Should we keep O'Neal?

[Tricky_Kid]

We should trade him now when his value is higher then supposed to be (i mean 34yo, injuries etc). This season is over with or without a legit C. The same about Gortat. He looks like He doesn't care anymore. He isn't as bad as He is playing now. Besides if we don't sell him today we left with nothing right? I'm sure He won't resign with PHO

[rsavaj]

Marc Stein says that O'Neal wants to stay here and won't request a buyout.

[bigfoot]

Probably need to change this thread to should we re-sign O'Neal.

Over his career he has been injured often. He came into the league and has 300 less regular season games than Kobe. That's like four seasons worth not counting playoffs !!! His mileage is comparatively low and with the Suns training staff he certainly could have quite a few good years left on the bones.

I think it is worth trading Gortat for picks/youth and offering O'Neal a two year contract. He's is only 34 and that is young compared to other veteran bigs (Wallace, Camby, Duncan, Thomas)

[bigfoot]

Good article on O'Neal. Apparently Hunter wants him for two more years.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/heatind ... ghter.html

[Frank Lee]

.......
I think it is worth trading Gortat for picks/youth and offering O'Neal a two year contract. He's is only 34 and that is young compared to other veteran bigs (Wallace, Camby, Duncan, Thomas)

Certainly worth considering and probably the best option we have to get valid assets with a trade. ONeal's resurgence has created yet another option.

The fact that Atlanta needs a Center and a solid vet like Duds, and the numbers work, is scary. I hesitate about embracing anything to do with Smith.

[Saberestar]

In my opinion, he is not playing with a contender right now because he has some verbal contract with our FO for the next year.
I would like to have JO two more years, but with a good young center next to him or at least Gortat.

[King Of Wang]

Trade him for a draft pick if you can. He is good but doesn't belong on a rebuilding team at all. We will not even compete for anything for a few years at least and he may be out of the league by then. Sell high!!!

I know how good Jermaine can be because I followed Reggie Miller religiously when I was younger and Jermaine was schooling everyone with him. It was a beauty to watch and if Mister Peace didn't have to be a psycho and jump into the stands and assault fans, I strongly believe Indy would have won the chip that year. His game didn't even rely that much on athleticism so I am not surprised to see him playing well at this age. Dude doesn't deserve this team

[Frank Lee]

Trade him for a draft pick if you can......

ONeal ? or theGORTAT... I do not think we have any ability to sign and trade ONeal, but there is reason to believe he can make theG expendable, and thus create an opportunity to do as you say.

... Dude doesn't deserve this team

And yet he chose to stay Go figure that one out. In fact, he had rather good things to say about his teammates and their talents. But what does he know, right? He's not the King of anything.

[bigfoot]

.......
I think it is worth trading Gortat for picks/youth and offering O'Neal a two year contract. He's is only 34 and that is young compared to other veteran bigs (Wallace, Camby, Duncan, Thomas)

Certainly worth considering and probably the best option we have to get valid assets with a trade. ONeal's resurgence has created yet another option.

The fact that Atlanta needs a Center and a solid vet like Duds, and the numbers work, is scary. I hesitate about embracing anything to do with Smith.

After watching Smith play against us and the Lakers I would be very reluctant to pick him up. What I hope is that OKC misses the finals this year and Perkins is schooled by Duncan or another Western conference center. That really makes Gortat enticing for OKC. Can you say Gortat for Toronto 1st rounder and Perkins. Maybe even Lamb or Jones thrown in to boot.

[LewisnotMiller]

Wow...I'm pretty sure the Suns front office should just start trading in/picking up every injury prone player in the world, keep them for a year, let the medico's do their magic, and then trade them for about $10 on the dollar.

JO was trash for us 99% of the time he played with the Celts. Obviously has some skill, but legs were trash, and he seemed resigned to never being fit. Looks like a different guy now. I estimate you could have 147 first round picks in the next 10 years if you just start trawling hospital wards for basketball players to fix and trade. Like a scrap yard.

[RunDogGun]

Wow...I'm pretty sure the Suns front office should just start trading in/picking up every injury prone player in the world, keep them for a year, let the medico's do their magic, and then trade them for about $10 on the dollar.

JO was trash for us 99% of the time he played with the Celts. Obviously has some skill, but legs were trash, and he seemed resigned to never being fit. Looks like a different guy now. I estimate you could have 147 first round picks in the next 10 years if you just start trawling hospital wards for basketball players to fix and trade. Like a scrap yard.

We do have a great med staff, but the procedure in Germany should also get some credit for JO's improvements.

[King Of Wang]

Trade him for a draft pick if you can......

ONeal ? or theGORTAT... I do not think we have any ability to sign and trade ONeal, but there is reason to believe he can make theG expendable, and thus create an opportunity to do as you say.

... Dude doesn't deserve this team

And yet he chose to stay Go figure that one out. In fact, he had rather good things to say about his teammates and their talents. But what does he know, right? He's not the King of anything.

I was talking about JO, but both would be even better!! We don't need solid veterans on a re-building team. We need to clean house and build a young team that can grow together and obtain high draft picks to hopefully land that franchise player that can carry us for the next 10-15 years. Next year's tank is really important imo, if we can trade JO, Gortat, and Scola for some draft picks, we would be in GREAT position to land Wiggins or one of the other top consolation pieces. Then all of our young players can grow together too and we can potentially build a team like OKC. The key is getting high draft picks and scouting properly to hit on those picks. And i don't care if JO wants to stay, the team conquers all (unless you are a team hero like MVSteve then your feelings should be put into account). If he is going to hurt our draft pick and stunt the playing time and development of young players then I don't want him here. Trade him to a contender and I bet you he will be happy there too. We could definitely pull a first for Gortat at least, Scola and JO potentially could haul us another first rounder each as well (if the receiving team are contenders). Just imagine if we trade them all, recieve 3 first rounders AND be in the Wiggins sweepstakes!!!!! That would be truly incredible and we can start competing again within 2-3 years with all young talent. We could even put all three recieved picks together and trade those up as well for another great pick OR trade them for a star player. The possibilities would be endless and that is why I miss BC here. He was willing to make bold moves all the time, even though some failed, he always tried to make the team better and was a gun-slinger. Ask Houston about being aggressive, they are building a solid team and Suns FO is the most conservative and pathetic I have ever seen. The only bold moves they make are trading OUR superstars to other teams for junk

I really feel that if we trade JO, Gortat and Scola for picks we will be in GREAT position for the future and the re-build will be much less painful and quicker

[Moochthemonkey]

^JO is on a one year deal, he can't be traded. Unless they do a sign-and-trade, but that's highly unlikely considering how old he is. As for Gortat, Scola, and JD, and even Channing now that he's on his last year (I think), even Beasley, they should all considered to be moved for draft picks or young players at this point. But it's not that easy to shop *all* of them. Also I would prefer if they could all be packaged for a #1-10 pick and an expiring contract instead of having multiple mid to late firsts, but then again the more you roll in a crapshoot the more likely it is to roll a win.

[King Of Wang]

^JO is on a one year deal, he can't be traded. Unless they do a sign-and-trade, but that's highly unlikely considering how old he is. As for Gortat, Scola, and JD, and even Channing now that he's on his last year (I think), even Beasley, they should all considered to be moved for draft picks or young players at this point. But it's not that easy to shop *all* of them. Also I would prefer if they could all be packaged for a #1-10 pick and an expiring contract instead of having multiple mid to late firsts, but then again the more you roll in a crapshoot the more likely it is to roll a win.

Exactly. As long as you keep stocking up draft picks and only playing young players and developing them then in the future you can package those pieces for something much larger later. That is the point we are trying to make. Gortat, JO, Duds and Scola are doing nothing to help us on this team except take playing time away from our players that need it. You can't develop properly without playing time. Rondo would not be the star he is today without all of the burn Boston gave him from the beginning

[Moochthemonkey]

Basketball players cannot play an entire 48 minutes. They can also set a good example, both in the locker room and while on the court with the younger players. I also do not feel that Gortat and Dudley have peaked yet, but at this point I feel its better for the future if they were traded (IF the right trade comes along). Also, Gortat and JO aren't taking playing time from anyone this year, they are the only centers on this team- unless if you believe Hamed Haddadi (or Luke Zeller, retrospectively) is part of future plans. And that's only been until recently that we've had a third center to play to begin with.

[King Of Wang]

Basketball players cannot play an entire 48 minutes. They can also set a good example, both in the locker room and while on the court with the younger players. I also do not feel that Gortat and Dudley have peaked yet, but at this point I feel its better for the future if they were traded (IF the right trade comes along). Also, Gortat and JO aren't taking playing time from anyone this year, they are the only centers on this team- unless if you believe Hamed Haddadi (or Luke Zeller, retrospectively) is part of future plans. And that's only been until recently that we've had a third center to play to begin with.

That is why you sign vets like Jarron Collins lol. You get the vet leadership without the tank destruction

This clown roster is all the FO's doing. And I would rather play Haddadi more than JO because he is young and we can see what he can bring to the table that way. We already know what JO will do, he won't get any better obviously. Haddadi is a question mark still, he hasn't been given any opportunities in this league. I see some potential in him, he can be a solid role player/backup big man in the future with more time and development