grade: A-

dbrandon Review

Key Losses:
Mirza Teletovic
Jon Leuer

Both of these guys are solid stretch PFs. However, replacing them with Jared Dudley is a net gain IMO.

Losses:
Ronnie Price
Chase Budinger

Ronnie's a tough vet, but this isn't a huge deal. Chase is whatever.

Draft:
#4 Dragan Bender
#8 Marquese Chriss (traded for)
#34 Tyler Ulis

I REALLY like Dragan Bender. He might be my favorite player in this draft class. Chriss and Ulis are both good picks, too. I might have tried to get Sabonis instead of Chriss, but that's just because I like Sabonis.

Trades:
Traded rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, #13, #28 and 2020 Det 2nd to Sacramento Kings for #8

Good move. I'm not sure why the Kings did it, but hey—not complaining if I'm the Suns FO!

Free Agency:
Earl Watson (Head coach)
Jared Dudley 3/$30m
Leandro Barbosa 2/$8m (500k gtd year 2 only)
Dragan Bender rookie-scale
Marquese Chriss rookie-scale
Tyler Ulis 4/$4 million contract (2 years guaranteed)

Watson is well-respected by his players and an obvious choice to keep on. Dudley and Barbosa are both good signings from an on-the-court perspective and from a nostalgia perspective, and Barbosa's contract in particular is very team-friendly. Bringing Ulis on early is a good move too. I like all of this.

Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Tyler Ulis
SG: Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, Leandro Barbosa, John Jenkins
SF: P.J. Tucker, Jared Dudley, T.J. Warren
PF: Alex Len, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss
C: Tyson Chandler, Alan Williams

This is a solid team. My guess (Phoenix fans, correct me if I'm wrong) is that the starters are actually Bledsoe/Booker/Warren/Dudley/Chandler, which could use some shoring up on defense at the wing but is solid enough.

Needs:

Need the kids to improve, particularly Booker and Bender. Bledsoe has to stay healthy for once. Would be nice if TJ's outside shot is better this year, too.

Additional Thoughts:

Give Knight room to run on the 2nd unit, play him a bunch of minutes and trade him for someone younger and less ball-dominant at the deadline. He's a good stopgap but long-term you need someone more willing to share the ball.

Chandler's contract is bad, but he may be a good mentor for the team. I wouldn't look to trade him immediately, especially considering a lot of other solid contributors are on rookie deals.

Projected Win/Loss:
38 wins

Off-Season Grade:
A. They addressed their needs and added some of my favorite young talent in the draft. Next year they're going to make some noise.

Slava Review

Key Losses:
Mirza Teletovic
Jon Leuer

I like Teletovic a lot, excellent shooter with quick release and a capable option when you need to draw a catch and shoot play, so losing him for a relatively cheap contract is a loss.

Leuer had quality moments but they did draft a couple of PFs and brought back Dudley who functioned well as a small ball 4 in Washington so he's the odd man out.

Losses:
Ronnie Price
Chase Budinger

Sadly this might be the end of Budinger's NBA career. Great athlete but unfortunately too many injuries to find himself any kind of niche in the league.

Draft:
#4 Dragan Bender
#8 Marquese Chriss (traded for)
#34 Tyler Ulis

Like the Bender pick. He was the best prospect left that suited their core so it was an obvious choice once Boston took Brown. Also liked the Tyler Ullis pick in the second round, its hard to find a guard who can add value to a crowded backcourt but his headiness and consistency will work well and he brings a skill set absent in the rest of the group.

Trades:
Traded rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, #13, #28 and 2020 Det 2nd to Sacramento Kings for #8

Any time you can trade up in a weak draft, its good.
Anytime you can trade with Sacramento Kings, its great. So this is effectively double bonanza.

I'm not sure if Chriss will end up being a star but I'd happily take a flier on an athletic freak with good shooting mechanics especially with a spare pick in the top 10.

Free Agency:
Earl Watson (Head coach)
Jared Dudley 3/$30m
Leandro Barbosa 2/$8m (500k gtd year 2 only)
Dragan Bender rookie-scale
Marquese Chriss rookie-scale
Tyler Ulis 4/$4 million contract (2 years guaranteed)

Not sure what to make of the coaching hire but the franchise gives starts to new coaches looking for their first job. It worked out well with Horney albeit for a short while so no harm going the same route.

The Jared Dudley contract is great value, bringing back Barbosa is good. I expected Dudley to push for 4 years and more money given the going rate for average 3s but at that price for a bottom 5 team, he's a steal. Both him and Barbosa have previous history in Phoenix so they'll serve as an ideal veteran core for a very young roster.

Also good job getting 4 years on Ulis' deal.

Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Tyler Ulis
SG: Devin Booker, Archie Goodwin, Leandro Barbosa, John Jenkins
SF: P.J. Tucker, Jared Dudley, T.J. Warren
PF: Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss
C: Tyson Chandler, Alex Len, Alan Williams

Really crowded backcourt, otherwise a very balanced roster. There is scope for a trade with Brandon Knight and Bledsoe both being made available. Chriss and Bender will be fighting for the starting spot in camp with Len primarily playing back up 5 and continuing his apprenticeship under Chandler.

Needs:
1. A healthy season for Bledsoe and TJ Warren.
2. Continued development from Booker.
3. Chandler not checking out midway through the year.

Additional Thoughts:

There was a sudden push to be a playoff team a season ago when they surprised people and ended up in the Aldrdige sweepstakes but thanks to injuries, regression to normalcy for certain players and internal turmoil courtesy of Morris and Morris esquire, their time table altered drastically.

I really hope the front office is in line with their expectations or else the pressure on Watson would be quite high in a loaded western conference.

They tend to draft well so that bodes well for their future and they will have a lot of small victories even if there might not be a lot to fight for this season. The GM is quite conservative and usually only enters trades he knows he can win but if a player like Cousins or Griffin becomes available in a trade, I'd expect them to throw their hat in the ring.

Projected Win/Loss: 32-50

Off-Season Grade: A-

bwgood77 Review

Key Losses:
Mirza Teletovic
Jon Leuer

Losses:
Ronnie Price
Chase Budinger

Draft:
#4 Dragan Bender
#8 Marquese Chriss (traded for)
#34 Tyler Ulis

Trades:
Traded rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, #13, #28 and 2020 Det 2nd to Sacramento Kings for #8

Free Agency:
Earl Watson (Head coach)
Jared Dudley 3/$30m
Leandro Barbosa 2/$8m (500k gtd year 2 only)
Dragan Bender rookie-scale
Marquese Chriss rookie-scale
Tyler Ulis 4/$4 million contract (2 years guaranteed)

Current Depth Chart: (as usual this is a rough draft taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Eric Bledsoe, , Brandon Knight, Archie Goodwin, Tyler Ulis
SG: Devin Booker, Brandon Knight, Leandro Barbosa, John Jenkins
SF: P.J. Tucker, T.J. Warren
PF: Jared Dudley, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss
C: Tyson Chandler, Alex Len, Alan Williams

I did put Knight as backup PG and SG since he will definitely back up Bledsoe but will likely play mostly SG and may start there. If you only want him in one place, just leave him in SG, though that kind of gives a false impression of the real backup pg.

Needs:

They need this team to buy into what Watson is selling (which it seems like they have) and play team basketball and stay injury free and just build a culture where they expect to win in the future if only they are building toward it, and it seems like that is being done. Also need to just add more youth in the next draft or two. In the next draft perhaps find a premier SF or long term potentially elite PG.

Additional thoughts:
I thought the draft was super solid and personally felt they should have kept Leuer who was a pretty good all around PF who did the little things, but think they did a good job not overspending on players in a desperate attempt to compete now in a crazy market.

Bringing in Dudley was smart for many reasons...he will start at PF but has already talked about how he wants to bring along the young guys and will take a bench role as soon as they are ready as he suggested to Kidd in Milwaukee when he said Giannis needs to start over him and was ready. Also having played with Knight for the Bucks is beneficial in that he knows him and there has been talk he will convince Knight to buy in to coming off the bench to allow Booker to start.

Projected Win/Loss: 30-52

Off-Season Grade: B+

[RexRyan]

I gave them a B. They're definitely moving in a direction, which is good. A player and three picks for Chriss? We'll see. Hopefully Chandler stays interested long enough to fetch a young asset in a trade. I think we'll see him playing in May.

[Andre Roberstan]

This might be the largest disparity in win projections that I've seen. Anywhere from 26 for HW to 38 for me.

Anyone want to sig bet?

[Woody Allen]

Jared Dudley contract was terrible. There's been a lot of these $10m/yr contracts going out this year and Dudley is arguably the crappiest player to get one. On the bright side he's not an addition that will actually help them get any wins, so the lottery balls outlook appears fine.

[bwgood77]

This might be the largest disparity in win projections that I've seen. Anywhere from 26 for HW to 38 for me.

Anyone want to sig bet?

I projected 30, but think it could be higher. I'd rather have low expectations and be happily surprised if they do better. With Watson they went 8-13 without Bledsoe, Warren and Knight for most of his games.

As for my depth chart, I think Knight probably comes off the bench, but he will sub in for Bledsoe or Booker, whoever sits first, and then the three will stagger the guard positions most of the game and occasionally play all three at once. I'm excited to see Warren. I hope Len improves, but part of his bad production in the latter part of last year was playing out of position at the 4. I expect Dudley to get the biggest share of PF minutes with maybe a little Tucker who did well defensively against PFs last year and then Bender and Chriss will get limited minutes and they should go up throughout the season.

I think at times they will be more competitive than people think, but their lack of defense is really going to hurt them so they will need to get hot shooting to stay in games.

[Texas Chuck]

I liked this off-season for them a lot. There is more work to be done, but no rush needed to do any of it. I'd be sniffing around a trade for a center tho. I don't think you want to keep an unhappy Tyson Chandler around and if you could move his contract plus some assets you don't see as part of the future for a solid starter, then you won't feel obligated to overpay Len if his play doesn't warrant it.

In fact the trade I'd love to see is:

Tyson Chandler
Brandon Knight

for

Robin Lopez
Taj Gibson (and I'd look for a 3rd team to flip him to)

Bulls shore up their backcourt and get a more athletic center as their back-court is going to struggle to keep guys in front of them. The Suns bring back a solid stopgap guy in RoLo and clear out a couple guys don't look like long-term fits.

[Texas Chuck]

Jared Dudley contract was terrible. There's been a lot of these $10m/yr contracts going out this year and Dudley is arguably the crappiest player to get one. On the bright side he's not an addition that will actually help them get any wins, so the lottery balls outlook appears fine.

I couldn't disagree with this statement much more.

[Swoosh_Stripes]

Jared Dudley contract was terrible. There's been a lot of these $10m/yr contracts going out this year and Dudley is arguably the crappiest player to get one. On the bright side he's not an addition that will actually help them get any wins, so the lottery balls outlook appears fine.

There's no way that Dudley is the worst player to get a $10+M deal this offseason his deal is a value in comparison to Solomon Hill who got $48M per for 4 years, Austin Rivers $35M for 3 years and of course there's Mosgov.

[loserX]

Yeah that assessment of Dudley is way off.

Best move: drafting Bender at #4. Has talent, makes sense positionally, and with multiple picks Phoenix could afford to take some big swings.

Worst move: none really, although I agree with HW that the third year on Dudley is a bit of a wince. I don't see the point of having him and Tucker *both* on the roster either, but maybe that gets resolved in-season with a Tucker trade.

I'm not sure at all what to think of Chriss. The consolidation move-up trade was another good move, but I have heard such conflicting things on Chriss' ceiling that I have no clue how to evaluate the pick. Some people think he's one of the few 2016 draftees with a chance (however minuscule) to be a real star. Others don't see anything special in him at all. Still, as I say, Phoenix can afford to take some chances.

I 100% agree with bwgood's comment about the Suns needing to build a culture. That should be their #1 priority to me. It seems like in recent times they can't get through a season without someone on the roster very publicly griping about something and having to be moved. The Suns need to focus on guys who 100% want to be there; anyone else should be moved ASAP. (Keep an eye on Chandler, who has already expressed a lack of interest in rebuilding.)

Play Chandler and Tucker and Knight for a bit, make them look attractive, then move them. Dudley is a good vet who obviously wants to be there and can handle the "veteran presence" role.

Voting A- on what's been done, but McDonough still has some hard work ahead of him.

[Mr. E]

Easy A from me.

Loved the pick of Bender. He's going to be something in this league!

My only negative for them was trading away Bogdanovic, but not negative enough to hurt their grade.

Young team, good talent. In a couple years if they keep it together they'll be a team to reckon with. As of now I'm going low 30's in the win column.

[bwgood77]

I'm not sure at all what to think of Chriss. The consolidation move-up trade was another good move, but I have heard such conflicting things on Chriss' ceiling that I have no clue how to evaluate the pick. Some people think he's one of the few 2016 draftees with a chance (however minuscule) to be a real star. Others don't see anything special in him at all. Still, as I say, Phoenix can afford to take some chances.

There is a really good video of Chriss' here (it's a short one) showing what he can do. It's obviously from summer league where a lot of guys look good, but I was happy with what I saw.

http://www.nba.com/suns/five-ways-suns-machine-was-fine-tuned-offseason

[bwgood77]

Jared Dudley contract was terrible. There's been a lot of these $10m/yr contracts going out this year and Dudley is arguably the crappiest player to get one. On the bright side he's not an addition that will actually help them get any wins, so the lottery balls outlook appears fine.

There's no way that Dudley is the worst player to get a $10+M deal this offseason his deal is a value in comparison to Solomon Hill who got $48M per for 4 years, Austin Rivers $35M for 3 years and of course there's Mosgov.

Yes, plenty of worse contracts out there.

[nomansland]

I gave them an A-. Losing Bogdanovic might come back to bite them but otherwise they crushed it in the draft and Earl Watson is a good basketball mind with credibility as a player.

Kudos to them.

[pacers33granger]

I didn't think I could like the Dudley signing more but if he can convince Knight to be cool with a being a 6th man then I definitely like it more than I previously did.

[patman52]

I like their offseason. Dudley, Bender, Chriss.

I thought Knight and Chandler were heading to Philly for Noel last June.

[bwgood77]

I like their offseason. Dudley, Bender, Chriss.

I thought Knight and Chandler were heading to Philly for Noel last June.

If Chandler is unhappy in Phx (and I'm not really completely sure that he is, but that's the only reason he would be traded because he's a good leader, mentor and we need two centers) then he surely wouldn't be happy in Philly.

That being said, I think that would be a good trade if Noel's health holds up. Though it would be weird having two centers becoming RFA's at the same time. The Suns, having drafted Len over Noel to start with was apparently in large part to the Suns not thinking Noel's knees would hold up through second contract. If they did think that then, I don't think they would trade for him now.

[Kings2013]

A lot of disrespect for the Kings on that draft day trade particularly from Slava and dbrandon. Bogdanovic is a talented player who many consider one of the best in Europe and Skal is talented as well and was rated higher for most of last year by most pundits. Chriss has gifts but isnt a certain quantity. It can go either way at this stage

Although with Phoenix's assets, and Booker at the two they can afford to make such a trade if they like Chriss. I'm skeptical of Watson. Still a team with a lot of young talent that should be fun to watch

B+

[bwgood77]

A lot of disrespect for the Kings on that draft day trade particularly from Slava and dbrandon. Bogdanovic is a talented player who many consider one of the best in Europe and Skal is talented as well and was rated higher for most of last year by most pundits. Chriss has gifts but isnt a certain quantity. It can go either way at this stage

Although with Phoenix's assets, and Booker at the two they can afford to make such a trade if they like Chriss. I'm skeptical of Watson. Still a team with a lot of young talent that should be fun to watch

B+

I think both teams did well with the trade. Getting Skal that late was huge. Not sure I would have gone with the guy at 13 but who knows? They certainly got a good haul and if they were not enamored with anyone at 8 it was the right move for the Kings.

[Kings2013]

A lot of disrespect for the Kings on that draft day trade particularly from Slava and dbrandon. Bogdanovic is a talented player who many consider one of the best in Europe and Skal is talented as well and was rated higher for most of last year by most pundits. Chriss has gifts but isnt a certain quantity. It can go either way at this stage

Although with Phoenix's assets, and Booker at the two they can afford to make such a trade if they like Chriss. I'm skeptical of Watson. Still a team with a lot of young talent that should be fun to watch

B+

I think both teams did well with the trade. Getting Skal that late was huge. Not sure I would have gone with the guy at 13 but who knows? They certainly got a good haul and if they were not enamored with anyone at 8 it was the right move for the Kings.

+1 brother. Unfortunately because of our teams reputation, it becomes customary to not see our point of view or assume we automatically lose trades.

[bondom34]

A lot of disrespect for the Kings on that draft day trade particularly from Slava and dbrandon. Bogdanovic is a talented player who many consider one of the best in Europe and Skal is talented as well and was rated higher for most of last year by most pundits. Chriss has gifts but isnt a certain quantity. It can go either way at this stage

Although with Phoenix's assets, and Booker at the two they can afford to make such a trade if they like Chriss. I'm skeptical of Watson. Still a team with a lot of young talent that should be fun to watch

B+

I think both teams did well with the trade. Getting Skal that late was huge. Not sure I would have gone with the guy at 13 but who knows? They certainly got a good haul and if they were not enamored with anyone at 8 it was the right move for the Kings.

+1 brother. Unfortunately because of our teams reputation, it becomes customary to not see our point of view or assume we automatically lose trades.

If it means anything, the Sacramento office season review is coming up soon, and I didn't really mind the trade either. I think the pic made at 15 was questionable, butt the Kings got a good deal given who fell to them at 28th. In the end I didn't really have a problem with it for them either. Win win