2014 Official FA Thread 2

[WeekapaugGroove]

Good points /post WeekaP

I assume you are willing to do the same for Dragic, for he has truly earned his raise.

I'm a bit reluctant giving the max to someone (bled) who doesn't appear to be a leader.

Good to hear Sarver's once again ready to spend. How does the timing work with it all? Do we have to ink up these other FAs before we sign bled and Tucker? Can we sign B and T first and still go over the cap with other acquisitions? July 1 could be a fast paced day. Somebody is bound to force our hand

Sure if Dragic plays well and deserves a huge contract next offseason I'd give it to him. You can always trade one of them at some point if Archie or Ennis breakout. As we are seeing this summer it's not going to be easy to lure a big time free agent here so the suns need to keep their own assets when possible.

Timing isn't too much of an issue because you can't actually sign contracts until July 8th. So yes we could agree to a deal with a guy on July 1st and have him sign paperwork right away on July 8th then still go over the cap to resign our own free agents. Or if we agree to a contract with one of our own guys we can have them wait to actually sign the contract until after we sign outside free agents. Bledsoe and Tucker can force our hand by signing a contract with another team and at that point the dollar amount of that contract would eat into our cap space and we would have 3 days to match.

[charley barkles]

Tucker to a $5mill/year?? Oh god... I hope not!


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[bwgood77]

I (mostly) agree with all but the last part: I think we can let Tucker go. I really do think Warren's ready to step into his minutes. Mostly, because I think Monroe is an option for us, depending on what the Pistons want. For instance, I'd trade them Bogdanovic. I would not trade Ennis. I'd be willing to trade the Morrises instead, provided we can add another shooter at the 3/4 spot.

If Warren were ready to step in and start that would be fantastic. But many people underestimate how drastically the level of competition changes at this level. But he would HAVE to demonstrate he could hit the 3 and play good D. He can't be an NBA caliber defender yet, and he didn't hit the 3 last year well at all. Like discussed, he is probably a better 3 pt shooter than his #s indicated last year when he was the team's only player but we still don't know for sure how good exactly he will be in an NBA game at knocking down open 3s.

I don't think there is any way he is ready to start in his first year...certainly not before late in the season if he defies all expectations.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Having slept on it, I think our best options are either to retain Frye and thereby stay with the same 4/5 situation this year as last year, or go after Greg Monroe. He's a better option than Pau, Bosh, or Kieff, IMO. If we did take Monroe, JDLAW made it clear to me that we would need to be careful to keep enough shooters on our roster to space the floor. So far, it looks like I'm in a minority of one on this issue, but Kevin Love and Al Horford ain't walking through those door.

How come everyone's so down with Pau but not Monroe? What does he provide that Greg doesn't? I don't get it.

Well either Pau or Monroe would have to play center because they can't shoot, and would screw up Dragic and our system massively. You saw how much Pau loves to play away from the basket in LA.

If you really compare Plumlee and Monroe's stats, is Monroe REALLY THAT much better? Per 36 he is a worse rebounder and shot blocker (far worse shot blocker) and rim protector. He's likely to be expensive.

Another thing about going after him and Hayward is it ties up our cap space for three days before the other team most likely match anyway, which could prevent us from making other moves and missing out on other guys.

Monroe is a good shooter from 16 feet with a high release point. He operates in the high post as well as the low post, and looks to pass from the high post. He does need to be next to a rim protector, so he would have to be a 4 for us. You're right in saying that he would mess up our system if we're comparing him to Frye, but not to Kieff: a Kieff/Plumlee front court gives us worse spacing, IMO. I think he spaces the floor better than Kieff because of his offensive versatility, comparable shooting ability, and much better passing ability.

As I said, the other option is to keep Frye and stay the course. Who do you imagine would be the 4 if we put Pau at center or let Frye go? It's Kieff. I'm comparing Monroe to Kieff. I think we'd be better with Monroe.

We can talk about Monroe's cost, but is he much more expensive than having to sign both Morrises next year? I doubt the numbers are far off.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I (mostly) agree with all but the last part: I think we can let Tucker go. I really do think Warren's ready to step into his minutes. Mostly, because I think Monroe is an option for us, depending on what the Pistons want. For instance, I'd trade them Bogdanovic. I would not trade Ennis. I'd be willing to trade the Morrises instead, provided we can add another shooter at the 3/4 spot.

If Warren were ready to step in and start that would be fantastic. But many people underestimate how drastically the level of competition changes at this level. But he would HAVE to demonstrate he could hit the 3 and play good D. He can't be an NBA caliber defender yet, and he didn't hit the 3 last year well at all. Like discussed, he is probably a better 3 pt shooter than his #s indicated last year when he was the team's only player but we still don't know for sure how good exactly he will be in an NBA game at knocking down open 3s.

I don't think there is any way he is ready to start in his first year...certainly not before late in the season if he defies all expectations.

I think he could be ready to start by the end - not the beginning - of his first year. I said he'd take his minutes, not his role necessarily. I'm inferring we'd start either Marcus or Green at the 3. I just think Tucker would find his role completely gone by next year with Warren on the roster.

[bwgood77]

You could be right on both of those statement cozmo. I haven't watched Monroe a ton. I am unsure what Detroit wants to do. I imagine they don't want to let him walk for nothing either. Rarely do RFA's like Hayward, Monroe or Bledsoe just not get matched, even if they are overpaid or maxed, because it's stupid to lose assets for nothing.

One thing I have failed to mention in all of my above scenarios. With it so hard to get a top tier player, I'm sure McD hasn't given up on possibly later getting Love. So that would be the one reason to sign some of the bigger name guys to use our cap space...give us more ammunition and trade assets for a Love trade mid season, especially if it allowed us to keep Dragic and Bledsoe. I mentioned before that if we did sign Deng, that an offer with him and the twins and a couple of future picks might not be a bad offer for Minny to consider.

[nevetsov]

If I could put Monroe on any team, I'd pair him with Faried in Denver. Just think that Monroe's plodding, mechanical offensive game would be best complemented by Faried's energy and activity on the glass.

Another thing with Love too - the longer Minny hold onto him, the less they will end up getting for him.

[WeekapaugGroove]

The perfect pairing for Monroe is surge ibaka. Let's him play center where he belongs and pairs him with an elite rim protector and a guy who wouldn't clog the post with him.

I can't believe I'm saying this but from a fitting the suns system standpoint I would rather have Josh smith than Greg monroe.

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[gaspar]

Monroe is a good shooter from 16 feet with a high release point.

He absolutely isn't. No one guards Monroe beyond 7 ft from the basket.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Monroe is a good shooter from 16 feet with a high release point.

He absolutely isn't. No one guards Monroe beyond 7 ft from the basket.

I stand corrected. Shot chart halfway near the bottom of the page (a year old, but still)... http://grantland.com/the-triangle/shoot ... shotscore/

I withdraw my prior testimony.

[gaspar]

Hope we really make a run at Gasol. Here's why...

If we want to have a decent showing against the powerhouse teams in the West, we need some inside presence and a veteran leader with experience (otherwise we get slaughtered... really bad) How do you think Plumlee, Len or the Morrii will handle a series of games againsts Duncan, Griffin, Ibaka, Nowitzki, LMA, Dwight, Marc Gasol, ZBo, etc.? Damn son. Who else can we get in the FA pool that can play these guys well?

Gasol will be huge for us if we make the playoffs. Book it.

You clearly didn't watch the playoffs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Can we please stop talking about signing Pau Gasol? He's not signing with the Suns. Pau's not a good fit in Phoenix and he made it clear that he doesn't want to play on a running or rebuilding team.

[Sunsdeuce]

Since he is a FA:
[tweet]https://twitter.com/alexkennedynba/status/482930239811899392[/tweet]

[JDLAW]

Monroe is a good shooter from 16 feet with a high release point.

He absolutely isn't. No one guards Monroe beyond 7 ft from the basket.

This is exactly why Detroit has such poor floor spacing.

[STEV13]

Hope we really make a run at Gasol. Here's why...

If we want to have a decent showing against the powerhouse teams in the West, we need some inside presence and a veteran leader with experience (otherwise we get slaughtered... really bad) How do you think Plumlee, Len or the Morrii will handle a series of games againsts Duncan, Griffin, Ibaka, Nowitzki, LMA, Dwight, Marc Gasol, ZBo, etc.? Damn son. Who else can we get in the FA pool that can play these guys well?

Gasol will be huge for us if we make the playoffs. Book it.

You clearly didn't watch the playoffs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Can we please stop talking about signing Pau Gasol? He's not signing with the Suns. Pau's not a good fit in Phoenix and he made it clear that he doesn't want to play on a running or rebuilding team.

I'm just saying we're going nowhere with our bigs. Pau at least would give us a proven inside presence and veteran leadership. Anyway, I'm curious to know who'd you want the Suns to sign/acquire? Who among the FAs would you consider a 'good fit'?

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Today I Learned that we are really stuck at the 4 position.

[bwgood77]

Monroe is a good shooter from 16 feet with a high release point.

He absolutely isn't. No one guards Monroe beyond 7 ft from the basket.

I stand corrected. Shot chart halfway near the bottom of the page (a year old, but still)... http://grantland.com/the-triangle/shoot ... shotscore/

I withdraw my prior testimony.

It's funny, I was asking about Monroe many months ago (not being an expert on his game) and probably had all these same conversations and realized he wasn't a good fit after a bunch of responses....but then every month someone new will bring it up again and it repeats.

[bwgood77]

Today I Learned that we are really stuck at the 4 position.

That's why I was/am higher on Love than most, because there are not very many good stretch fours out there who can add other things as well, like monster rebounding.

[gaspar]

Hope we really make a run at Gasol. Here's why...

If we want to have a decent showing against the powerhouse teams in the West, we need some inside presence and a veteran leader with experience (otherwise we get slaughtered... really bad) How do you think Plumlee, Len or the Morrii will handle a series of games againsts Duncan, Griffin, Ibaka, Nowitzki, LMA, Dwight, Marc Gasol, ZBo, etc.? Damn son. Who else can we get in the FA pool that can play these guys well?

Gasol will be huge for us if we make the playoffs. Book it.

You clearly didn't watch the playoffs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Can we please stop talking about signing Pau Gasol? He's not signing with the Suns. Pau's not a good fit in Phoenix and he made it clear that he doesn't want to play on a running or rebuilding team.

I'm just saying we're going nowhere with our bigs. Pau at least would give us a proven inside presence and veteran leadership. Anyway, I'm curious to know who'd you want the Suns to sign/acquire? Who among the FAs would you consider a 'good fit'?

I'm one of the few Suns fans who think Markieff is good enough to be a starter in the NBA but if Bosh opts out I think he will be a good target for the Suns.

[drewsprocket]

You're right Gaspar, we're not getting Pau. He's not going to spend his remaining years with us unless we offer something ridiculous. I think we would mostly agree that an impact PF could help us develop into a contending team. I think a number of PFs would be great on our team. Essentially it comes down to potential or being able to play the pick and roll or pick and pop, rebound, and protect the rim. Any significant skill in any ONE of these areas is worth going after. I wish there were someway the suns could go after one of these guys.

Aldridge
Davis
Ibaka
Blake
Love
Gibson
Tristan Thompson
Ryan Anderson
Ilyasova
Bosh (still has got it for another couple years)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Too Old/Not athletic enough
Monroe
ZBO
Nowitzki
Nene
KG
Gasol
David West
Overrated stat PFs: Can't defend, inflated rebound numbers, Limited length wise and on D
Faried
David Lee

[bwgood77]

I think Markieff can start. I don't think Bosh is leaving Miami, unless LeBron suddenly bolts and then Bosh realizes the team won't be so good without LeBron and bolts too. I guess it's possible.