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Phoenix Suns
With the benefit of hindsight, how do you feel about your team's draft?
Most Suns fans really wanted Josh Jackson before the draft and were very happy that he was refusing workouts with the Celtics because he had a promise from another team (most definitely the Suns) that he would get ample playing time. At the time, I could see why he wouldn't want to go to the Celtics because of scarce playing time which could affect his growth and maybe even his next contract.
I however, did not want Josh Jackson because while I felt the Suns defense was bad, it would likely get better if we also had good offense. I really wanted Jayson Tatum because he had a smoothness to his game that reminded me of Devin Booker and I thought the pairing would compliment each other well. Obviously now looking back, I can gloat and say how right I would have been.
Unfortunately that doesn't do much help for the Suns now, so I just have to accept that the Suns took Josh Jackson with the 4th pick in the draft. While he has definitely struggled with his shot, he has been showing flashes on both sides of the court of what his potential can be, such as grabbing rebounds and taking the ball up the court to find a teammate cutting to the basket (vs Kings made alley-oop pass to Chriss from about half court), playing stellar defense on all-stars (stole the ball from Harden). He is very wild driving to the basket and almost has no control, his ball-handling is loose, but I believe these can be taken care of over the off-season while gaining some strength. His real big issues is his lack of mechanics on his shooting form, if the Suns can take care of this issue, he can be a real threat on both sides of the court. The problem is, throughout history it is very rare for a poor FT% to be able to breakthrough and make significant changes to his shot to improve his form. I'm not confident at all, but I'm hopeful.
In the 2nd round the Suns took Davon Reed and I'm actually excited to see what he is capable of. In SL he was very impressive, having been a leader and a knockdown shooter from deep with excellent form. He can definitely be a 3 and D guy in this league, and I'm just waiting to see how he performs once he gets the chance. He's been injured since before the season started but is now playing in the Suns G-League team.
Suns also took another shooter in Alec Peters who is doing a fantastic job in the G-League. He's an undersized PF but is automatic from 3, and I want to see if he is capable of playing in the NBA. I doubt it, but we'll see.
How have your FA signings panned out so far?
Suns kept Alan Williams which is a feel-good story. He played in High School in the Phoenix area (my brother actually went to the same HS), and his mom is the captain of the Phoenix Police Department, or something like that. This is great so if any players get caught drinking out in town, just tell the cop to call the captain and she'll let em off the hook. Really smart move by signing her son! But no really, Alan Williams was a great hustle player last year and was a motivator off the bench. It's too bad he's out for the year.
Alex Len was signed to the qualifying offer and has been playing great this season despite still only playing a low amount of minutes. Suns fans are still wary as am I about whether or not he only looks good because he's playing for a contract. He has simplified his game this season which shows in his productivity, such as not shooting mid-range jumpers anymore, just rebounding, guarding the paint. Hopefully the Suns are able to keep him around.
Mike James was awful. Just the way he carried himself on the court it just appeared he wanted everyone to know that he belongs in the league, when he clearly didn't. He had several decent games but I think it was only because of the lack of scouting by the opposing team. Glad the Suns cut him.
Any offseason/in-season trades to evaluate?
Troy Daniels was a great under the radar type move. The Suns traded a conditional 2nd round pick (protected 31-55) for Troy Daniels and a 2nd round pick, I believe the Grizzlies made the move simply for cap space as the Suns outgoing pick will likely not be conveyed. Daniels has been great as a three point specialist, making 81 3's total for the year, which is actually 1/4 of all the three made by the Suns.
Bledsoe trade sucked. Supposedly there was an offer by the Nuggets on draft day to trade Eric Bledsoe for Mudiay and the 13th pick. That would have been great value looking back, however I believe the Suns didn't make the deal because they were also considering trading Bledsoe and the 4th pick for Kyrie, which would be an immediate all-star/superstar next to Booker. Now looking back (again), I would have even preferred the Nuggets trade because of who was selected at 13, though obviously the Suns may not have taken Mitchell. Still though, a pairing of Booker/Mitchell would have been very very fun.
Moving on to the actual trade, I guess the Suns got okay value given the situation. Monroe's expiring could be used to trade for a star by the trade deadline, or just simply let him expire and it gives the Suns enough cap space to go after a top tier free agent. We will see if the Suns utilize either option or if they just continue sitting on their hands and hope another draft pick pans out.
Isaiah Canaan was signed during the season and has been doing a good enough job as PG to stay with the Suns the rest of the year. He looks a lot better than Mike James controlling the tempo of the offense and just doing all the things PG's need to be doing.
Most teams had offseason goals, whether it was contention, making the playoffs, or developing (or some combination thereof). What was your team's plan? Has it changed?
Suns plan was to stay bad and develop the youth and hopefully get another top 3-5 pick. Though the Suns owner, Robert Sarver mentioned a day before the season started he wanted us to be competitive and fight for a playoff spot. The Suns plan hasn't changed, though with Booker's rapid development and being very efficient this year, I believe the Suns should question whether or not we should expedite this movement and maybe make some plays to get us into the playoffs in the next season. Suns GM Ryan McDonough, has been better at grabbing quality players in the mid-range picks taking TJ Warren with the 14th pick in the 2014 draft, and taking Devin Booker with the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. As opposed to taking Dragan Bender with the 4th pick and Chriss with the 8th pick in the 2016 draft, and Josh Jackson with the 4th pick in the latest draft.
PREVIEW
Given where your team is now, what is your outlook for 2017-18?
Suns fired Earl Watson three games into the season. He should have been fired a long long long time ago. He was never very good at making plays, and I didn't see any improvement from our youth with him and I actually think he stalled Dragan Bender's development last year, though Bender wasn't really ready anyway. After promoting Jay Triano as interim head coach for the rest of the season, you can actually see some improvements in all of our players. He holds them accountable for their actions such as immediately pulling Josh Jackson for missing a defensive assignment, or pulling Chriss from the game due to complaining too much. I don't think JT is the best coach out there, but given the circumstances he is doing a fantastic job with the team.
As for my outlook for the rest of the season, I just want to see the young Suns play some basketball while improving their game. Lately I have seen Bender gain confidence, Chriss is in better shape, Warren is playing at a high-level, and Booker would be an all-star if the team's record was better. If the Suns finish with the 8th-10th pick in the draft, that's fine with me as I'm not an avid tank enthusiast. Some fans believe we will still end up with a top 3-5 worst record in the league, but I think Devin Booker will make sure that doesn't happen. I hope we can hover around 40% win rate the rest of the season which would give the Suns around 32 wins for the season.
What are your team's greatest needs? List positions, skillsets, etc. Being as specific as possible (even including specific names) will help the board create better trade proposals!
Suns need a PG badly. This is something the Suns could potentially get in the draft, or maybe by trade. I'd prefer trading for Dennis Schroder as he's on a good contract and he's still young enough to fit into the Suns "timeline", other fans would say to wait in the draft and hope for Trae Young. Kemba Walker has popped up a couple of times on the Suns board, though even though I have even mentioned a couple of trades for him I don't think he really improves the team enough to make us a top 4-5 team in the West. I would trade Brandon Knight and several 1st round picks to for Kemba as that doesn't hurt the Suns cap space this summer and could potentially sign a top tier free agent. The problem with this though, is we are basically playing with fire. Hoping a backcourt duo of Kemba/Booker would be able to net an all-star in free agency, while also knowing that Kemba would expire in 2019 and demand a huge raise. If the Suns didn't net a solid free agent and Kemba walked in 2019, the Suns are left with nothing. It's a gamble, and I'm not sure I would make it for Kemba.
Suns could also use an upgrade at Center. There are several high quality centers in free agency such as Boogie Cousins or DeAndre Jordan. Not sure if they would join such a young team though, and I'm not entirely sure DJ would improve the team enough either by himself. The draft could also be a good spot to look depending where the Suns draft and what is on the board.
Suns could use more 3 point shooters. Suns have been struggling to shoot from 3 and get floor spacers out there. Besides Booker, Daniels, and Bender, no one else can shoot those reliably.
What are your assets on offer? Where are you deepest?
For picks, the 2018 Miami pick, the 2021 Miami pick, the 2020 Bucks pick. I say 2020 Bucks pick as it doesn't seem likely to convey in 2018 or 2019, Also, the 2018 2nd round pick from the Hornets (most likely scenario), and the 2018 2nd round pick from the Raptors.
For players, likely our best asset is Greg Monroe as he is an expiring contract this summer, but I think Jared Dudley would also be a trade-able asset as he expires next season but could also be serviceable to the right playoff team. For Dudley his value would likely only net the Suns a 2nd round pick if traded alone and depending on the player the Suns get back. I would trade any of the above for an all-star that fits within a certain range (27-28 being the oldest).
I don't believe the Suns would trade any young players on the roster as their value wouldn't net much by themselves. Though if they were to be traded, I believe Chriss would be the first out of the young guys to be on the chopping block, followed by Jackson since Warren has been playing very well, Bender would be next, and obviously Booker is untouchable. Everyone else on the roster is up for grabs though, so if I didn't list them it's because they aren't really a necessary part of the future for now (Suns future basically Booker/Bender/Warren/Jackson/Chriss).
List specific players goals for the rest of the season.
Devin Booker - I am hoping he continues his phenomenal season with averages of 26 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists on 45% FG, 39% 3FG, and 88% FT. I am secretly hoping he makes the all-star team but with the Suns poor record I doubt it.
Dragan Bender - Keep gaining confidence. His 3-ball has been at 36% this year which is solid. I think he'll be able to hover closer to 40% in the future, but for now just keep taking the open shots. Continuing to expand his game, driving to the basket, making passes, dribbling, defending, etc. Keep it simple though.
Marquese Chriss - I was really hopeful for Chriss to improve this summer but he came into SL fat and out of shape. He looked to have regressed the early stages of the season. He is starting to come around now and I hope he takes basketball more seriously over the summer. For the rest of the season I want him to lay off the fouls and play sound defense and keep doing what comes naturally on offense. Most importantly stay hungry and aggressive.
