Links to interesting NBA articles - Blueprints for teams

[bwgood77]

Suns didn't fare too well in Ford and Pelton's future rankings....according to them we rank 27th in how good our players are and our management ranks 28th.

27. Phoenix Suns
RANK SCORE
Players 27 27.5
Management 28 20

Some of the ratings were head scratchers though. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/15702206/2016-nba-future-power-rankings-kevin-pelton-chad-ford

Any chance you could post the whole list or point me towards it? Not surprised they **** on us like that though, the media in general has shown very little knowledge on our team in general this offseason outside of "they need a Power Forward."

Some part of me honestly wishes we're as bad as they think next year so we can take advantage of the next draft's talent, but I sincerely doubt it.

The way the list is set up makes it hard to copy the whole thing, but I will copy the player and management rankings..

Players (50 percent)

Players
TEAM RATING 2015 RATING
1. Golden State 99.5 95
2. Cleveland 92.5 97.5
3. San Antonio 72.5 82.5
4. Oklahoma City 70 71
5. L.A. Clippers 67 77.5
6. Minnesota 62.5 56.5
7. Utah 60 64
8. Washington 57.5 60
9. Portland 56.5 31
10. Toronto 55.5 44
11. New Orleans 55.5 63
12. Houston 55 69.5
13. Miami 53.5 52.5
14. Indiana 51.5 49
15. Boston 49 35
16. Detroit 48.5 46
17. Atlanta 45 40
18. Chicago 45 61
19. Orlando 42.5 45
20. Denver 42.5 40.5
21. Charlotte 42.5 40
22. Memphis 42.5 45
23. Milwaukee 42 59
24. New York 32.5 27
25. Dallas 31.5 35
26. Sacramento 30 37.5
27. Phoenix 27.5 41
28. Philadelphia 22.5 25
29. L.A. Lakers 20 22.5
30. Brooklyn 10 11.5
Current players and potential for the future

Management (16.7 percent)

Management
TEAM RATING 2015 RATING
1. Golden State 97 96
1. San Antonio 97 99.5
3. Boston 90 85
4. Miami 77.5 81.5
5. Oklahoma City 72.5 60
5. Portland 72.5 54
7. Dallas 65 72.5
8. Utah 62.5 70
9. Toronto 57.5 54.5
10. Atlanta 55 52.5
11. Cleveland 53 47.5
12. Houston 52.5 65
12. Chicago 52.5 72.5
14. L.A. Clippers 50 47
14. Minnesota 50 20
14. Detroit 50 37.5
17. Indiana 45 50
18. Charlotte 42.5 25
18. Memphis 42.5 56.5
20. Orlando 40 35
20. Milwaukee 40 45.5
20. Philadelphia 40 47.5
23. Washington 35 35
23. Denver 35 27.5
25. New Orleans 32.5 42.5
26. Brooklyn 30 17.5
27. L.A. Lakers 27.5 30
28. New York 20 17.5
28. Phoenix 20 35
30. Sacramento 8 5.5
Quality/stability of front office, ownership, coaching

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/15700437/nba-future-power-rankings-team-ratings-players-management-money-market-draft

[saintEscaton]

Hardly outrageous. Guard heavy roster with no sense of identity or balance due to constant turnover, Lacking a bonafide star, no consensus blue chip prospect(some consider Booker that but I don't yet), low end veteran role players/marginal supporting cast, our #1 is a #3 at best on a contender, ceiling is a first round exist if all goes accoridngly.. Sarver is a meddling penny-wise and pound-foolish owner, Watson is an unknown who sounds more like a motivational life coach/pastor than an actual coach, McD has tarnished his reputation beyond repair, has only come full circle making lateral moves with no clear vision, yet to consolidate his trinkets into that big catch. Shuffling the decks playing musical chairs with the backcourt

[bwgood77]

Hardly outrageous. Guard heavy roster with no sense of identity or balance due to constant turnover, Lacking a bonafide sar, no consensus blue chip prospect(maybe Booker), low end veteran role players/marginal supporting cast, our #1 is a #3 at best on a contender, ceiling is a first round exist if all goes accoridngly.. Sarver is a meddling owner penny-wise and pound-foolish owner, Watson is an unknown who sounds more like a motivational life coach/pastor than an actual coach, McD has tarnished his reputation beyond repair, has only come full circle making lateral moves with no clear vision, yet to consolidate his trinkets into that big catch. Shuffling the decks playing musical chairs with the backcourt

Oh yeah, I don't think it's outrageous either, and those individual category rankings, which I hadn't examined at first, more properly rates Minnesota in the players part....and some of the others in the players part as well. I still think Miami being top 6 future is a bit crazy and Toronto being 17th.

[saintEscaton]

Because everyone still believes that Don Riley pulls all the strings, he told LMA to sign with the Spurs on a short contract as insurance for Bosh but that didn't happen . He may have another trick left up his sleeves to reload the Heat before departs South Beach. Our only hope is he croaks before then or we may never sniff the early lotto again for a while

[GMATCallahan]

.

[bwgood77]

Because everyone still believes that Don Riley pulls all the strings, he told LMA to sign with the Spurs on a short contract as insurance for Bosh but that didn't happen . He may have another trick left up his sleeves to reload the Heat before departs South Beach. Our only hope is he croaks before then or we may never sniff the early lotto again for a while

Hmmm...never heard of Don Riley. He is the behind the scenes brother of Pat?

[carey]

Because everyone still believes that Don Riley pulls all the strings, he told LMA to sign with the Spurs on a short contract as insurance for Bosh but that didn't happen . He may have another trick left up his sleeves to reload the Heat before departs South Beach. Our only hope is he croaks before then or we may never sniff the early lotto again for a while

Hmmm...never heard of Don Riley. He is the behind the scenes brother of Pat?

It's a mafia joke.

[bwgood77]

This is a fascinating read... http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17262551/manu-ginobili-built-legacy-love-team-storied-career

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

A few paragraphs out of the Suns writeup..

It will be nice to see Eric Bledsoe again. Phoenix has to be crushed that Bledsoe and Brandon Knight have barely logged 1,000 minutes together since the Point Guard Trading Orgy of 2015, and now Watson has Knight coming off the bench. Knight has always conceived of himself as a classic point guard, but that's not what he is, and the Suns may be nudging him toward his destiny as a Jamal Crawford type. The cap spike accidentally made it acceptable -- and in some cases, unavoidable -- for teams to bring big-money players off the bench.

Benching Knight means fewer botched alley-oops between Knight and Tyson Chandler, and less of Chandler pouting the facial equivalent of, "Why in the hell did I sign here, again?" That hurts the unintentional comedy score.

On the bright side, the Devon Booker/T.J. Warren starting duo brings a nice new-school/old-school vibe, and dunkin' Jared Dudley always makes the smart play. Steve Albert and Eddie Johnson are secretly a top-five broadcast team, and the team finally slapped purple back onto the floor after its hideous black-and-orange Halloween phase.

[bwgood77]

Part 2....I can't believe the Kings are 16 spots ahead of the Suns.

Read on Twitter

[NTB]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/10/22/phoenix-suns-owner-robert-sarver-likes-team-direction/92595974/

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

[bwgood77]

You may have already seen this in the wiretap or read it, and I had read snippets of it before, but just read the whole thing. It's somewhat interesting.

Read on Twitter

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

[bwgood77]

From Zach Lowe:

1. The genius of Marc Gasol

This freaking guy. During another improbable Grizz comeback against Portland last week, Gasol caught the ball at least 5 feet behind the 3-point arc while trailing a possession and realized no one was guarding him. He looked around, shrugged -- literally, the dude shrugged in the middle of a game -- and just jacked a 30-footer. Cash money.

Memphis is 7-2 since Mike Conley busted his back. That is insane. They larded up on sad-sacks like Philly, Orlando, and the Lakers, and we all kind of assumed the bottom would fall out against better competition. Then they rallied against Portland, and spanked the yappy Warriors. (Seriously: Golden State mean-mugged its way through a road win against an injury-riddled Utah team subsisting on Joe Ingles 3-pointers. Maybe just take the W and chill?)

This is the best story of the first 25 games, and it would not be happening without Gasol. During Conley's absence, Memphis has blitzed teams by almost 15 points per 100 possessions with Gasol on the floor -- and wilted into a D-League outfit when he sits, per NBA.com. His calculating, careful game holds up well in crunch time, and the Grizzlies, for what feels like the seventh straight season, are squeezing out wins in almost every close game.

It has been fascinating to watch a natural sharer get a little bit selfish because his ravaged team needs it. Gasol is shouldering the heaviest scoring burden of his career, setting up shop on the left block and waiting to see if opponents double him. If they don't, he'll bulldoze into the lane for a short hook. Sit on that move, and he'll turn over his left shoulder, fade away along the baseline, and draw rain with perhaps the most telegenic post move in the league (at least while Dirk Nowitzki's one-footed special is on ice).

Gasol is venturing a little out of his comfort zone as a shoot-first alpha dog, and he's thriving. He remains a brilliant passer; he's on pace for one of the highest assist rates ever from a big man. Gasol should be in the conversation for a No. 4 or No. 5 spot on MVP ballots.

Players know. Talk to rivals about Gasol, and they'll tell you he's even better than you realize.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18287165/zach-lowe-10-things-like-featuring-marc-gasol-kawhi-leonard-more-nba

[Phoenix-Sons]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources-derrick-roses-game-absence-a-surprise-to-knicks-031539867.html

This sounds pretty serious and looks like the Knicks may need a guard.

Woj doesn't say it in the article, but I think Rose will be dumped/released.

[lilfishi22]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources-derrick-roses-game-absence-a-surprise-to-knicks-031539867.html

This sounds pretty serious and looks like the Knicks may need a guard.

Woj doesn't say it in the article, but I think Rose will be dumped/released.

I'd take Rose off their hands.

[Qwigglez]

Really detailed article I highly recommend everyone read!

http://bballbreakdown.com/2017/01/09/the-coaching-spin-checking-on-the-suns-rebuild-in-phoenix/



Some small tidbits...

Watson’s offensive scheme has bordered between “heavy on the ball screens, please” and “keep it simple for the kids.” Without any semblance of a back-to-basket threat and few elite shooters, his hands are a bit tied. The Suns are 29th in the league in post-up frequency, only shooting out of post touches on a mere three percent of possessions. On those post-up plays, they also have the highest turnover rate — very little good comes from throwing the ball inside. As such, a heavier burden is placed upon guards Booker and Bledsoe to be creative out of the pick-and-roll, where their usage rates are insanely high.

It’s no secret the Suns are now shopping Knight, selling him as a combo guard instead of a point guard or a shooter. It’s still unclear what role he thrives in the most; he’s got a lot of O.J. Mayo in him as somebody who just wants to be a scorer. That trade market is dropping for Knight, and the emergence of second-round rookie Tyler Ulis as a capable backup point guard means Knight is getting squeezed out already. The last time Knight played more than 30 minutes was November, and he’s played fewer than 10 minutes since the Dec. 29 victory over Toronto. The veteran that’s now most difficult to trade is the one they need to get rid of the most.

With three impactful guards (Bledsoe, Booker, Knight), two young frontcourters (Chriss, Bender) and two true centers (Len, Chandler), the Suns are a team that can only play those clusters together against certain teams. Face an opponent with a small team on the wings? Try the three guard lineup! Two stiff, big men? Sure, let’s see if Len and Chandler can play together. Experimenting and figuring this out on the fly has left the Suns matching their lineups to their opponents, not the other way around.

Whatever the result of the trade deadline and rest of the season yield, solving the identity issue is crucial. Putting a unique style that opponents must scheme and account for is what wins you games in this league. Often times it’s custom-made around the players they have. Phoenix is trying to play fast (second-fastest pace in the league) and force lots of turnovers on defense (most turnovers forced per game) to create those easy offensive chances. The Suns rank near the bottom of the league in 3-point attempts and are heavily dependent on the pick-and-roll and the mid-range to create points. Both, when over-used, stifle efficiency. Subtle tweaks to their desired style, as well as sheer experience, can help them move from a mismatch-hider to a mismatch-creator.

This article is making me feel like we should just wait and trust the process with Watson's coaching ability.

[Qwigglez]

https://theringer.com/phoenix-suns-rebuilding-devin-booker-earl-watson-ryan-mcdonough-9185630cf56e#.d9y2jhcf1

[nashrambler13]

https://theringer.com/phoenix-suns-rebuilding-devin-booker-earl-watson-ryan-mcdonough-9185630cf56e#.d9y2jhcf1

It's been interesting to see almost every analyst say we "should" trade Bledsoe considering it doesn't look like our FO is very interested in doing so. For the right deal, I'm all on that train, I just don't even think that McD is exploring the possibility very far.