Gentry said it himself last night...

[SunsWinSunsWin]

The problem with this year's Suns has been that they cannot maintain their offense down the stretch. Gentry went on to state that we don't have a legit big we can throw the ball to to get us a score or get to the line, IE Dirk. (What he really meant was the fact we let go of Amare for nothing)

Look up the exact quote if you must, but if you read between the lines Gentry was referring to losing Amare and he is exactly right.

Gentry is a good coach. He should stay and be given a team that can actually compete with the contenders on a nightly basis. I'll only knock Gentry for overplaying Carter when it was obvious the guy is a blackhole and should just be waived. Starting Lopez wasn't a big deal since Gortat got plenty of minutes.

The Suns woes start and end with the owner. Sarver needs to understand that a team can only be successful if there is security within the roster (no more multiple trades and huge revamps every season) and he needs to start offering max deals to max type players. Would he offer a max deal to Zach Randolph? No way but he should. Imagine a front court of Frye, Gortat, and Randolph. We would be solid.

The front office is just a bunch of yes men to the main problem, Sarver. He was at the game last night and I watched him sitting there as the Suns gave the game away at the end. It was great to see him sitting with his head bent back as far as he could, staring at the ceiling, probably contemplating the dumb decisions he has made over the last several seasons.

Suns are not getting any big time FAs in 2012. Zach Randolph is available in the summer. GET HIM IN HERE NOW! 2nd choice would be a David West (even though his height could be a problem) and if neither, Josh Smith. Adding one of these three players and bringing in an average SG (J-Rich at 6 to 7mil for 4 years) and this team would compete for a 4 seed or higher next season.

[Saberestar]

I agree with SunsWinSunsWin.
Gentry is a good coach and no one could make more with this roster.

[carey]

Suns are not getting any big time FAs in 2012. Zach Randolph is available in the summer. GET HIM IN HERE NOW! 2nd choice would be a David West (even though his height could be a problem) and if neither, Josh Smith. Adding one of these three players and bringing in an average SG (J-Rich at 6 to 7mil for 4 years) and this team would compete for a 4 seed or higher next season.

You seem to be fairly knowledgeable, so I don't really know why you think they have the money to sign any of those guys. I think the Suns will have about $5M after they buy out Vince Carter and include the cap hold for our lottery pick. Or they could renounce their cap room and use the MLE. That's all. That's their two options. None of those guys are signing here for that. Hell they can't even get Kris Humphries for that.

[thamadkant]

Lol at Zach Randolph...

look, he is a good player, but he isnt the type the Suns should invest in long term.

The Suns finally got their Center in Gortat, he is 27 years old, so he is fairly young.

What the Suns need to do is re-tool for a run in 2-3 seasons time.

Meaning going for Players that are coming off their ROOKIE contracts, not just any players but Franchise players. The Suns will have the role players, the cap space and an appealing city and franchise to entice a new CORE of players that can carry the team for the next decade... Zach Randolph is not that player. Next season the Suns SHOULD be rebuilding and stacking up on young players.... not established players that are not very high impact to their teams...



And No-$hit, losing Stoudemire and not getting a replacement would hurt the Suns... Gentry is looking for an excuse... what he should be DOING or have done, is adapted... actually create plays...

There are a few teams that doesnt have Interior scorers like Stoudemire that are playing well and are in the playoffs.... Dirk Nowitski is a BAD example of a BIG man to go to inside... the guy does his damage from the 15-20 foot range.....

Bottomline, Suns lost Stoudemire, but didnt replace him with anyone.... Hakim Warrick doesnt count...

Imagine Millsap or David West.... those players would of been good replacements.... especially next to Gortat... who IS a 15/11/2 center... I have to say... probably Suns BEST REAL Center for 20 years...

[thamadkant]

Look at the FA wish list... for ideal "new" core for the Suns future.

[JTrain]

I still say that the Suns are in position to get a top four seed and contend for the West next year, if Nash stays.

1. If Brooks continues to get more comfortable here he can take more minutes off Nash and keep Nash healthy longer into the season.

2. Hill is still playing at a suitably high level. If Nash returns, you would think Hill sticks around for one more season. He's averaged 30 min a game for 70 games this season and is still playing great defense in late March. That's a good sign.

3. Both Gortat and Frye are coming into their prime. Gortat hasn't even been here for 50 games, and look at where he's at. Eighteen straight games (and counting) with double digit points-- I don't imagine any other bench player in the league has pulled that off this season.

4. Childress has looked promising in limited time.

5. Lopez has nowhere to go but up.

6. We are missing one piece. We need an offensive threat that can create his own shot when our offense falls out of rhythm (Nash being out, the opp. defense shutting down the PNR game or our 3-pt shooters going cold, etc.). Whether it's a smaller SG/SF who can face a guy up and blow by him, or a bigger PF with a great back-down post game, we need somebody that can take over an offensive play when everyone else just stands around and looks out of it (which seems to happen several times every game). Doesn't necessarily have to be an All-Star a la Stoudemire.

7. Phil Jackson is gone.

[JohnVancouver]

I still say we should have gone after Rip H and Maxiell when Detroit was trying to move Hamilton.

Here's a question - if we trade VC after, what is it? - June 1 - then whoever takes him can buy him out? Or is it that once we passed the trade deadline, we can only buy him out?

If not, then that's one way to get someone like Randolph, and I would not be unhappy with that - he's proved himself in Memphis.

It's very strange that we can take an $18 million player, buy him out for $4 mil and not have the other $14 mil to spend but - that's the CBA ... as currently constituted .... who knows what lurks ahead?

But back to the issue at hand - yeah, we need an actual PF, who can bang on defense, rebound, pas sout of the post and score points. Except for the defense, it's David lee. He looks kind of bargain-ish right now, doesn't he?

[RunDogGun]

John, couldn't we use our TPEs to get some guys after buying out Carter?

[JohnVancouver]

John, couldn't we use our TPEs to get some guys after buying out Carter?

no idea - you can't combine them, i don't believe, and you can't use them with another player as in this guy plus the $5mil exception fior the $8mil player -

we have some good capologists here - anyone?

[RunDogGun]

Well I know we can't combine them to get a player, but we can use them to get decent players if we have difficulty after buying out Carter. The only real problem is being stuck with Warrick.

[RunDogGun]

We still have $5.7 million from Stat and $1.8 million from Clark. I am not sure if we can get anyone of value from Clark's money, but we could get someone with Stats TPE. Heck I'f a team can get Beasley for a second rounder, we have to be able to get something with our TPEs.

[lilfishi22]

I think it's pretty clear he was referring to Amare. It's alright during the game when it's all about runs, but when it comes to crunch time, we're still shooting jumpers. Gortat has gotten a lot better at the PnR but other than the PnR we have no one we can dump to ball down to and ask to create. So we have to rely on Nash, who would've been basically carrying the team the entire game already.

What we need is someone who is competent in the low post. Preferably also a decent defender and have an OK mid range shot to spread the floor. Gortat can take care of the rebounding and PnR offense.

I'd really like to get Millsap here but I'm not sure how. Also I read on wiretap Utah was thinking about using him at the 3??? It's been reported that he's got pretty decent and improving handles and his jumper is money. I'm really not sure how that will work out.

When does the TPE's expire? One year?

[sunskerr]

I'd like to start off first by saying that I believe Gentry is the right man for the coaching job. He brings a unique blend of depth and effective offense. Basically, he's fine tuning our older system to get everyone, or most of the players involved by using 9 or 10 man rotations. He's a relatively young coach, and so I think a lot of the younger players on our squad relate to that. Now onto the Amare stuff:

How exactly does one replace Amare Stoudemire?

Blake Griffin?

Ok, so one does not replace Amare Stoudemire. But I think pursuing Jrich is the best option, if we're thinking short term. Zach Randolph is a total stiff. He would not do well here. Jrich however is a proven guy and will give us the most production. However, I do not think that he would sign here(or anywhere) for $6-$7m. There will most likely be teams ready to throw $8m at him, and I think that is just out of our range.

I'd absolutely love Josh Smith here. He's like a combination of Marion and Amare. The only problem I see(and it's a big one) is that he literally cannot shoot at all. He is a bad jumpshooter, 3 point shooter and free throw shooter.

Another guy I'd like to get back here, or have a player similar to, would be Lou Amundson. He's a defensive anchor off the bench and he really gets our other guys motivated and playing well. But wait, it gets better! He doesn't cost very much at all.

I really love the pieces we have here. Okay, so maybe Lopez isn't that good, but we've got some of the best role players in the league. Jared Dudley shoots 40% from 3 and Gortat was killing it off the bench with double-doubles. He's still doing that now, against starters(Dallas, nonetheless). I think the ideal situation, short term wise(and most of you would probably agree) is to have Jrich back, with a good power forward.

This is still effective long term however, because when Nash and Hill retire, we'd have a little more money and would again only be another player from contending again. Now, obviously looking back, signing Childress and Warrick have really hurt us. We're looking at $4.5m over 4 years now. That is money we could have thrown at post defense, which is something we still lack.

[Mac1]

randolph would kill it here..like he killed griffin every time he played him..he can play D as well.

Blake griffin has no Basketball IQ..randolph despite a sketchy past behavior wise does. hes a PF and they have longevity. SG's dont..so id rather have a young SG like dorrell wright instead of J rich.

[sunskerr]

Dorell Wright here would be beyond incredible.

edit: but good luck prying him from the clutches of GS though

[DRK]

I'd absolutely love Josh Smith here. He's like a combination of Marion and Amare. The only problem I see(and it's a big one) is that he literally cannot shoot at all. He is a bad jumpshooter, 3 point shooter and free throw shooter.

Actually, you'll be surprised about that. If there's one thing that Smith has improved on tremendouesly this season is his 3 point shooting and his shooting in general. This season he's averaging almost 1 three a game, while shooting at 35% beyond the arc. If he keeps on working on the 3, he would help our offence tremendously because he would be able to spread the floor.

Atlanta are a team going downhill. Their window is closed, to be brutally honest. JJ's contract is also cap-killing, meaning they would have an enourmously large payroll for a non-contending team.

The real question here is how do we get him?
I would propose our first round lottery pick, a re-signed Aaron Brooks, and Robin Lopez. That gives them some nice young pieces to work with, but I still dont know if they will accept.

[sunskerr]

Actually, you'll be surprised about that. If there's one thing that Smith has improved on tremendouesly this season is his 3 point shooting and his shooting in general. This season he's averaging almost 1 three a game, while shooting at 35% beyond the arc. If he keeps on working on the 3, he would help our offence tremendously because he would be able to spread the floor.

Atlanta are a team going downhill. Their window is closed, to be brutally honest. JJ's contract is also cap-killing, meaning they would have an enourmously large payroll for a non-contending team.

The real question here is how do we get him?
I would propose our first round lottery pick, a re-signed Aaron Brooks, and Robin Lopez. That gives them some nice young pieces to work with, but I still dont know if they will accept.

Well that's really great that he's improved his shooting game. He was always very raw to begin with. I think some time over here with the great shooters on our team would service his game to leaps and bounds above the rest.

I dont think they'd want Aaron Brooks from us. As of now, they have already have Kirk Hinrich, who's locked for a few more years, and then also Jeff Teague, who is an even younger prospect who's shown some signs this year.

I think they'd be interested in Josh Childress. Here's a guy who would bring some defense and length to a hawks team which would lose some if they traded Josh Smith. I think they'd love to pair Lopez with Horford though, and they'd have a pretty big lineup. Carter is always attractice, because if they're on the downside looking for some cap relief to get more pieces, then he takes 10m off their books. He and Smith earn nearly the same amount, with Smith at 11m and Carter(I think @ 14m).

[RunDogGun]

Carter is set to make $18 million next year if not bought out. But he will be.

[JohnVancouver]

Carter is set to make $18 million next year if not bought out. But he will be.

We got $3mil cash with the trade that brought us VC, so we can soften the blow if we do find someone to take him. Is there anyone who wants to dump salary, who has anything we want in a big contract(s)?

[lilfishi22]

I think Sarver is about as desperate for a salary dump, in light of a new CBA, as any other owner in the NBA. Can't see him trading VC deal, even if we did find someone interested.