Official Trade Thread: The Block Is Hot!!

[thamadkant]

I think we get Love at the deadline. We ship them the Morri and Dragic, we bring back Love. Love commits to us through the end of this contract so we get him for 2 years for sure. Or team has the talent and potential that in 2 years Love would resign with us.

It's funny, I'm listening to the BS Report right now with Zach Lowe and they were talking about whether Love would be traded. Zach Lowe thinks no team would risk trading for him with the fact he will likely opt out and could leave. Lowe then mentioned Phx for Markieff and other pieces.

Simmons then said he wouldn't trade Kieff straight up for Love. Lowe said especially when you consider their contracts....but also mentioned he didn't think Phx would do it.

Simmons then asked Lowe how many picks Boston would have to throw in along with Sullinger and Bass to get love.

It seems people here have pined for Sullinger in the past. Obviously Simmons thinks Kieff is miles better.

It's pretty amazing how underrated Kieff is among many Suns fans. Or at least among a handful of posters on these forums who post a lot.

Markief's contract and scoring talent is probably one of the best values in the whole NBA.

With that said I still think he is ideal as super-sub PF 6h man, the Jason Terry/Jamal Crawford of PFs. Would win 6th man of the year consecutive years.

[Revived]

Interesting comments from Horny: http://arizonasports.com/41/1806173/Sun ... y-in-games

Now I'm further convinced that Hornacek is a f***ing idiot.

It took him 50 games to realize that we don't play with effort in the beginning of games?

And he's blaming the slow starts because the players get to games too early?

So if the players showed up like 10 mins before the game then they would be focused?

My god...

[In Len We Trust]

I wish Hornacek would say that our ball movement sucks and leads to inconsistent offense and our defensive rotations are often too slow. As far as I'm concerned, Hornacek has never even mentioned these issues to reporters all season long which makes me think he is completely clueless.

[bwgood77]

It's funny, listening to the end of the BS Report, Simmons is talking about how this is the best year ever for NBA League Pass, and then he says he is irrationally attached to Phx and takes their losses badly. He says they are so much fun to watch and he really wants them to make the playoffs.

It's just so weird to hear things like this after reading how so many around here seem to despise this team and can't stand to watch them.

Thats because the Suns are OUR team, and we value winning over anything else. Simmons is a Boston fan. He could care less if the Suns win or not, he just enjoys the faster up-and-down pace of the game. Win or lose, it dont matter to him. He isnt emotionally invested in the team like we are. Would you rather watch the Suns play an entertaining uptempo game and lose or a Spurs-like slower tempo game and win?

I'd take the Win anyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

Well, preferably we can play uptempo AND win. The best teams in the league do that. I hate boring basketball.

[bwgood77]

It's funny, listening to the end of the BS Report, Simmons is talking about how this is the best year ever for NBA League Pass, and then he says he is irrationally attached to Phx and takes their losses badly. He says they are so much fun to watch and he really wants them to make the playoffs.

It's just so weird to hear things like this after reading how so many around here seem to despise this team and can't stand to watch them.

Thats because the Suns are OUR team, and we value winning over anything else. Simmons is a Boston fan. He could care less if the Suns win or not, he just enjoys the faster up-and-down pace of the game. Win or lose, it dont matter to him. He isnt emotionally invested in the team like we are. Would you rather watch the Suns play an entertaining uptempo game and lose or a Spurs-like slower tempo game and win?

I'd take the Win anyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

^THIS.

People need to realkze this more.

We're not the Lakers, Celtics, Mavs, Rockets, KNICKS or Heat.

NOBODY gives a s**t about us. Nobody. All that the media care about is watching entertaining fast paced stuff and yes because of that, Suns are "fun to watch".

It's like that hot blonde vs the good looking smart brunette discussion. Would you marry the hot blonde with no brain or the smart brunette who has a career and knows what she's gonna do?

The hot blonde is one I would hit it and quit but I wouldn't be emotionally attached to them or care about them.

That's how the Suns are right now.

I prefer a hot brunette.

[Saberestar]

"We think we're moving in the right direction," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday as part of Newsmakers Week. "We don't have a so-called 'All-Star', we have guys that are getting close, that are growing and are young."

"I think we're not far off," he said. "If we can get one free agent and then with our guys growing...we're right there.

"With a little bit here and there, we can be just like one of these other teams, the Rockets or Portlands that are 30-15 or whatever their record is. So we're close."

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

[GetYourPHX]

I realize that the nature of an internet message board will bring out the crazies when it comes to talking about a sports team, but your guys are going overboard.

The Morris brothers, Bledsoe, Tucker, and Thomas are not going anywhere this year. The Suns just signed all of them to really solid contracts that will look like absolute steals in a couple of years. Phoenix can offer Dragic more money, more years, than any other team. They shouldn't lose him in free agency.

This team is YOUNG. Real young. There will be growing pains. The Morris brothers have improved every single year that they've played. They're 25 years old. Same with Bledsoe. They'll improve. Trading any of these guys when we have them locked up through their prime is beyond dumb.

If the Suns make any moves, it should be in the offseason. Trading our young players that are locked up for years to come, in the middle of the season, is insane and short-sighted.

[lilfishi22]

"We think we're moving in the right direction," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday as part of Newsmakers Week. "We don't have a so-called 'All-Star', we have guys that are getting close, that are growing and are young."

"I think we're not far off," he said. "If we can get one free agent and then with our guys growing...we're right there.

"With a little bit here and there, we can be just like one of these other teams, the Rockets or Portlands that are 30-15 or whatever their record is. So we're close."

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

I'm with Hornacek here. We don't have all-stars but each player has gained another year of experience and while some players aren't playing as well as they were last year, I have yet to see any sort of decline. A roster move could improve our system, open up minutes for young'uns and guys could very well be playing at the same level as last year.

Tucker is still doing what he did last year, Dragic has just hit the prime of his career, Green can still shoot the rock and that athleticism is still there and everyone else is improving in their own pace. Guys playing worse this season does not mean they are destined to play like this forever. Moving IT for example could mean Dragic returning to form. Trading for a a legit stretch 4 could mean Kieff becomes a consistent 18/8 player, moving Green could mean a better utilised roster.

If we had a roster like the Mavs for example but in the same situation (29-24 and losing close games) then I would be worried because guys aren't going to get better and most will be in a steep decline. But we're not the Mavs, we're not an old team trying to win a championship this season. The way I see it, we started our rebuild last year with the hiring of a new HC, McD first season with full control of the team and our first top 10 draft pick since 2002 with Amare. We're a young team, we're growing internally and we're 29-24 and in the playoff race in the West. Some people don't understand how difficult it is to be in our position in the 2nd year of a rebuild. Even OKC, who had multiple consecutive top 5 picks (Durant, Harden, Jeff Green, Westbrook) didn't become relevant until their 3rd season.

I'm not saying I'm content with 29-24 but I'm just amazed at the expectations of some posters on here. Some are either, we should be 35-18 if this player didn't SUCK or our coach didn't SUCK while others are saying I don't mind if we're 10-43 as long as we're playing our rooks.

[Barkley6]

Thats because the Suns are OUR team, and we value winning over anything else. Simmons is a Boston fan. He could care less if the Suns win or not, he just enjoys the faster up-and-down pace of the game. Win or lose, it dont matter to him. He isnt emotionally invested in the team like we are. Would you rather watch the Suns play an entertaining uptempo game and lose or a Spurs-like slower tempo game and win?

I'd take the Win anyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

^THIS.

People need to realkze this more.

We're not the Lakers, Celtics, Mavs, Rockets, KNICKS or Heat.

NOBODY gives a s**t about us. Nobody. All that the media care about is watching entertaining fast paced stuff and yes because of that, Suns are "fun to watch".

It's like that hot blonde vs the good looking smart brunette discussion. Would you marry the hot blonde with no brain or the smart brunette who has a career and knows what she's gonna do?

The hot blonde is one I would hit it and quit but I wouldn't be emotionally attached to them or care about them.

That's how the Suns are right now.

I prefer a hot brunette.

Preach. Brunettes>>>>>>>>>>>

[Barkley6]

"We think we're moving in the right direction," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday as part of Newsmakers Week. "We don't have a so-called 'All-Star', we have guys that are getting close, that are growing and are young."

"I think we're not far off," he said. "If we can get one free agent and then with our guys growing...we're right there.

"With a little bit here and there, we can be just like one of these other teams, the Rockets or Portlands that are 30-15 or whatever their record is. So we're close."

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

I'm with Hornacek here. We don't have all-stars but each player has gained another year of experience and while some players aren't playing as well as they were last year, I have yet to see any sort of decline. A roster move could improve our system, open up minutes for young'uns and guys could very well be playing at the same level as last year.

Tucker is still doing what he did last year, Dragic has just hit the prime of his career, Green can still shoot the rock and that athleticism is still there and everyone else is improving in their own pace. Guys playing worse this season does not mean they are destined to play like this forever. Moving IT for example could mean Dragic returning to form. Trading for a a legit stretch 4 could mean Kieff becomes a consistent 18/8 player, moving Green could mean a better utilised roster.

If we had a roster like the Mavs for example but in the same situation (29-24 and losing close games) then I would be worried because guys aren't going to get better and most will be in a steep decline. But we're not the Mavs, we're not an old team trying to win a championship this season. The way I see it, we started our rebuild last year with the hiring of a new HC, McD first season with full control of the team and our first top 10 draft pick since 2002 with Amare. We're a young team, we're growing internally and we're 29-24 and in the playoff race in the West. Some people don't understand how difficult it is to be in our position in the 2nd year of a rebuild. Even OKC, who had multiple consecutive top 5 picks (Durant, Harden, Jeff Green, Westbrook) didn't become relevant until their 3rd season.

I'm not saying I'm content with 29-24 but I'm just amazed at the expectations of some posters on here. Some are either, we should be 35-18 if this player didn't SUCK or our coach didn't SUCK while others are saying I don't mind if we're 10-43 as long as we're playing our rooks.

THANK YOU. We're in year 2 of a franchise overhaul, and despite being the 3rd youngest team in the league, we're still winning games and are in playoff contention. Expectations need to be tempered, we are learning how to win. Growing pains are going to happen and it's going to be infuriating at times. But we could be the 76ers or the Magic. Moves will come in due time, our roster clearly isn't balanced, but wouldn't you rather those moves come as a result of finding the best 15 players to help us win rather than some arbitrary notion of "Playing the rookies=Championship in 2 years"? We ALL want to see Archie, Len, Warren and Ennis develop, but guess what....None of them are even 22 yet. We're not running out of time. They are still 4 years away from the beginning of their prime. Be patient, relax.

[Mr-Al]

NOTRAXXE please throw us a bone

pretty please you're our only hope

[lilfishi22]

We're not running out of time.

This is exactly the kind of message I feel some posters seem to be projecting.

"We have to make a move NOW"
"Why aren't we playing Archie 20mpg NOW?"
"Fire Hornacek NOW"
"We should be consistently winning NOW"

We've just signed the MoBros to a cheap long term deal, Bledsoe's deal is going to look cheap going forward and Thomas is signed for cheap as well. And if you don't like the guys I've just mentioned, I'm sure a lot of other teams would love to have them on the contract they're on. It isn't like we're wasting Carmelo's or Bosh's prime here by being patient.

[bwgood77]

I realize that the nature of an internet message board will bring out the crazies when it comes to talking about a sports team, but your guys are going overboard.

The Morris brothers, Bledsoe, Tucker, and Thomas are not going anywhere this year. The Suns just signed all of them to really solid contracts that will look like absolute steals in a couple of years. Phoenix can offer Dragic more money, more years, than any other team. They shouldn't lose him in free agency.

This team is YOUNG. Real young. There will be growing pains. The Morris brothers have improved every single year that they've played. They're 25 years old. Same with Bledsoe. They'll improve. Trading any of these guys when we have them locked up through their prime is beyond dumb.

If the Suns make any moves, it should be in the offseason. Trading our young players that are locked up for years to come, in the middle of the season, is insane and short-sighted.

I agree with your general thoughts especially about overreacting. I wouldn't mind a Thomas trade, but I understand how he is valuable. I'd probably trade him if there was even a decent offer out there. I am not quite as confident as you about Dragic re-signing, but I hope you are right. I was surprised when I pulled up Kieff today to see how much, at least from an advanced stats perspective, that he has regressed this year (PER, TS%). I know some other advanced numbers rank him high, but I assume that is more because of the huge void of an alternative, meaning our team is much better with him on the floor because we don't have another PF. I think you can expect some regression though since he is going against starters instead of backups more.

But I think once Green is gone, and Tucker becomes more of a backup, allowing Warren to hopefully eventually start, that this team will only grow and get better.

It would be nice to consolidate some of the assets into an upgrade somewhere, but we don't have a glaring hole other than maybe PF depth. Of course it would be nice if we had an all star or a superstar, but it's not like you can just get one automatically. I mean Philly is actively throwing seasons to try and get a few, and so far it looks like they've possibly struck out. I don't know if teams that got Gordon, Smart or Randle will suddenly be great any time soon or that those guys will ever be all stars either.

[bwgood77]

"We think we're moving in the right direction," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday as part of Newsmakers Week. "We don't have a so-called 'All-Star', we have guys that are getting close, that are growing and are young."

"I think we're not far off," he said. "If we can get one free agent and then with our guys growing...we're right there.

"With a little bit here and there, we can be just like one of these other teams, the Rockets or Portlands that are 30-15 or whatever their record is. So we're close."

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

I'm with Hornacek here. We don't have all-stars but each player has gained another year of experience and while some players aren't playing as well as they were last year, I have yet to see any sort of decline. A roster move could improve our system, open up minutes for young'uns and guys could very well be playing at the same level as last year.

Tucker is still doing what he did last year, Dragic has just hit the prime of his career, Green can still shoot the rock and that athleticism is still there and everyone else is improving in their own pace. Guys playing worse this season does not mean they are destined to play like this forever. Moving IT for example could mean Dragic returning to form. Trading for a a legit stretch 4 could mean Kieff becomes a consistent 18/8 player, moving Green could mean a better utilised roster.

If we had a roster like the Mavs for example but in the same situation (29-24 and losing close games) then I would be worried because guys aren't going to get better and most will be in a steep decline. But we're not the Mavs, we're not an old team trying to win a championship this season. The way I see it, we started our rebuild last year with the hiring of a new HC, McD first season with full control of the team and our first top 10 draft pick since 2002 with Amare. We're a young team, we're growing internally and we're 29-24 and in the playoff race in the West. Some people don't understand how difficult it is to be in our position in the 2nd year of a rebuild. Even OKC, who had multiple consecutive top 5 picks (Durant, Harden, Jeff Green, Westbrook) didn't become relevant until their 3rd season.

I'm not saying I'm content with 29-24 but I'm just amazed at the expectations of some posters on here. Some are either, we should be 35-18 if this player didn't SUCK or our coach didn't SUCK while others are saying I don't mind if we're 10-43 as long as we're playing our rooks.

Amen

[Revived]

"We think we're moving in the right direction," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday as part of Newsmakers Week. "We don't have a so-called 'All-Star', we have guys that are getting close, that are growing and are young."

"I think we're not far off," he said. "If we can get one free agent and then with our guys growing...we're right there.

"With a little bit here and there, we can be just like one of these other teams, the Rockets or Portlands that are 30-15 or whatever their record is. So we're close."

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

No elite FA will just fall into our lap. That Harden trade was pure luck. If we're gonna wait around for something like that, we'll be waiting for a long time.

Most other players only want to be traded to places where there is already another star player on the team or its a huge market team. Hence the CP3, Dwight, Melo, Love trades.

Teams know that defense still plays a huge role in winning a title.

Any star player with half a brain would look at the Suns team and say "Hell no this team sucks defensively and has had a reputation for being that ignores defense for years".

We need to find our own star through the draft. Then maybe AFTER we do that, we'll get someone here.

[Barkley6]

"We think we're moving in the right direction," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Monday as part of Newsmakers Week. "We don't have a so-called 'All-Star', we have guys that are getting close, that are growing and are young."

"I think we're not far off," he said. "If we can get one free agent and then with our guys growing...we're right there.

"With a little bit here and there, we can be just like one of these other teams, the Rockets or Portlands that are 30-15 or whatever their record is. So we're close."

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

No elite FA will just fall into our lap. That Harden trade was pure luck. If we're gonna wait around for something like that, we'll be waiting for a long time.

Most other players only want to be traded to places where there is already another star player on the team or its a huge market team. Hence the CP3, Dwight, Melo, Love trades.

Teams know that defense still plays a huge role in winning a title.

Any star player with half a brain would look at the Suns team and say "Hell no this team sucks defensively and has had a reputation for being that ignores defense for years".

We need to find our own star through the draft. Then maybe AFTER we do that, we'll get someone here.

I agree with the notion that stars want to team up with other stars. But I also think that if you look at our roster top to bottom, we present an attractive situation to most free agents. We're a deep team, with lots of players to help carry the load. We also have a long window of vitality (as opposed to say teams like Dallas, San Antonio and even Memphis). Do we have some glaring gaps in our team? Sure we do. But any team looking to add a superstar likely is lacking something. I also don't think that many star players think along the lines of "This team sucks defensively" I think they think along the lines of 1) Will they pay me? 2) Will I be featured so that I can get endorsement contracts? 3) Will we be competitive for a championship? (In that order).

Some players don't even get past number one on that list. Look at Channing Frye, he had an offer here, stay with the team he'd been with, stay in his hometown, compete for a playoff spot in the twilight years of his career or uproot his family and his life, and move to Orlando to play for a cellar dweller who may not be relevant for 3-4 years....but make more money. He chose the money.

[carey]

Interesting comments from Horny: http://arizonasports.com/41/1806173/Sun ... y-in-games

Now I'm further convinced that Hornacek is a f***ing idiot.

It took him 50 games to realize that we don't play with effort in the beginning of games?

And he's blaming the slow starts because the players get to games too early?

So if the players showed up like 10 mins before the game then they would be focused?

My god...

Wait, you listened to him and read it and that's what you took away from it? Ok dude.

[Revived]

http://arizonasports.com/41/1806239/Pho ... ite-status

Hornacek probably is watching an improvement where we see a regression. The only player that has progressed this year is Alex Len. Period. Every other player is the same of last year (Bledsoe, Markieff, Marcus) or is playing even worse (Plumlee, Dragic, Tucker, Green).

No elite FA will just fall into our lap. That Harden trade was pure luck. If we're gonna wait around for something like that, we'll be waiting for a long time.

Most other players only want to be traded to places where there is already another star player on the team or its a huge market team. Hence the CP3, Dwight, Melo, Love trades.

Teams know that defense still plays a huge role in winning a title.

Any star player with half a brain would look at the Suns team and say "Hell no this team sucks defensively and has had a reputation for being that ignores defense for years".

We need to find our own star through the draft. Then maybe AFTER we do that, we'll get someone here.

I agree with the notion that stars want to team up with other stars. But I also think that if you look at our roster top to bottom, we present an attractive situation to most free agents. We're a deep team, with lots of players to help carry the load. We also have a long window of vitality (as opposed to say teams like Dallas, San Antonio and even Memphis). Do we have some glaring gaps in our team? Sure we do. But any team looking to add a superstar likely is lacking something. I also don't think that many star players think along the lines of "This team sucks defensively" I think they think along the lines of 1) Will they pay me? 2) Will I be featured so that I can get endorsement contracts? 3) Will we be competitive for a championship? (In that order).

Some players don't even get past number one on that list. Look at Channing Frye, he had an offer here, stay with the team he'd been with, stay in his hometown, compete for a playoff spot in the twilight years of his career or uproot his family and his life, and move to Orlando to play for a cellar dweller who may not be relevant for 3-4 years....but make more money. He chose the money.

Those two things go hand in hand. Most, if not all, title contebders in the past 4-5 years have been teams that are good defensively or at least not awful.

[Revived]

Interesting comments from Horny: http://arizonasports.com/41/1806173/Sun ... y-in-games

Now I'm further convinced that Hornacek is a f***ing idiot.

It took him 50 games to realize that we don't play with effort in the beginning of games?

And he's blaming the slow starts because the players get to games too early?

So if the players showed up like 10 mins before the game then they would be focused?

My god...

Wait, you listened to him and read it and that's what you took away from it? Ok dude.

You didn't read the part where he said that back in his day, they only came to the games an hour before and that helped him focus better and that players these days come 2-3 hours earlier and they get bored or something?

[Qwigglez]

Suns trade-
Goran Dragic
PJ Tucker
Lakers 1st/Suns 1st (2017)

Jazz trade-
Gordon Hayward

Suns lineup
Bledsoe/Hayward/Warren/Kieff/Len
IT/Green/Marcus/Wright/Plumlee

Watch this starting five grow together would be fun.
Jazz need a veteran leader to feed their beasts (Favors/Kanter/Gobert). I know it's a stretch for anyone to want PJ Tucker... but damn Bled/Hayward backcourt would be phenomenal.