2019 season speculation including trade ideas

[Revived]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

[Crives]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

IDK about that.. Saric has been looking really good.. I wouldn’t offer 15m per but I wouldn’t let him walk for nothing if someone offers it..

Luckily the teams with cap this summer seem set at PF.

[bigfoot]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

Jones is gonna handle Saric just like Oubre. Extend the qualifying offer and then see what teams are willing to pay him. Baynes is a must keep. A big two year deal might be on the table ... not sure how I feel about paying him for four years until he is 37.

[lilfishi22]

My mindset might change as the season goes on but my current thoughts is that we have a good situation right now with us playing competitive ball, our floor dramatically raised and with us possibly competing for a playoff spot as soon as this season after a decade on the outside looking in and the last 5 being in the absolute lowest of cellars there could be. But I'm not sure someone like Tyler is a guy that we just stick with just because we're scared to change the chemistry of this team.

We (should) have learnt from the last time we played around with the chemistry and added IT to a Bledsoe/Dragic backcourt which worked well so I'm certainly not saying we should just add another guy just to add another guy but certainly I feel like we're losing a major opportunity if we do nothing with Tyler's contract and just keep him around long term. I mean he's an OK player who sometimes has good games and is shooting fairly well from range but I just feel like we're not raising the ceiling by just keeping Tyler around. My mindset is that Tyler has helped us raise the floor but are we just hoping that our ceiling gets raised organically with what we have or do we use this opportunity to raise it further with Tyler's contract?

The problem for me is who do we bring back with Tyler’s contract? I don’t want an older win now piece, and I don’t think the front office does either. I think the biggest hole on our roster right now is a 6th man scoring wing/guard, but that’s a tough trade with 19m and would it be worth the cost of future picks/players? If a youngish star gets upset and wants out then I think Tyler’s contract will be a great asset (as I mentioned above). Maybei need to play with the cap sheet more, but I feel like we could put the salary from Tyler’s expiring to good use in 2021 when Oubres contract comes off the books.

How many backup guards make Tyler's money?

Trading Tyler makes no sense from a basketball perspective unless you're getting a superior guard in return, because as constructed, this roster really needs Tyler Johnson. I don't feel comfortable going to war with only Jevon Carter, Ty Jerome and Elie Okobo backing up Rubio and Booker in the backcourt. It's too much of a drop off. If Ty Jerome comes in and kicks butt, I still think you need Tyler for the depth he gives us in the backcourt.

I think this is going to be a very slow season for all you trade checkers out there, because our best option is probably to stay pat. The one move I might consider is moving Baynes if a team is willing to overpay and I know he's not coming back next season, but even that sends the wrong message to our players, which is, we don't care about winning this year. Which isn't true. We'd love to win this year. Go get it, Book and DA!

Which is what I would be looking for.

[lilfishi22]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

If it's between one or the other, I'd have to go with Saric because you know he's going to be a long term piece. He still has upside, he's playing well as our smart stretch 4 and he's theoretically a great fit next to Ayton which allows Ayton to play at his true center position. I don't think somewhere in the region of $10-15m is a crazy offer and while I'm not enamored by Saric as a long term piece, he does make basketball sense in term of what we need and how he fits

Also, I do think stretch 4's are still difficult to find, especially one that is shooting 40% from 3 and holds their own on the defensive end.

[Saberestar]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

When Ryan Anderson was 26 years old (like Saric will be next season) he was a very good starting PF. But injuries and age did his thing.

And I think Saric is more than just an stretch 4. He can be a playmaker out of the post or the elbows and he can certainly pass the ball.

That is huge for a team with our system...not that useful in a team like the Rockets, for example.

I think that he is gonna keep playing better and better, I am a big believer in him.

[Barkley6]

I agree with all your points


But you lost me at LMA lol

Yeah, I'd rather not go in on LMA. If there is one PF I'm targeting its Markkanen. He fits what we do so well and is a perfect addition to our roster. I'd be willing to take on Otto Porter Jr for an additional year (2020 class is weak anyway) if it meant we got Markkanen.

Something like this:
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=tk2fggk

It's not the BEST move for the Suns because I don't love giving up Bridges, but with Cam Johnson eating up so many minutes at SF and Oubre the clear starter, it seems like he might be worth it to get someone of Markkanen's calibre.

Obviously Markkanen would a better fit than LMA (and Otto is what we hope Mikal will be) but if you want to hold on to Bridges then our market is limited to older veterans. I’m not against trading Bridges for the right piece, and Markkanen might be that, but I don’t see the motivation from Chicago.

Chicago would swap Porter's massive deal (that he's NOT worth at all) for an expiring in Johnson, get a decently affordable starting PF in Saric and a young prospect in Bridges. It's a slight down grade for Chicago talent wise, but the idea is they'd be under the cap in 2020 whereas they wouldn't be if they kept Porter Jr.

[bwgood77]

Too early for me to make a call on Saric. He's looked good in some games and not so good in others. He's played fairly well defensively but had a pretty bad defensive reputation coming in. I had heard/read multiple times he was not a good defender, so I can't judge too much with him yet. Certainly not how much I would pay him next summer (were I an NBA team owner).

[DRK]

What has made this team click is the passing abilities from all 5 guys/5positions on the floor.

Saric was brought in because he is a swiss army knife at the 4, and isnt a black hole. His passing at the 4 is extremely valuable.

On a side note, I can finally see the logic behind why TJ was dumped

[DroughtsOverPHX]

At some point (not this season) just being in the playoff race isn’t going to be enough. If we’re not upgrading our long term talent then we should be planning for max capspace in 2021. Extending all our role players for multi year deals does neither of those things. Only reason I suggested LMA is because he expires that summer of 2021 while also making us a threat to win a playoff series this year. If we sit on our hands this year we also run the risk of losing Tyler, Saric, and Baynes for nothing and taking a huge step back.

I agree with all your points


But you lost me at LMA lol

Yeah, I'd rather not go in on LMA. If there is one PF I'm targeting its Markkanen. He fits what we do so well and is a perfect addition to our roster. I'd be willing to take on Otto Porter Jr for an additional year (2020 class is weak anyway) if it meant we got Markkanen.

Something like this:
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=tk2fggk

It's not the BEST move for the Suns because I don't love giving up Bridges, but with Cam Johnson eating up so many minutes at SF and Oubre the clear starter, it seems like he might be worth it to get someone of Markkanen's calibre.

Maybe I'm seeing something wrong here but it looks like some Chicago fans would give him to us if he keeps playing like he is. They have at least 2 threads expressing their displeasure with Lauri. I'm okay with watching how things play out this season with who we got and hoping it goes so well we try to keep our roster intact.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1908336

[bwgood77]

I agree with all your points


But you lost me at LMA lol

Yeah, I'd rather not go in on LMA. If there is one PF I'm targeting its Markkanen. He fits what we do so well and is a perfect addition to our roster. I'd be willing to take on Otto Porter Jr for an additional year (2020 class is weak anyway) if it meant we got Markkanen.

Something like this:
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=tk2fggk

It's not the BEST move for the Suns because I don't love giving up Bridges, but with Cam Johnson eating up so many minutes at SF and Oubre the clear starter, it seems like he might be worth it to get someone of Markkanen's calibre.

Maybe I'm seeing something wrong here but it looks like some Chicago fans would give him to us if he keeps playing like he is. They have at least 2 threads expressing their displeasure with Lauri. I'm okay with watching how things play out this season with who we got and hoping it goes so well we try to keep our roster intact.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1908336

I'm sure they are unhappy with him but I haven't commented on him because he is by far their biggest star. It would be like another team talking about us trade Booker or Ayton for various pieces. He is a major cornerstone for them. Of course I'm a huge Markkanen fan but he isn't going anywhere. And they just traded for Porter in February because they wanted him...I doubt they are suddenly scrambling to get out of his contract. He's a very solid player who also has had a slow start.

Honestly what I think they need is a new coach. With their group of PGs (Sato, Coby White, Dunn, Arci), LaVine, Porter, Markkanen and Wendell Carter they should be pretty good. Seems like they played pretty well at times under Boylen last year but something is off there.

[Revived]

What has made this team click is the passing abilities from all 5 guys/5positions on the floor.

Saric was brought in because he is a swiss army knife at the 4, and isnt a black hole. His passing at the 4 is extremely valuable.

On a side note, I can finally see the logic behind why TJ was dumped

Warren actually passed the ball more than Oubre if we’re talking strictly about passing.

[Revived]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

If it's between one or the other, I'd have to go with Saric because you know he's going to be a long term piece. He still has upside, he's playing well as our smart stretch 4 and he's theoretically a great fit next to Ayton which allows Ayton to play at his true center position. I don't think somewhere in the region of $10-15m is a crazy offer and while I'm not enamored by Saric as a long term piece, he does make basketball sense in term of what we need and how he fits

Also, I do think stretch 4's are still difficult to find, especially one that is shooting 40% from 3 and holds their own on the defensive end.

I think Ayton needs a better defensive PF that can hit 3s and rim protect. Saric has held own thus far defensively but I think the Suns are gonna need more than that with Ayton as starting C. Unless the Kings game version of Ayton is what we get from him in terms of commitment to the defensive end and protecting the rim.

Someone like Maxi Kleber is who I’d try and target. Otherwise someone from the draft similar to that.

[lilfishi22]

Saric isn’t worth $15M/yr deal. Overpaying for stretch 4s is always a bad idea and could end up with a Ryan Anderson type contract.

I’d offer him $10M/yr at most and that’s it. I doubt he will get offered much more, I don’t think he will have a robust market. There’s a reason he’s on his 3rd team before finishing his rookie contract. If there is some crazy offer, then Suns can let him walk and find a replacement via draft or free agency. Stretch 4s are no longer a unicorn type prospects to find.

Baynes is a guy they have to bring back. Shouldn’t even have him test the market, put $10-$12M/yr deal on the table for him and let him retire in Arizona.

If it's between one or the other, I'd have to go with Saric because you know he's going to be a long term piece. He still has upside, he's playing well as our smart stretch 4 and he's theoretically a great fit next to Ayton which allows Ayton to play at his true center position. I don't think somewhere in the region of $10-15m is a crazy offer and while I'm not enamored by Saric as a long term piece, he does make basketball sense in term of what we need and how he fits

Also, I do think stretch 4's are still difficult to find, especially one that is shooting 40% from 3 and holds their own on the defensive end.

I think Ayton needs a better defensive PF that can hit 3s and rim protect. Saric has held own thus far defensively but I think the Suns are gonna need more than that with Ayton as starting C. Unless the Kings game version of Ayton is what we get from him in terms of commitment to the defensive end and protecting the rim.

Someone like Maxi Kleber is who I’d try and target. Otherwise someone from the draft similar to that.

I like Kleber and was a proponent of trying to get him this past off season but I think Saric definitely has a higher overall ceiling. Kleber is better than Saric as the rim protection part but Saric is a better shooter, better passer and also a better creator in general.

If Ayton is a guy that we viewed as have little to no prospect of improving as a rim protector or defender than I can see where Kleber would make more sense. But I do, now, view Ayton has having the potential to be above average as a rim protector so I'm OK with the rim protection trade off bewteen Kleber and Saric in favor of Saric's offensive fit next to Ayton

[phnart]

Way too early to be thinking about giving either of these guys a bucket of cash. If I had to choose now, I'd pay Saric. Younger and I think he will work well with Ayton. Baynes has been a really nice surprise, but let's see if he can maintain it for a season. Too many dumb fouls for $15M a year. Can't pay a guy that much cheddar to take himself out of the game on a regular basis.

[KLEON]

I don't know how much it will cost to keep them but I want them both back. The funniest thing about Saric and Baynes is that Saric is good offensively and really surprised on how good defensively he is and Baynes is good defensively and surprised me how good he is offensively

[bwgood77]

Latest Athletic Power ranking..

9. Phoenix Suns (Previously 10th), 7-4 (+6.5 net rating)
The train keeps rolling for the Phoenix Suns as they get prepared for a big early-season showdown with the Boston Celtics at home Monday night. One conversation they need to have at some point involves the starting center position. They’ve gone 10 games since Deandre Ayton was suspended for the anti-drug policy in the NBA. He will be out the next 15 games, during which time the Suns have a few challenges on the schedule, but also a lot of games they’ll be expected to win. A lot of this winning has to do with the presence of Aron Baynes. It is way too early to seriously start tracking awards but Baynes’ masterful play on both ends of the floor will have him in contention for Most Improved Player. His minutes aren’t out of control and his scoring has gone through the roof this season. His 3-point shot and playmaking are impressive. Even though he’s not rebounding like he did in the past, he’s keeping this team glued together on both ends of the floor.

When Ayton comes back, the Suns will have to make a tough decision. Do you believe Ayton, as a former number one pick, will accept a lesser role for the greater good of the team? Do you believe that the higher-ups, even as high as owner Robert Sarver, will want one of the cornerstones of the team to get relegated to a Sixth Man role as long as this Suns team is rolling? Or will they believe in Ayton as the starter and expect Baynes to adjust to everything he’s doing to accommodate the young center? It’s not a totally easy situation to manage for Monty Williams and the front office, but winning basketball should be the best selling point regardless of the decision. When’s the last time we could throw that into a decision the Suns had to make regarding their product on the court?

[alamin330]

What is going on inside some of your heads? Ayton is not coming off the bench. He’s so much better than Baynes. Baynes is showing is why the past few games. Baynes is playing well but his best is Aytons worst. Stop the foolishness. Smh

[bwgood77]

Zach Harper of The Athletic wrote that, by the way.

[Dual]

I dont see game post so I put it here:

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