Official Trade Thread: Kind of a Drag...ic

[Zelaznyrules]

Also we had a deal working with Chicago with Mo Bros but it got mixed with drama. Free to say that now.

Everyone thought I meant Mathews but I was referencing Chicago. And thus Obama.

Also someone said earlier the stuff during the CBA with Sarver wasn't true. That is not the case. Many owners but especially players do not like Sarver. And he was mega pro-owner.

That's not exactly what I said. My understanding is that either the Lakers or the Knicks owner broke protocol and served their own agenda by leaking a story to Bill Simmons that was only partially true. The article Simmons wrote had a lot to do with the players hating Sarver as they and everyone else at the time accepted it as gospel. Prior to that article, he was mostly just viewed as a clown.

Simmons was led to believe that Sarver was leading the charge to break the back of the players but in fact, Sarver and Gilbert were mostly just standing in the way of the richer franchises. Yes, they wanted to reduce the players share (as did most owners) but there were many issues on the table, not just this one and Dolan(?) made it look like they were against everything the players wanted.

According to Stern (who can't stand Sarver), Robert was actually the one leading the charge to find middle ground and again, according to Stern, there probably wouldn't have been a season if it hadn't been for Sarver. But the most important thing as far as fans should be concerned is that Gilbert and Sarver are the main reasons that negotiations didn't result in an open market allowing the rich teams to buy the players they wanted without restriction and without luxury fines. The Stern comments I referenced are out there somewhere but I have trouble sifting through all the Sterling/Sarver articles when I search for Donald and Robert. Hopefully, someone with better search skills can find Stern's quotes.

This is about the only Stern quote I could find right now, it's apparently from a Coro interview via The Bright Side of the Suns.

"He's very honest and direct," NBA Commissioner David Stern said of Sarver. "I'm not sure I'd nominate him for the diplomatic corps, but I would want him with me on anything important, as far as anything with business, directives, integrity or creativeness."

Stern said Sarver always advocated compromise and that his banking background helped the league analyze the cost of a lost season against a shortened one. Stern said Sarver's drive for compromise was "opposite" of public perception.

[Cutter]

He will be.

Remember when the Hawks pick from the JJ trade was Top-3 protected and the Hawks were awful?
They made it to 3# and drafted Al Horford right after Kevin Durant. Next year, they made it to the playoffs and we got 15# instead - Robin Lopez.
It's not like we're lacking youth or out of picks. McD decided now would be a good time to cash in, with the pick likely netting us a lesser player than Knight (no matter his price), and I trust him. The Clippers fan of all people should be aware of his talent evaluation skills - Eric Bledsoe says hi.

But you gave up the chance to have franchise calibre talent. That's what the NBA is built upon. You don't cash in on pure gold. I mean come on. Well, if the Lakers are good next year then it vindicates McD, but as it stands right now, not looking good.

And you didn't get Bledsoe because of McD's talent evaluation. You got him because Doc is a stupid GM.

How does it not look good? Franchise caliber talent? The Suns did not give up the number one pick in the draft. It is top five protected this year and then top three protected the next two years after that. Chances are that pick will never be better than the fourth pick in the draft. Is the fourth pick in the draft good? Of course. But the Suns valued Brandon Knight more than whoever they could have gotten with the pick whether it be this year or next year or the year after that. That is the point. Ryan McDonough has already proven himself as an excellent talent evaluator. He was on the radio a few weeks ago saying he is not excited about this year's draft and was much higher on last year's draft.

The Suns want to get better right now. They already have a franchise center in Alex Len and two young players with major upside in Goodwin and Warren. Plus they own the rights to Bogdan Bogdanovich in Europe. They will have their own pick in this year's draft. The entire core of the team is 20-25. How many more young players do they need? Their biggest need right now is veteran leadership.

You know what is pure gold? The 2021 unprotected first round draft pick from Miami. The top seven protected 2017 pick from Miami is great, but the unprotected one is the best. Sure it is far away. But it is 100% unprotected. Do you know how hard it is to acquire a completely unprotected pick? Teams rarely ever give those away. When that draft rolls around many years from now, who knows what Miami is going to look like. I doubt Wade, Bosh, and Dragic are going to be winning championships together in Miami in 2021. Who knows. That pick could be the number one pick in the draft. The Heat might look back on it one day and say I cannot believe we traded those two draft picks for Goran Dragic. What were we thinking. We just gave up the number one pick in the draft.

Spot on. Really nice post.

[Cutter]

I was immediately pumped by the Suns getting a 1st round pick that is top 7 protected early, then unprotected in 2021 for Goran Dragic and felt that McD once again **** over another GM in a trade.

[Revived]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/570088423949643776[/tweet]

dont know if anyone posted this, it was after the win

he is active on social media, something to look forward too

he retweets a lot of things bout the Heat

Promise-land in Miami is the Championship, not the playoffs. Goran was in Phoenix far too long

Ugh I hate that this is true.

[Revived]

Can people stop bitching about Goran's comments now?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Gambo987/status/571446670572982273[/tweet]

[Cutter]

Classy move Goran.

[saintEscaton]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Goran_Dragic/status/570088423949643776[/tweet]

dont know if anyone posted this, it was after the win

he is active on social media, something to look forward too

he retweets a lot of things bout the Heat

Promise-land in Miami is the Championship, not the playoffs. Goran was in Phoenix far too long

Ugh I hate that this is true.

Lol the Heat arent some legendary franchise with a history of being contenders . Before the Big 3 era , the only time they made it to the Finals was '06 and even then a prime Wade needed Shaq and a bunch of proven veteran FAs to win it. They're not entitled to squat.

[bwgood77]

Promise-land in Miami is the Championship, not the playoffs. Goran was in Phoenix far too long

Ugh I hate that this is true.

Lol the Heat arent some legendary franchise with a history of being contenders . Before the Big 3 era , the only time they made it to the Finals was '06 and even then a prime Wade needed Shaq and a bunch of proven veteran FAs to win it. They're not entitled to squat.

True, they get LeBron and win a couple of titles and suddenly that's their standard? He leaves and they have a losing record and now without Bosh most likely won't make the playoffs. Haslem has to be about the worst starting PF in the league except for whoever Philly puts on the floor. And they have no depth

With a healthy Bosh, and the addition of Dragic, they would have been relevant and a potential tough first round opponent. But without a frontcourt, they are toast.

[DirtyDez]

I like Knight but I don't think he's special. To each his own but I'd rather have Ennis, the pick and cap space. I would rather go after Harris with that money.

[Revived]

Robert Sarver: Channing Frye gave Phoenix Suns 3 minutes to match Magic's offer

In July, the Orlando Magic lured Channing Frye away from the Phoenix Suns, signing the unrestricted free agent to a four-year, $32 million contract.

Some Suns fans may still wonder why the team didn't match the Magic's offer for the versatile power forward. On Friday, Suns owner Robert Sarver provided some rather revealing clarification.

"To be honest with you, we didn't really even have a chance," Sarver told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "He had mentioned he was interested in coming back, and then when he was talking to Orlando, he just called and said, 'Hey, you've got three minutes to match this offer.'"

http://arizonasports.com/41/1811585/Rob ... gics-offer

I know a lot of advanced stats geeks love Frye but wow, what an ass!

[sunsbum]

Yea 3 minutes was long enough to say "uh no"
Frye: "well aren't you going to see what Ryan has to s...."
Sarver: "No, just..no."

[Son of Ra]

Robert Sarver: Channing Frye gave Phoenix Suns 3 minutes to match Magic's offer

In July, the Orlando Magic lured Channing Frye away from the Phoenix Suns, signing the unrestricted free agent to a four-year, $32 million contract.

Some Suns fans may still wonder why the team didn't match the Magic's offer for the versatile power forward. On Friday, Suns owner Robert Sarver provided some rather revealing clarification.

"To be honest with you, we didn't really even have a chance," Sarver told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "He had mentioned he was interested in coming back, and then when he was talking to Orlando, he just called and said, 'Hey, you've got three minutes to match this offer.'"

http://arizonasports.com/41/1811585/Rob ... gics-offer

I know a lot of advanced stats geeks love Frye but wow, what an ass!

Honestly surprised by that, wow. Especially for a player that has missed a whole season due to health reasons. I know in the NBA you are entitled to make that money but still. You get millions for being out, received the best medical treatment available, could have been waved with the medical clause which would basically have been the end of your career, are given a chance to play again and then you give that team three minutes to match an overblown offer via phone? On top of that you bitch about the team not having wanted you back bad enough?
Good riddance.

[kennydorglas]

And Frye talked smack to our FO too
'feels disrespected'

hahaha

[letsgosuns]

Brutally honest interview from Sarver. I am surprised he said some of the stuff he said. Took a shot at Frye by saying he thinks the Suns are better off without him anyway. I agree with that but I was still surprised he said it publicly. I was not expecting that.

[RunDogGun]

It's not a matter of liking him or not, he clearly made us a better team, over multiple years. Bottom line, he wasn't worth $8 million a year. But trying to argue against him making us better, is stupid.

[Revived]

Dragic is destroying the Pelicans single handedly, my God.

Dragic trying to hell the Suns playoffs hopes by beating Pelicans lol.

[toucansma]

Brutally honest interview from Sarver. I am surprised he said some of the stuff he said. Took a shot at Frye by saying he thinks the Suns are better off without him anyway. I agree with that but I was still surprised he said it publicly. I was not expecting that.

I don't know about you guys, but in the last few years at least, I think Sarver has been pretty straight forward about things (not saying he is right, but at least appears to have been honest). After listening to Sarver compared to some of my Babby's comments, I wonder if players such as Dragic have more of a problem with Babby/McD than Sarver. Compare 3 points in press conference vs Sarver's.

I am paraphrasing the statements. I could be off on my memory. Just the way they are handling stuff is so different.

1. Babby/McD: It is not like this trade (Knight) came together out of thin air at the last minute
Sarver: This trade came about in the last 4 minutes (he did mentioned they discussed it before).

2. Babby:/McD Goran did not give us a list/tell us about destinations
Sarver: We only had some places that Goran wanted to go to, and Miami only one offering picks

3. Babby/McD: Dragic got a case of the me's.
Sarver: It was agent speak, and Dragic came to apologize to me. It wasn't that big of a deal.

[Flying Colors]

I like Knight but I don't think he's special. To each his own but I'd rather have Ennis, the pick and cap space. I would rather go after Harris with that money.

We still can go after Harris

[letsgosuns]

Dragic is destroying the Pelicans single handedly, my God.

Dragic trying to hell the Suns playoffs hopes by beating Pelicans lol.

Dragic had 14 points and 3 assists in the first half tonight. He had 6 points and 2 assists in the second half. Same type of stuff he did throughout this year on the Suns where he disappeared in the second half. He was also outplayed by Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon. I watched the game. He looks nothing like he did last year. Last year he could completely take over a game and dominate. I do not know what has happened to him. I remember how he would routinely beat his man off the dribble and create separation for a wide open step back jump shot last year. I hardly ever see him do that anymore. Regardless, he sure as hell looks nothing like a max player. Not even close. He does not even look anything close to an all star.

[Revived]

Dragic is destroying the Pelicans single handedly, my God.

Dragic trying to hell the Suns playoffs hopes by beating Pelicans lol.

Dragic had 14 points and 3 assists in the first half tonight. He had 6 points and 2 assists in the second half. Same type of stuff he did throughout this year on the Suns where he disappeared in the second half. He was also outplayed by Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon. I watched the game. He looks nothing like he did last year. Last year he could completely take over a game and dominate. I do not know what has happened to him. I remember how he would routinely beat his man off the dribble and create separation for a wide open step back jump shot last year. I hardly ever see him do that anymore. Regardless, he sure as hell looks nothing like a max player. Not even close. He does not even look anything close to an all star.

Dragic had 20 & 5, same thing he averaged in his All NBA season last year.

And Nobody on the Pelicans could stop him, that's why the Heat fans are all pissed in their GD thread about him not getting the ball to close it out instead of Wade hogging it.