2020 Preseason Speculation - Lineup battles underway

[Ghost of Kleine]

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[Kerrsed]

I've gotten to like Cam over the season despite hating the pick and while I do agree that his upside isn't that of a typical 1st round draft pick, I think it's a little presumptuous to say he has no upside. FWIW, he did played to expectations and arguably showed more than most expected. Given what he is shown, I do think he can be considered a known quantity and that is of a solid 3PT shooting wing who fits quite well in our offense.

I wouldn't be so keen to just throw him in. But I do understand the sentiment that this FO likely won't make Cam the dealbreaker in a trade that both the NBPA President and our franchise player wants to make happen.

It helps that Nesmith and Vassell who both can shoot lights out (and can also defend) as well as Okoro all available as decent wing choices. All 3 should likely be there at 10 too and are on average 4 years younger than Cam. Still, Cam was a great find and I'd prefer to keep him. Who else does OKC think is gonna trade for CP3 anyway? Hopefully we hold strong here.

I wish i saved the tweet, but i was one that had Nesmith over Vassell because of his lights out 3 point shooting, but someone on Twitter crunched the numbers of guys who made it to the NBA that averaged less than 1 assist and over 1.5 TO's a game and it was a list of like 12 NBA players that i honestly couldnt name or remember a single one of them. It was that bad. Like it was an eye opener of a really bad sign. Ive really cooled on Nesmith.

[lilfishi22]

Who cares what Paul and Booker want?


Don't make a stupid trade that makes your team worse!

Does it make the team worse? If you can make a trade that is aligned with what Booker wants *and* we get better from it....why not?

I do think we're a better team and a guy like Cam is replaceable as much as I hate to say it.

The Suns are not a better team trading Cam, Ruibo and Oubre for Paul?

But to your point - I would have to see the other moves to get the full picture. But they better be damn sure of the "other moves>"

Oh we were trying to sign Gallo but lets just bring Frank the Tank back - he is a tall white guy - who will notice?!?

This is something I've been trying to grapple with and if I'm being honest, I do actually think we're better with CP3 even with those pieces gone. Oubre to me is a lesser piece of the 3 guys because he didn't play in the bubble when we played our best basketball of the season while Cam and Rubio stepped up. CP3 is better than Rubio in virtually every metric and his ability to shoot and score at the PG position is a significant advantage over Rubio. So then what about Cam? Great sharp shooter who started to get comfortable towards the start of the break and continued to get better in the bubble but he's replaceable.

And if we are able to get a guy like Gallo on the cheap or I dunno...Milsapp or something, even better. I'm not a CP3 fan at all, never have been but his talent is undeniable and I think his team elevating abilities is seriously underrated or at least greatly diminished in the eyes of the many fans because of how much he's paid, his injury history, his age, his flopping and the fact that he's just never been able to get to the Finals. But he is a seriously good basketball player, even at this age. He's a real gamble but I think you're gambling too on Rubio not losing too much of his abilities over his contract, you're gambling on Oubre continuing to make real strides while not taking the king's bounty of a contract, you're gambling on Cam being a lot more than just a sharp shooter and you're gambling on Booker/Ayton taking another massive step in improvement with the personnel we have.

If I'm a gambling man, I'm taking the bigger bet here because I think there's a real case to be made that the bigger bet might also be the safer bet

[TeamTragic]

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OKC can take our offer or go elsewhere. Zero interest in trading Cam or the #10 pick.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I'm starting to hate this timeline. Take me back to the bubble. I want to watch the Bubble Suns.

[bigfoot]

Trades can start happening tomorrow at noon ET. Guess we will see what happens.

[MrMiyagi]

I don't really want CP3. I wanna see Oubre with the Bubble Suns.

[MrMiyagi]

I'm starting to hate this timeline. Take me back to the bubble. I want to watch the Bubble Suns.

Same team

[Kyler Murray]

Take a break and do yourself a favor and watch what D-Hop did.

[Kerrsed]

Does it make the team worse? If you can make a trade that is aligned with what Booker wants *and* we get better from it....why not?

I do think we're a better team and a guy like Cam is replaceable as much as I hate to say it.

The Suns are not a better team trading Cam, Ruibo and Oubre for Paul?

But to your point - I would have to see the other moves to get the full picture. But they better be damn sure of the "other moves>"

Oh we were trying to sign Gallo but lets just bring Frank the Tank back - he is a tall white guy - who will notice?!?

This is something I've been trying to grapple with and if I'm being honest, I do actually think we're better with CP3 even with those pieces gone. Oubre to me is a lesser piece of the 3 guys because he didn't play in the bubble when we played our best basketball of the season while Cam and Rubio stepped up. CP3 is better than Rubio in virtually every metric and his ability to shoot and score at the PG position is a significant advantage over Rubio. So then what about Cam? Great sharp shooter who started to get comfortable towards the start of the break and continued to get better in the bubble but he's replaceable.

And if we are able to get a guy like Gallo on the cheap or I dunno...Milsapp or something, even better. I'm not a CP3 fan at all, never have been but his talent is undeniable and I think his team elevating abilities is seriously underrated or at least greatly diminished in the eyes of the many fans because of how much he's paid, his injury history, his age, his flopping and the fact that he's just never been able to get to the Finals. But he is a seriously good basketball player, even at this age. He's a real gamble but I think you're gambling too on Rubio not losing too much of his abilities over his contract, you're gambling on Oubre continuing to make real strides while not taking the king's bounty of a contract, you're gambling on Cam being a lot more than just a sharp shooter and you're gambling on Booker/Ayton taking another massive step in improvement with the personnel we have.

If I'm a gambling man, I'm taking the bigger bet here because I think there's a real case to be made that the bigger bet might also be the safer bet

I agree with the point that i think CP3 will be better than what we have with Rubio and Oubre, and he will make players step up evenmore than they currently do. I think he will make some of our guys even better than their current trajection.

The issue i have is that the deal just becomes way way too good for OKC.

I mean i understand and like the idea of getting Gallo for cheap (Because of CP3), and i think he would do great for us, but truth be told Cam Johnson wasnt that far off from what Gallo provides.....and that was his rookie season! He started off really slow, but towards the end (And the whole bubble) he was great, so his stats kinda suffer from that slow start....and yet they are STILL similar to Gallo's last season.



Yes, Gallo is a small step up from Cam, but once again, this is a rookie, a guy 8 years younger than him. To me thats exactly the guy you want playing behind and learning from Gallo, not one you trade in hopes you might get Gallo.

[bwgood77]

James Jones will lose all of his credibility if he includes Cam or FRP to the deal. It's insane how people ok with giving away Cam. We'll lose 3 starter level players for a 35 year old PG with an insane salary and injury history. Free agency is a huge gamble and without any solid wings left on the roster we'll probably overpay for a SF while the team desperately needs a back up five and a combo guard.

Why do you do that when you have all the leverage in the deal. CP3 wants to play for the Suns and nobody can offer better players.

What happened to the bubble run? Have you guys forgetten about it? We were kicking everybody's ass. Cam and Rubio were essential pieces of that squad. Cam is one of the best shooters in the league and he is just starting to feel comfortable. He showed that he is much more than a shooter. He is a wing who can play either 3/4 positions, underrated finisher with high bball iq and great character. HE IS ON A ROOKIE CONTRACT. Main reason why we can afford Paul's contract is because we have guys like Cam, Mikal and Ayton on a rookie contract. Good luck building a roster when you give away guys like that.

What happened to building a culture? Why would you destroy everything you built for 2 years of Paul when you still have a pretty good roster you can improve. What will happen to the chemistry this roster had built over the year. I don't care if Paul is a powerful name in the league. He can use his influence to pressure OKC if he is that important. I don't care if this trade makes Booker happy. Booker is a moron if he thinks that trade will benefit the team. I can be ok with this if it is Rubio/Oubre for CP3 (still a risky deal for the team) if Presti wants more than that he can f. off.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using RealGM mobile app

This is important. The culture seems to always get worse with CP3, at least after a year. Seems like everyone loved playing for the Suns for once..Oubre, Bridges, Cam, Rubio, Dario...even Baynes who wanted to play for a contender.....and our other backups.

[TeamTragic]

Take a break and do yourself a favor and watch what D-Hop did.

Who is D-Hop?

[Fo-Real]

Hoping that asking for Cam is just a negotiating tactic to force the #10 instead.

Trading Cam wouldn't really give us more cap space, as we'd have to spend more retaining Saric as our backup PF...

They can have CAM **** PAYNE!!!

[lilfishi22]

The Suns are not a better team trading Cam, Ruibo and Oubre for Paul?

But to your point - I would have to see the other moves to get the full picture. But they better be damn sure of the "other moves>"

Oh we were trying to sign Gallo but lets just bring Frank the Tank back - he is a tall white guy - who will notice?!?

This is something I've been trying to grapple with and if I'm being honest, I do actually think we're better with CP3 even with those pieces gone. Oubre to me is a lesser piece of the 3 guys because he didn't play in the bubble when we played our best basketball of the season while Cam and Rubio stepped up. CP3 is better than Rubio in virtually every metric and his ability to shoot and score at the PG position is a significant advantage over Rubio. So then what about Cam? Great sharp shooter who started to get comfortable towards the start of the break and continued to get better in the bubble but he's replaceable.

And if we are able to get a guy like Gallo on the cheap or I dunno...Milsapp or something, even better. I'm not a CP3 fan at all, never have been but his talent is undeniable and I think his team elevating abilities is seriously underrated or at least greatly diminished in the eyes of the many fans because of how much he's paid, his injury history, his age, his flopping and the fact that he's just never been able to get to the Finals. But he is a seriously good basketball player, even at this age. He's a real gamble but I think you're gambling too on Rubio not losing too much of his abilities over his contract, you're gambling on Oubre continuing to make real strides while not taking the king's bounty of a contract, you're gambling on Cam being a lot more than just a sharp shooter and you're gambling on Booker/Ayton taking another massive step in improvement with the personnel we have.

If I'm a gambling man, I'm taking the bigger bet here because I think there's a real case to be made that the bigger bet might also be the safer bet

I agree with the point that i think CP3 will be better than what we have with Rubio and Oubre, and he will make players step up evenmore than they currently do. I think he will make some of our guys even better than their current trajection.

The issue i have is that the deal just becomes way way too good for OKC.

I mean i understand and like the idea of getting Gallo for cheap (Because of CP3), and i think he would do great for us, but truth be told Cam Johnson wasnt that far off from what Gallo provides.....and that was his rookie season! He started off really slow, but towards the end (And the whole bubble) he was great, so his stats kinda suffer from that slow start....and yet they are STILL similar to Gallo's last season.



Yes, Gallo is a small step up from Cam, but once again, this is a rookie, a guy 8 years younger than him. To me thats exactly the guy you want playing behind and learning from Gallo, not one you trade in hopes you might get Gallo.

I'm not liking it either. I don't think we should have to give up more than Rubio/Oubre but again to my point, Cam is not the calibre of player that will be a dealbreaker in this types of trades. As much as I've grown to like him, I have to look at him from an objective standpoint and he's just not the the level of prospects that you absolutely *have* to hang on to.

I'm not going to disagree with the Gallo v Cam assessment but only going to point out that if we're going to go in this new direction, an experience player who's a damn near perfect fit next to Ayton is not a bad swap for Cam. Also want to mention that Gallo does have some shot creating abilities which Cam may or may not ever develop.

[MathiasPW]

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This guy is reaching Kardashian levels of milking his 15 mins of fame, already.

[Qwigglez]

It’s an absolute hell no for me including Cam Johnson here. He is the ideal stretch four next to Ayton. He can launch threes from 4 feet behind the 3 point line, the dudes a flamethrower. He can absolutely become a similar player to that of Klay Thompson or a watered down version and become Duncan Robinson. I was only comfortable trading Oubre because we have Cam here, but trading both depletes our wings. Gtfo. I’d rather run it back anyways. Presti trying to make presto magic. If CP3 was 32... maybe.

[bwgood77]

Does it make the team worse? If you can make a trade that is aligned with what Booker wants *and* we get better from it....why not?

I do think we're a better team and a guy like Cam is replaceable as much as I hate to say it.

The Suns are not a better team trading Cam, Ruibo and Oubre for Paul?

But to your point - I would have to see the other moves to get the full picture. But they better be damn sure of the "other moves>"

Oh we were trying to sign Gallo but lets just bring Frank the Tank back - he is a tall white guy - who will notice?!?

This is something I've been trying to grapple with and if I'm being honest, I do actually think we're better with CP3 even with those pieces gone. Oubre to me is a lesser piece of the 3 guys because he didn't play in the bubble when we played our best basketball of the season while Cam and Rubio stepped up. CP3 is better than Rubio in virtually every metric and his ability to shoot and score at the PG position is a significant advantage over Rubio. So then what about Cam? Great sharp shooter who started to get comfortable towards the start of the break and continued to get better in the bubble but he's replaceable.

And if we are able to get a guy like Gallo on the cheap or I dunno...Milsapp or something, even better. I'm not a CP3 fan at all, never have been but his talent is undeniable and I think his team elevating abilities is seriously underrated or at least greatly diminished in the eyes of the many fans because of how much he's paid, his injury history, his age, his flopping and the fact that he's just never been able to get to the Finals. But he is a seriously good basketball player, even at this age. He's a real gamble but I think you're gambling too on Rubio not losing too much of his abilities over his contract, you're gambling on Oubre continuing to make real strides while not taking the king's bounty of a contract, you're gambling on Cam being a lot more than just a sharp shooter and you're gambling on Booker/Ayton taking another massive step in improvement with the personnel we have.

If I'm a gambling man, I'm taking the bigger bet here because I think there's a real case to be made that the bigger bet might also be the safer bet

The thing is, our only real lineups that were a big net positive were with Oubre or Cam starting at the 4. If you trade both, even if you get Gallo, you might be better, but you also are suddenly a very old and injury prone team. Who is your future PF now? I feel comfortable starting Cam at the 4 going forward, for now, considering how we played in the bubble, but I don't know about Saric. Suddenly when these older guys are gone or injured, we have to find a PG and PF, and I know people expect great trades later or great FA signings but I wouldn't necessarily count on that...internal growth and building culture through the draft and maybe a FA or two is good and we were headed in the right direction and everyone was excited for the Suns.

Now I do think people will be excited for the Suns, probably more excited, with Paul, but to give up Cam along with those others, which was already a nice trade to save a ton of money for OKC, is too much. I also don't think it's a risk with Rubio declining over the next two years. He's the same age as when we signed Nash and often PGs get better around then, and I expect him to improve.

[bwgood77]

Take a break and do yourself a favor and watch what D-Hop did.

Who is D-Hop?

#10 here:

Read on Twitter

[cberry78]

Take a break and do yourself a favor and watch what D-Hop did.

Who is D-Hop?

#10 here:

Read on Twitter

Crazy play.

[bwgood77]

James Jones should give Houston a call and say "How about Rubio and Oubre for Harden?" Then he should call Woj up and say we are in discussions with Houston to trade Rubio and Oubre for Harden. Then wait for OKC to call back.