2018 Free Agency and Trade Discussion continued

[SwingMan1938]

Brandon Knight and his offensive life-sucking, black hole/Bermuda triangle game has no business near this team and roster ever again - guy's one of the most obstinately *dumb* players I've ever witnessed on a basketball court. The guy's carbon monoxide to a team that needs to breathe.

[phrazbit]

We need to get either Dragic or McConnell, what do the Heat and 76ers need?

Dragic is selfish, not a distributor, can't play without the ball in his hands and a terrible defender. He's also clearly in decline.

McConnell I'd like... but I don't think the Sixers move him until Fultz shows a pulse.

[jcsunsfan]

I would rather have Len on this roster than Chandler.

Atlanta still overpaid - though with the profile similarities, it's nothing if not apropos that he went to the same franchise who was stuck with Jon Concak for a decade.....

SwingMan! Whoa-ho!! A celebrity sighting!! Good to you see you, player!

This is OE32 from back in the day. Gotta ask, how do you feel about the current roster and the direction of the franchise? What do you think about McD? Ayton? JJ and Bender? TJ and Chriss?

Cheers, bud! Hope all's good.

Wow. I didn’t know you were OE. Weren’t you like 15 or something when you first started posting on PSN?


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[jcsunsfan]

Atlanta still overpaid - though with the profile similarities, it's nothing if not apropos that he went to the same franchise who was stuck with Jon Concak for a decade.....

SwingMan! Whoa-ho!! A celebrity sighting!! Good to you see you, player!

This is OE32 from back in the day. Gotta ask, how do you feel about the current roster and the direction of the franchise? What do you think about McD? Ayton? JJ and Bender? TJ and Chriss?

Cheers, bud! Hope all's good.

Good to see you, OE - I pick and choose my battles these days. Otherwise, I'm rattlin', but I'm rollin'.

Far as the roster, severe imbalance is the phrase that best suits it (though snagging Holmes was a shrewd move - love every aspect of it, including freeing Dudley up to be a near-future staff member ). But McDonough still has too much Fantasy League fanboy in him to build a truly balanced roster - in the far reaches of his mind, he still seems to think that additions like Trevor Ariza (absolutely love the player, absolutely hate the fit) will automatically add 11/4 to the team regardless of fit/chemistry.

Brandon Knight and his black hole/Bermuda triangle rolled-into-one game needs to be gone in the worst way, IMO. All he does when he steps onto the court is suck any and all life out of whatever clinging vestiges of team offense there may remain. He has no business whatsoever near this team ever again - a team of youngsters still learning the game and Knight's kind of lessons are nothing but pure poison.

JJ, TJ, Bender and Chriss? They all need to be kept if possible - the whole damn team has been running on a rudderless floor of marbles the past 4 years and we need to see them in more defined roles and playing more to their strengths as opposed to Triano saying "Just don't get in each other's way" as a gameplan. A 4-man rotation at 2/3 with Booker/JJ/TJ/Mikal can be lethal given how their skills compliment each other.

Ayton? He was my guy all along should the Suns land the #1 overall pick (other half of that plan was to use whatever the hell assets we had at our disposal to grab a 2nd lotto pick high enough to snag Trae Young - if there's ever a draft to go all in and balls-to-the-wall in, the 2018 NBA Draft was it). He's got as complete a game as I've seen of any center coming in since Tim Duncan in 1997. He and Booker are the foundation - everyone else needs to try their damndest to be the best Robin to their Superman and Batman that they can be.

I like the direction of the rest of the roster (sans Ariza possibly playing 4), but this team has needed a good playmaking distributor for the past 4 years. And no, Kemba Walker isn't it - and no, Damian Lillard isn't it. With Tedosic staying with the Clippers, IMO, our best play right now may be to make another deal with Philadelphia for T.J. McConnell. He's a heads-up playmaker who can run an up-tempo offense and yet still maintains a 3-to-1 turnover ratio for his career. He's also become dead-eye from 3 range, so there's no cheating off of him. Did I mention he's also still only 25 and a local (U of A) guy? I'd give Troy Daniels and a future 2nd rounder for McConnell + whatever they've got to equal Daniels' salary (McConnell's only making $1.6 mil in 2018-2019).

So - that's my take. LOL!

I would be good with McConnell. Sixers need shooters. Daniels plus something?


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[Saberestar]

alright after reading all this n seeing the trades, time to put a fork in it. Let the season begin. Think they done with all the moves. U can argue back n forth about Bridges as backup SG for play time but I just don't see it. This how, IMO, will be the rotation...

And I'm just putting G and F and C. Not gonna go into the maddening SG/SF/PF debate. Not a bad roster.. WAY better than last year, and setting things up very nicely for next year....

G = knight, shaq, okobu
G = booker, daniels, reed
F = warren, jackson, bridges
F = ariza, chriss, bender
C = ayton, holmes, chandler

This guy worries me so much, he's simply not a floor general. We desperately need a high IQ PG.

Yeah, Knight as starting PG is my biggest fear going into the new season.

I am OK playing him some minutes off the bench as a PG/SG because we can not trade him and he seems to accept a lesser role now with his new mentality.

I agree with the people that want to trade for TJ McConnell. I think that we need to make a serious good offer for him.

He is valuable as a cheap backup PG for the Sixers, so they would ask for a decent package.

I would trade the Mil pick, our 2019 2nd and Chriss OR Daniels for McConnell.

[ryanball]

I'm with the plan of just seeing what you have in Knight. Yeah, there is a good chance he will be the same as ever.

However, I think there is merit in blaming the dismal situation he was in as well. Kokoskov should have a chance to try and get something from him.

The Suns pretty much need Kokoskov to be the type of coach who can get value from a Knight type of player. Because assuming he has properly recovered, Knight is not devoid of talent.

[SwingMan1938]

SwingMan! Whoa-ho!! A celebrity sighting!! Good to you see you, player!

This is OE32 from back in the day. Gotta ask, how do you feel about the current roster and the direction of the franchise? What do you think about McD? Ayton? JJ and Bender? TJ and Chriss?

Cheers, bud! Hope all's good.

Good to see you, OE - I pick and choose my battles these days. Otherwise, I'm rattlin', but I'm rollin'.

Far as the roster, severe imbalance is the phrase that best suits it (though snagging Holmes was a shrewd move - love every aspect of it, including freeing Dudley up to be a near-future staff member ). But McDonough still has too much Fantasy League fanboy in him to build a truly balanced roster - in the far reaches of his mind, he still seems to think that additions like Trevor Ariza (absolutely love the player, absolutely hate the fit) will automatically add 11/4 to the team regardless of fit/chemistry.

Brandon Knight and his black hole/Bermuda triangle rolled-into-one game needs to be gone in the worst way, IMO. All he does when he steps onto the court is suck any and all life out of whatever clinging vestiges of team offense there may remain. He has no business whatsoever near this team ever again - a team of youngsters still learning the game and Knight's kind of lessons are nothing but pure poison.

JJ, TJ, Bender and Chriss? They all need to be kept if possible - the whole damn team has been running on a rudderless floor of marbles the past 4 years and we need to see them in more defined roles and playing more to their strengths as opposed to Triano saying "Just don't get in each other's way" as a gameplan. A 4-man rotation at 2/3 with Booker/JJ/TJ/Mikal can be lethal given how their skills compliment each other.

Ayton? He was my guy all along should the Suns land the #1 overall pick (other half of that plan was to use whatever the hell assets we had at our disposal to grab a 2nd lotto pick high enough to snag Trae Young - if there's ever a draft to go all in and balls-to-the-wall in, the 2018 NBA Draft was it). He's got as complete a game as I've seen of any center coming in since Tim Duncan in 1997. He and Booker are the foundation - everyone else needs to try their damndest to be the best Robin to their Superman and Batman that they can be.

I like the direction of the rest of the roster (sans Ariza possibly playing 4), but this team has needed a good playmaking distributor for the past 4 years. And no, Kemba Walker isn't it - and no, Damian Lillard isn't it. With Tedosic staying with the Clippers, IMO, our best play right now may be to make another deal with Philadelphia for T.J. McConnell. He's a heads-up playmaker who can run an up-tempo offense and yet still maintains a 3-to-1 turnover ratio for his career. He's also become dead-eye from 3 range, so there's no cheating off of him. Did I mention he's also still only 25 and a local (U of A) guy? I'd give Troy Daniels and a future 2nd rounder for McConnell + whatever they've got to equal Daniels' salary (McConnell's only making $1.6 mil in 2018-2019).

So - that's my take. LOL!

I would be good with McConnell. Sixers need shooters. Daniels plus something?


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Whoops, minor correction in my last post above - McConnell has maintained a 3-to-1 *assist-to-turnover* ratio for his career.

But yeah - like I stated above, I'd give Troy Daniels and a future 2nd rounder for McConnell + whatever they've got to equal Daniels' $3 mil salary (McConnell's only making $1.6 mil in 2018-2019).

Good Lord - OE, phrazbit, JC. Almost like old home .net week without any cliques. I keed, I keed.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Atlanta still overpaid - though with the profile similarities, it's nothing if not apropos that he went to the same franchise who was stuck with Jon Concak for a decade.....

SwingMan! Whoa-ho!! A celebrity sighting!! Good to you see you, player!

This is OE32 from back in the day. Gotta ask, how do you feel about the current roster and the direction of the franchise? What do you think about McD? Ayton? JJ and Bender? TJ and Chriss?

Cheers, bud! Hope all's good.

Wow. I didn’t know you were OE. Weren’t you like 15 or something when you first started posting on PSN?


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Wow. Good memory. Overeasy32 was my original name, I think. I joined right before the mass exodus from the azcentral page - that would have been, what, 2000? Wow. 15. Spot on.

Guess I've been reading your takes for a good long while, JC!

[SlovenianDragon]

I'm with the plan of just seeing what you have in Knight. Yeah, there is a good chance he will be the same as ever.

However, I think there is merit in blaming the dismal situation he was in as well. Kokoskov should have a chance to try and get something from him.

The Suns pretty much need Kokoskov to be the type of coach who can get value from a Knight type of player. Because assuming he has properly recovered, Knight is not devoid of talent.

What a great comment nothing to add.

[Damkac]

Wow maybe we would get lucky and he would learn that he needs to develop a 3 pt shot, pass the ball and play defense.

Add developing a 2 point shot and a free throw shot and you've just included JJ in the conversation too.

Yes JJ is needs to work on his shooting. However he has already shown that he can develop or change his game during the course of his rookie season. However I still havent seen Warren change any aspect of his game since college.

Right, JJ developed a fantastic mid-range airball as we seen in the summer league.

[Puff]

I'm with the plan of just seeing what you have in Knight. Yeah, there is a good chance he will be the same as ever.

However, I think there is merit in blaming the dismal situation he was in as well. Kokoskov should have a chance to try and get something from him.

The Suns pretty much need Kokoskov to be the type of coach who can get value from a Knight type of player. Because assuming he has properly recovered, Knight is not devoid of talent.

I would love to obtain McConnell but we are not going to get him for what some suggest.

I really think Dragic would also be a good fit. I do not care if he is sliding a bit and his contract is too big. He played for Igor and they seem to have a great relationship. That would help kick start the Igor era.

However I do not think either of those guys are going to be obtained so I am OK with giving Knight a shot and would like for them to invite Canaan to camp. I think he is still a free agent. Prior to his injury I thought he played well for us. He shared the ball and was a decent 3 point shooter. He seemed to get in the paint at will and fed our bigs very well. Unfortunately our bigs sucked. Ayton needs someone to get him the ball. Canaan could be our best option to do just that.

[Revived]

Brandon Knight and his offensive life-sucking, black hole/Bermuda triangle game has no business near this team and roster ever again - guy's one of the most obstinately *dumb* players I've ever witnessed on a basketball court. The guy's carbon monoxide to a team that needs to breathe.

LMAO if Knight is the starting PG and he continues to revert back to his old habits and we all universally hate him again then this has to be his new nickname...Bermuda Knight

[SwingMan1938]

Brandon Knight and his offensive life-sucking, black hole/Bermuda triangle game has no business near this team and roster ever again - guy's one of the most obstinately *dumb* players I've ever witnessed on a basketball court. The guy's carbon monoxide to a team that needs to breathe.

LMAO if Knight is the starting PG and he continues to revert back to his old habits and we all universally hate him again then this has to be his new nickname...Bermuda Knight

Thank you, sir - from here forward, I shall refer to him as Bermuda Knight. The abstractionage fits me just about right.

Serious, though - Bermuda's absence from this team has been a net positive. The youngsters desperately need someone to set the table for them and feed them, while all the hell Bermuda will do is take the damn food from their mouths.

But, on the subject of the last, festering boil of the attempted hydra at 1 from 2015, I'm forever satisfied that Bledsoe's "defense" got exposed on the biggest stage of his career during the playoffs. In 2013-2014, the guy was a defensive demon for us, but he's slacked major ass on that end since - after that Terry Rozier play, the budding cosmetologist had no idea which way was up.....

[Frank Lee]

Haha
‘Bermuda ‘

I was thinking Kcar but that needs a wayback machine for reference

No doubt McD is attempting to salvage something out of his biggest boondoggle

Let us proceed...?

[BobbieL]

I'm with the plan of just seeing what you have in Knight. Yeah, there is a good chance he will be the same as ever.

However, I think there is merit in blaming the dismal situation he was in as well. Kokoskov should have a chance to try and get something from him.

The Suns pretty much need Kokoskov to be the type of coach who can get value from a Knight type of player. Because assuming he has properly recovered, Knight is not devoid of talent.

I would love to obtain McConnell but we are not going to get him for what some suggest.

I really think Dragic would also be a good fit. I do not care if he is sliding a bit and his contract is too big. He played for Igor and they seem to have a great relationship. That would help kick start the Igor era.

However I do not think either of those guys are going to be obtained so I am OK with giving Knight a shot and would like for them to invite Canaan to camp. I think he is still a free agent. Prior to his injury I thought he played well for us. He shared the ball and was a decent 3 point shooter. He seemed to get in the paint at will and fed our bigs very well. Unfortunately our bigs sucked. Ayton needs someone to get him the ball. Canaan could be our best option to do just that.

I just don't see McConnel for a second. Especially if the Korver for Bayless trade goes through. That and the fact McConnell is better than Bayless. And if I am the Sixers I would rather have Korver/TJ over Bayless/Daniels.

I am still sticking with two options for a veteran PG on one year deals. Cleveland and George Hill as if they trade for Bayless - that might make Hill an option since they have Sexton and Bayless especially if they could save 3.2m by trading for Daniels and Chandler, buying out Tyson saving a but more money.

Second - of course are the Clippers ---- 18 players on the roster 17 guaranteed. Now sure they can waive Boban, Wes Johnson, Thornwell, Evans, etc -- or move a PG

[Fo-Real]

I feel certain intangibles and play allow some types of guys to be starter / lead guards. I believe knight has those intangibles but of course he has very high bust tendency, I think coaching and system will help. I see McConnell and Milos as backup point guards, I think there's a reason there on people's benches. While they come off the bench an make a difference they're still backup point guards and we have those.

[Wilber85]

alright after reading all this n seeing the trades, time to put a fork in it. Let the season begin. Think they done with all the moves. U can argue back n forth about Bridges as backup SG for play time but I just don't see it. This how, IMO, will be the rotation...

And I'm just putting G and F and C. Not gonna go into the maddening SG/SF/PF debate. Not a bad roster.. WAY better than last year, and setting things up very nicely for next year....

G = knight, shaq, okobu
G = booker, daniels, reed
F = warren, jackson, bridges
F = ariza, chriss, bender
C = ayton, holmes, chandler

This guy worries me so much, he's simply not a floor general. We desperately need a high IQ PG.

Yeah, Knight as starting PG is my biggest fear going into the new season.

I am OK playing him some minutes off the bench as a PG/SG because we can not trade him and he seems to accept a lesser role now with his new mentality.

I agree with the people that want to trade for TJ McConnell. I think that we need to make a serious good offer for him.

He is valuable as a cheap backup PG for the Sixers, so they would ask for a decent package.

I would trade the Mil pick, our 2019 2nd and Chriss OR Daniels for McConnell.

Y'all make me wonder. What the heck is McConnell going to do for us ? Lol dude isn't a starter in the NBA, and dude definitely won't take us anywhere .

[bwgood77]

I'm with the plan of just seeing what you have in Knight. Yeah, there is a good chance he will be the same as ever.

However, I think there is merit in blaming the dismal situation he was in as well. Kokoskov should have a chance to try and get something from him.

The Suns pretty much need Kokoskov to be the type of coach who can get value from a Knight type of player. Because assuming he has properly recovered, Knight is not devoid of talent.

I would love to obtain McConnell but we are not going to get him for what some suggest.

I really think Dragic would also be a good fit. I do not care if he is sliding a bit and his contract is too big. He played for Igor and they seem to have a great relationship. That would help kick start the Igor era.

However I do not think either of those guys are going to be obtained so I am OK with giving Knight a shot and would like for them to invite Canaan to camp. I think he is still a free agent. Prior to his injury I thought he played well for us. He shared the ball and was a decent 3 point shooter. He seemed to get in the paint at will and fed our bigs very well. Unfortunately our bigs sucked. Ayton needs someone to get him the ball. Canaan could be our best option to do just that.

Yeah, they are not going to want Daniels...I think they keep him all season because of his cost/benefit. I would say they could dump him since he expires but he will likely be a guy that can add value in the playoffs. Now if Zhaire Smith and Landry Shamet or Shake Milton come on strong as rookies, as well as Fultz, then maybe they move him, but I doubt it unless we give up a nice pick. Maybe like the Bucks pick or our own second.

But midway through the season that's a pretty high pick to give up for him for a half year on an expiring.

He might be a realistic target in free agency next year though if we want to add a PG and Shaq and Okobo are not both producing well.

I love TJ ever since he was at UA but Philly is unlikely to want a guy like Daniels for him. They value defense too much. Not sure why they'd even consider such a downgrade unless they got a nice pick.

We could just absorb him (barely) in our cap space. We have $1.64 million left and his contract is $1.6.

[Saberestar]

This guy worries me so much, he's simply not a floor general. We desperately need a high IQ PG.

Yeah, Knight as starting PG is my biggest fear going into the new season.

I am OK playing him some minutes off the bench as a PG/SG because we can not trade him and he seems to accept a lesser role now with his new mentality.

I agree with the people that want to trade for TJ McConnell. I think that we need to make a serious good offer for him.

He is valuable as a cheap backup PG for the Sixers, so they would ask for a decent package.

I would trade the Mil pick, our 2019 2nd and Chriss OR Daniels for McConnell.

Y'all make me wonder. What the heck is McConnell going to do for us ? Lol dude isn't a starter in the NBA, and dude definitely won't take us anywhere .

He is one of the best backups PGs currently in the league and he is entering his prime.

He can be an starter on a team like the Suns because he is a GREAT passer and floor general, qualities that we really need on this roster.

He is a good defender and capable 3p shooter, and he just earns $1.6M next year.

He would be perfect for us and we would be perfect for him before entering UFA.

If we can get McConnell now we would have his bird rights, so we can sign a big FA in 2019 and then sign him on a long term contract if we want to going over the salary cap.

[jcsunsfan]

Yeah, Knight as starting PG is my biggest fear going into the new season.

I am OK playing him some minutes off the bench as a PG/SG because we can not trade him and he seems to accept a lesser role now with his new mentality.

I agree with the people that want to trade for TJ McConnell. I think that we need to make a serious good offer for him.

He is valuable as a cheap backup PG for the Sixers, so they would ask for a decent package.

I would trade the Mil pick, our 2019 2nd and Chriss OR Daniels for McConnell.

Y'all make me wonder. What the heck is McConnell going to do for us ? Lol dude isn't a starter in the NBA, and dude definitely won't take us anywhere .

He is one of the best backups PGs currently in the league and he is entering his prime.

He can be an starter on a team like the Suns because he is a GREAT passer and floor general, qualities that we really need on this roster.

He is a good defender and capable 3p shooter, and he just earns $1.6M next year.

He would be perfect for us and we would be perfect for him before entering UFA.

If we can get McConnell now we would have his bird rights, so we can sign a big FA in 2019 and then sign him on a long term contract if we want to going over the salary cap.

McConnell is not an athlete, he is not fast. But he is a VERY good passer, he is unselfish, he is a good shooter, he is a good ball-handler and he works his butt off on defense in spite of his athletic deficiencies.

Because he has to work so hard physically, I do not think he can handle over 28 minutes a game or so. But Shaq and Okobo could help there.

Basically, he is a pg version of a young Jared Dudley.