Season Speculation, Trade Ideas and Discussion

[lilfishi22]

I want nothing to do with JV.

I mean when his own team cant trust him with minutes (specially in crunch time) that really says something about him and his potential. The kid is lackluster and suffers from being even more-so inconsistent than our own Alex Len. His offense is a bit better than Len's but his defense is just as bad. Here we are trying to justify re-signing Len and some are ok with trading for his carbon copy thats making $14M/$15M/$16M/$17M a season!

F that noise!

Id rather just trade Knight for Noel. You know what you are getting from him night in and night out, defense and rebounding, the two things that this team really needs from their C spot. Im also sure that re-signing him could come out cheaper in the long run as well.

Just say NO to JV, there is a reason that Raptor fans are trying their damnedest to pawn him off on other teams.

This is how I feel about the trade

It seems like a fairly reasonable trade, but a lot depends on the plans for Len. I think right now is just bad timing to do something like that.

[TeamTragic]

Noel wondering how three centers can coexist on one team

[Damkac]

Please make some moves fast. I have literally 0 willingness to watch Suns games now. Eventually I look at the box score and then I see PJ freaking Tucker playing 40 minutes, Bender playing 8 minutes, Ulis not playing at all, Booker shooting 3 for 16 with 1 rebound and no assists, 13 assists not by any of the players but by the whole team...
I have hundreds more interesting ways to spend time and that include looking at the wall for 2 hours.
I would be more interested if Suns go 0-58 from now but give young guys minutes. And with Ulis and Bender maybe there will be any ball movement. Everything will be better than watching Tucker for 40 minutes or watching how Booker turns into a worse version of Brandon Knight.
I admire strong will of those who still watch those games.

TJ come back faster!

[Damkac]

BTW could someone explain me how the whole trades and salaries thing works...
I was playing with ESPN trade machine and tried a trade where Wolves get Chandler and Gay and gives Pek but it says I need to cut over 13 milions $. Then I also trade Muhammad (only 3 milions) and now trade is successful.
I would be grateful if some smart person could explain this to me.

[thamadkant]

BTW could someone explain me how the whole trades and salaries thing works...
I was playing with ESPN trade machine and tried a trade where Wolves get Chandler and Gay and gives Pek but it says I need to cut over 13 milions $. Then I also trade Muhammad (only 3 milions) and now trade is successful.
I would be grateful if some smart person could explain this to me.

Err.. You've been on RealGM for years. I would've assumed you know the basics.

[lilfishi22]

Please make some moves fast. I have literally 0 willingness to watch Suns games now. Eventually I look at the box score and then I see PJ freaking Tucker playing 40 minutes, Bender playing 8 minutes, Ulis not playing at all, Booker shooting 3 for 16 with 1 rebound and no assists, 13 assists not by any of the players but by the whole team...
I have hundreds more interesting ways to spend time and that include looking at the wall for 2 hours.
I would be more interested if Suns go 0-58 from now but give young guys minutes. And with Ulis and Bender maybe there will be any ball movement. Everything will be better than watching Tucker for 40 minutes or watching how Booker turns into a worse version of Brandon Knight.
I admire strong will of those who still watch those games.

TJ come back faster!

Sir, you need to watch today's game and not just look at box scores. PJ shut down 1 of NY's 2 scorers (Melo).

Fact is, we don't play a fun style of basketball. Even if our rookies played, it would still be damn near unwatchable because they are so raw they'd just be running around like a chicken without its head.

[Damkac]

It's nice PJ defended Melo well. The problem is I don't care. 1) He is 31 and too old too see him as a part of Suns future 2) He is terrible offensive player and I think he hurt team's scoring more than he helps on defense 3) Suns have no chance to make the playoffs so I don't care if they won that game, in long term only think it does is lowering Suns chance to get high pick.

[NavLDO]

I want nothing to do with JV.

I mean when his own team cant trust him with minutes (specially in crunch time) that really says something about him and his potential. The kid is lackluster and suffers from being even more-so inconsistent than our own Alex Len. His offense is a bit better than Len's but his defense is just as bad. Here we are trying to justify re-signing Len and some are ok with trading for his carbon copy thats making $14M/$15M/$16M/$17M a season!

F that noise!

Id rather just trade Knight for Noel. You know what you are getting from him night in and night out, defense and rebounding, the two things that this team really needs from their C spot. Im also sure that re-signing him could come out cheaper in the long run as well.

Just say NO to JV, there is a reason that Raptor fans are trying their damnedest to pawn him off on other teams.

I don't agree with you on your take on Len's Defense, as I think it's a blossoming part of his game, but you are spot on with Valanciunas. I have no interest in trading for a big with marginal-at-best defense, on that type of contract; it's like paying that much money for a PG with poor career Asst-to-TOV ratios...oh, wait...

[Calvin Klein]

Please make some moves fast. I have literally 0 willingness to watch Suns games now. Eventually I look at the box score and then I see PJ freaking Tucker playing 40 minutes, Bender playing 8 minutes, Ulis not playing at all, Booker shooting 3 for 16 with 1 rebound and no assists, 13 assists not by any of the players but by the whole team...
I have hundreds more interesting ways to spend time and that include looking at the wall for 2 hours.
I would be more interested if Suns go 0-58 from now but give young guys minutes. And with Ulis and Bender maybe there will be any ball movement. Everything will be better than watching Tucker for 40 minutes or watching how Booker turns into a worse version of Brandon Knight.
I admire strong will of those who still watch those games.

TJ come back faster!

You missed a great game.

Tucker's defense was one of the main reasons the Suns won.

[King4Day]

Valancuinas for pj tucker, tyson chander and a future 1st rounder??

I'd still pass. Going after Valancuinas means we are going to try to win. Right now we're nowhere close to ready for this. Our team is super young and we need someone like Chandler for his leadership.

How could you see this move as us going for wins? We'd essentially be trading two old vets (who's job is to win) for a young big with potential who still hasn't reached his prime yet. We're going younger by trading for JV (doesn't turn 25 until the end of the season) and he's only YR1 into his new deal which I consider to be fairly reasonable for someone of his age, production and potential.

I still am looking at the big picture. Taking into account that it will take a perfectly built team to topple the Cavs or Warriors, is it worth trying to put a competitive team together now when there will be nearly no chance to find the right combination of players to be elite again anytime soon? I want what we had during the Nash era. I don't see Valencuinas moving the needle. It should probably also be a concern if Toronto would be willing to give up on their supposed prized big man for Tucker and Chandler and what would likely be a late lottery pick.

I'm still on the train of drafting high and hope to land a superstar. I don't care about the playoffs. There are 2 things to be excited about as an NBA fan.

- Your team is elite and a legit title contender
or
- Your team is bad and you can watch the young players grow so there's at least hope.

I don't want to be in between anymore.
The Warriors, Cavs, and OKC were bad until they finally nailed the draft. Minny and Philly were bad (still bad but...) until they had good drafts/trades that gave them possible game changing stars. That's just how this league works and is what we need.
I will happily take 10 more losing seasons if it means we find our cornerstone. I know management won't be that patient but it's more exciting than the treadmill.

I would rather keep Chandler to help influence the locker room than trade for a guy who, at best, may just help us reach the playoffs.

That being said, given McD is fighting for his job, I wouldn't be shocked to see this type of trade this season.

[Zelaznyrules]

It's nice PJ defended Melo well. The problem is I don't care. 1) He is 31 and too old too see him as a part of Suns future 2) He is terrible offensive player and I think he hurt team's scoring more than he helps on defense 3) Suns have no chance to make the playoffs so I don't care if they won that game, in long term only think it does is lowering Suns chance to get high pick.

I understand but we need them to play like this for awhile so that they can be traded for value instead of just being jettisoned for cap space or something like that. I doubt that it happens but I'm hoping we trade Bledsoe, Chandler and Tucker by the All Star break and if we pick up a few more wins along the way, that's a small price to pay if it helps us bring back some quality picks or young players.

I can't stand Knight but I think we're going to have to give him the rest of the year as the starting point guard to try and rescue some of his trade value. Getting the top pick in this next draft would be great. But I'll be more than satisfied with a top 5 pick and I don't see us missing out on that, especially if we make our mid-season deals.

[King4Day]

I also think people should be very concerned if McDonough does get fired. He's been patient and has done well on most trades/drafts. If he's let go, it means Sarver is very impatient and will hire a GM and make a stupid trade for the sake getting some excitement back.

[nevetsov]

Tucker has certainly been doing a great job defensively, notably at PF on Davis, and now at SF on Melo.

Unfortunately, on a young team like ours, his offensive shortcomings are just too much for the rest of the young playing group to overcome in the extended minutes we are required to play him. Our guards are already at peak Chucker mode as it is with an offensively raw PF and a lob only C.

Warren showed glimpses of being an acceptable 2 way player at the SF spot, and Bender similarly at the PF position. Given that these guys are our future, and one day may be able to provide a comparable level of D at the positions we are riding PJ at, I see no reason why we shouldn't be giving them the opportunity to grow into these roles now (Warren's absence notwithstanding of course).

Perhaps we are trying to win now, perhaps we are trying to balance development with success. The one thing that seems certain to me is that PJ would hold much more value to a contender as a supersub defensive stopper, high energy bench guy who can play in spurts to apply pressure against a guy with a hot hand. For where we are right now, we just don't need a veteran guy like that. Playing D is something the youth will need to develop, just like every other skill, so no need to keep reapplying the Tucker brand defensive band aid, game in and game out.

There's no defensive panacea that one guy can apply to control an entire teams scoring, and this is evident with most teams continuing to drop 110+ on us, anyway, even with one offensive star under wraps.

He's being playing decent of late so I'm sure there has to be a suitor somewhere, especially with his modest salary.

[NavLDO]

We don't need picks (we have youth and our own pick) and are not interested in becoming a non-profit NBA team.

I actually think that's a pretty solid package of players. I'd probably take that over whatever free agent we'd be able to sign. Quality offer, imo.

I don't know what we'd do with Lance though. He has played less than 230 minutes this year for the Knicks and even if Tucker is gone, Lance is probably at best like having a more expensive version of him. He has shot well from 3 this year (45.5%) but only on 22 attempts. I just don't know if it's worth taking on the $7 million a year for the next 3.5 years when we have Dudley, Warren and two rookie PFs. His #s are just really ugly. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/t/thomala01.html

I guess if he is just a bench guy that only plays if really needed and doesn't take too much time from young guys than getting another pick and a fairly solid big might be ok, but I'd probably prefer not to clog the cap space with another player that doesn't add anything to the team.

True, but last year he shot 40.4% on 109 attempts. Together that's 41.3%. Plus, he's only 29 next season, so his contract takes him to his age 32 season, and $7M per year these days is equivalent to Tucker's $5.5 last year...probably less. And to me, he's an ideal 'stretch 4' candidate. Now hear me out. He's got a decent stroke from outside, that's evidenced by his 3PT shooting the last season and a 1/3. He's big enough, if needed, to actually defend some 4s, at 6'8", 235.

Add O'Quinn with 4/5 potentiality and youth and a pick?? Yeah, I'd be ok with that trade all day long. Especially, as that would give McD that much more firepower in the '18 draft to maneuver, should he desire, that likely 10-14, late lotto Heat pick.

[bwgood77]

It's nice PJ defended Melo well. The problem is I don't care. 1) He is 31 and too old too see him as a part of Suns future 2) He is terrible offensive player and I think he hurt team's scoring more than he helps on defense 3) Suns have no chance to make the playoffs so I don't care if they won that game, in long term only think it does is lowering Suns chance to get high pick.

I understand but we need them to play like this for awhile so that they can be traded for value instead of just being jettisoned for cap space or something like that. I doubt that it happens but I'm hoping we trade Bledsoe, Chandler and Tucker by the All Star break and if we pick up a few more wins along the way, that's a small price to pay if it helps us bring back some quality picks or young players.

I can't stand Knight but I think we're going to have to give him the rest of the year as the starting point guard to try and rescue some of his trade value. Getting the top pick in this next draft would be great. But I'll be more than satisfied with a top 5 pick and I don't see us missing out on that, especially if we make our mid-season deals.

I'll be pretty shocked if Bledsoe is traded. Even moreso if Knight becomes the starter. The latter would be awful for me to watch. I'm surprised anyone that watches the team would think Bledsoe will be traded the way he embraces the team and the team embraces him.. The only way I figure McD might trade him is if he gets a 3 or 4 year extension. Without Bledsoe right now, this team would be by far the worst team in the NBA. Not that it would be a bad thing for the future if it was, but McD would last about 2 seconds this year in that scenario.

[Zelaznyrules]

It's nice PJ defended Melo well. The problem is I don't care. 1) He is 31 and too old too see him as a part of Suns future 2) He is terrible offensive player and I think he hurt team's scoring more than he helps on defense 3) Suns have no chance to make the playoffs so I don't care if they won that game, in long term only think it does is lowering Suns chance to get high pick.

I understand but we need them to play like this for awhile so that they can be traded for value instead of just being jettisoned for cap space or something like that. I doubt that it happens but I'm hoping we trade Bledsoe, Chandler and Tucker by the All Star break and if we pick up a few more wins along the way, that's a small price to pay if it helps us bring back some quality picks or young players.

I can't stand Knight but I think we're going to have to give him the rest of the year as the starting point guard to try and rescue some of his trade value. Getting the top pick in this next draft would be great. But I'll be more than satisfied with a top 5 pick and I don't see us missing out on that, especially if we make our mid-season deals.

I'll be pretty shocked if Bledsoe is traded. Even moreso if Knight becomes the starter. The latter would be awful for me to watch. I'm surprised anyone that watches the team would think Bledsoe will be traded the way he embraces the team and the team embraces him.. The only way I figure McD might trade him is if he gets a 3 or 4 year extension. Without Bledsoe right now, this team would be by far the worst team in the NBA. Not that it would be a bad thing for the future if it was, but McD would last about 2 seconds this year in that scenario.

Well, yeah, Knight only becomes the starter if Bledsoe is traded or out with injury and I don't think there's many that would be looking forward to that. But I'd bet we'd see a far better Brandon Knight if he were the uncontested starting point guard. Not that we'd be all that in love with him but he's playing historically bad and he has far too much talent for that. He was never a great starting point guard but he was never this bad. Right now he's trying to fill that instant offense 6th man role every minute he's on the court even when he's nominally the PG. He wouldn't be doing that if he were back in the starting point guard role (hopefully).

But I agree, we probably won't move Bledsoe (or even Chandler). I just think it's the best thing for this organization. We need to build our foundation now, not string it along for another half dozen years. Bledsoe is playing about as well as he's capable of and I just don't want us to have to go through his next contract negotiation. There's little doubt that Rich Paul is going to be looking for a monster deal for him and I don't think we have the luxury of letting him walk or paying that bill. And if we wait until next year or later, IMO, his trade value will start to go down. So take the lumps now.

[nevetsov]

Knight and Jones JR to ORL

Hezonja, Payton and Meeks (cut) to PHX

Bledsoe, Ulis, Payton
Booker, Barbosa, Jenkins
Warren, Hezonja, Tucker
Chriss, Bender, Dudley
Chandler, Len, Williams

Swap of underutilised young assets. Also creates better roster balance.

[bwgood77]

I understand but we need them to play like this for awhile so that they can be traded for value instead of just being jettisoned for cap space or something like that. I doubt that it happens but I'm hoping we trade Bledsoe, Chandler and Tucker by the All Star break and if we pick up a few more wins along the way, that's a small price to pay if it helps us bring back some quality picks or young players.

I can't stand Knight but I think we're going to have to give him the rest of the year as the starting point guard to try and rescue some of his trade value. Getting the top pick in this next draft would be great. But I'll be more than satisfied with a top 5 pick and I don't see us missing out on that, especially if we make our mid-season deals.

I'll be pretty shocked if Bledsoe is traded. Even moreso if Knight becomes the starter. The latter would be awful for me to watch. I'm surprised anyone that watches the team would think Bledsoe will be traded the way he embraces the team and the team embraces him.. The only way I figure McD might trade him is if he gets a 3 or 4 year extension. Without Bledsoe right now, this team would be by far the worst team in the NBA. Not that it would be a bad thing for the future if it was, but McD would last about 2 seconds this year in that scenario.

Well, yeah, Knight only becomes the starter if Bledsoe is traded or out with injury and I don't think there's many that would be looking forward to that. But I'd bet we'd see a far better Brandon Knight if he were the uncontested starting point guard. Not that we'd be all that in love with him but he's playing historically bad and he has far too much talent for that. He was never a great starting point guard but he was never this bad. Right now he's trying to fill that instant offense 6th man role every minute he's on the court even when he's nominally the PG. He wouldn't be doing that if he were back in the starting point guard role (hopefully).

But I agree, we probably won't move Bledsoe (or even Chandler). I just think it's the best thing for this organization. We need to build our foundation now, not string it along for another half dozen years. Bledsoe is playing about as well as he's capable of and I just don't want us to have to go through his next contract negotiation. There's little doubt that Rich Paul is going to be looking for a monster deal for him and I don't think we have the luxury of letting him walk or paying that bill. And if we wait until next year or later, IMO, his trade value will start to go down. So take the lumps now.

Knight wasn't particularly good last year when starting after Bledsoe went down was he? I know he might have been playing through injuries but he really hasn't been playing well since we got him. It seems like Bucks fans don't like him either even though that was probably his best season. All they say is the same things we say. He gets his points to the detriment of everyone else.

[bwgood77]

Knight and Jones JR to ORL

Hezonja, Payton and Meeks (cut) to PHX

Bledsoe, Ulis, Payton
Booker, Barbosa, Jenkins
Warren, Hezonja, Tucker
Chriss, Bender, Dudley
Chandler, Len, Williams

Swap of underutilised young assets. Also creates better roster balance.

Well after Paytons 26 pts on 8-11 shooting and 14 assists last night I think they might not think Knight is much of an upgrade, if one at all. Add in defense and don't see it. Knight has extremely limited trade value. Philly might be the only possible destination and that is because they have too many centers and Noel desperately wants out. I wouldn't be surprised if we deal him to Philly and Noel goes somewhere else and maybe we get a guard back who may embrace the 6th man role a little better.

[Zelaznyrules]

Knight and Jones JR to ORL

Hezonja, Payton and Meeks (cut) to PHX

Bledsoe, Ulis, Payton
Booker, Barbosa, Jenkins
Warren, Hezonja, Tucker
Chriss, Bender, Dudley
Chandler, Len, Williams

Swap of underutilised young assets. Also creates better roster balance.

I know he's a real long shot but I just don't want to lose Jones. If he beats the odds and hits his potential, he would be a very special player. It's actually a lop-sided deal (in our favor) but Jones is the only player in that group that really excites me. He has a small chance to become a great two-way player, the kind of player that mesmerizes the crowd and dominates the highlight shows.