KD to the Suns

[lilfishi22]

Well of course he is going to try to stay competitive and get better. Just harder to do without draft picks and trade assets. Got to get lucky in FA. You can be willing to spend but miss out on FA. We may be a destination but you had several destination teams going for Kawhi and he went to the Clips. The Lakers will be a team people want to go to post LeBron as well. We will just have so many fewer avenues to stay competitive after the next few years than most other good young teams in the west (and now we went from being young to being very old). I don't doubt his commitment but there are many GMs with experience who have pretty competitive teams already along with a lot of young talent and a ton of draft picks to use to get better or for a trade for a star at some point.

Yes and the draft isn't the only way to build a team. And we also have alternate year picks so we're not totally down to zero. Just based on what Isaiah Thomas tweeted about the Suns being a destination now that Sarver is gone, I do think we're in a better position than ever to convince a star FA to join us. As for the front office, I don't doubt there is likely a change incoming. With Jones getting promoted to President of Basketball Ops (and also still GM), he could be relinquishing the day to day GM role and another GM with more experience could be hired. Also wouldn't put it past Ishbia to move on from Jones altogether and bring in his own guys.

Read on Twitter

I'm not pretending, nor should anyone pretend this move isn't without risks and I presume Ishbia knows this is a big time gamble so it could certainly backfire and we could look like the Nets after they realised Garnett/PP were both pretty cooked but it is what it is. And even then the Nets were only out of the playoff picture for 3 years and made a couple of smart picks in the late 20's (Allen and Levert) before they started to make noise again. Deal is done and whatever happens, happens. I only hope we win it all to make Mikal's sacrifice worth it

Phoenix just isn't a major free agent destination even when Jerry Colangelo was the owner and everyone at the time raved about how a 1st class organization that the Suns were so I doubt Ishbia being the owner would change how free agents view Phoenix. Steve Nash was the last major free agent to sign with us and that was only because the Mavs were stupid enough not to resign him for what he was asking for.

Trades and drafting is really the only way to rebuild for most teams and signing away our draft picks is putting us in a bind as we no longer have any assets to use for the next 5 years.

It's also a very different time. Private air travel is easier, cheaper and more available than ever making commutes to LA more than doable. Phoenix itself has also slowly climbed the population ladder as well over the decades. Phoenix went from the 20th largest city in the US when Jerry became GM of the Suns in the early 70's to 6th largest when he sold the team to Sarver. Since then Phoenix has flipped flopped between 5th and 6th (with Philly) until now where Phoenix is now solidly the 5th largest city in the US. Phoenix is now a major city with an NBA team, great weather all year and only an hr and a half flight to LA.

With new facilities, a new owner, a certified homegrown star in Booker to anchor the team moving forward, I think there's a lot to like about the Suns as a free agent destination. I understand this may not equate to real meaningful increases star FA wanting to come to Phoenix but I'm only suggesting that this is a new start after two decades of Phoenix not being a super attractive place to play and we're putting ourselves in the best possible position to attract those FA's. Let's just remember for a second that our best chance at a star prior to CP3 was a "potential" meeting with Lebron before he chose to go back to Cleveland. That was literally our best attempt since the Nash days. In the past3 seasons alone, we've had respected HOF'ers like CP3 and Durant force their way to the Suns.

[Bogyo]

There's clearly merit on both approaches.

Quite simply:

Do you want to give yourself the best opportunity you're *likely* to get to become a tier 1 contender at the cost of everything plus the kitchen sink?

Or do you want to keep running with the fun group of guys, keep all of your assets and maybe, hopefully one day become a tier 1 contender?

I can see an argument on both sides and while I'm sure many aren't happy with Ishbia (I'm not all that happy) because he came in and shipped off the most beloved Suns player since maybe Nash and also gave up the war chest of picks, I'm starting to see the other side. Playing the devil's advocate here, there's merit in someone from the outside coming in and making the difficult decisions. That often happens with a new owner comes into a new business and starts making drastic changes which aren't always going to be popular. It doesn't always work out but ultimately, if we didn't have someone like Ishbia making the difficult calls to move those picks and the Twins, we just wouldn't have a top 15 player of all time who imo is still in his prime to not only keep the window open but give us the best chance to win a title.

What happens in 2025 and onwards....nobody knows. There's a chance the twins may have been split up anyway to improve the team. There's a good chance DA is gone anyway. There's every possibility the core we know and love wouldn't have stayed together for the long term. Sure we'll have all our picks and if things don't work out with the core, we'll just start over again but picks doesn't get us closer to a championship, like a Kevin Durant does.

I'm still trying to mentally accept that the Twins are no longer part of the Suns organisation and it still kinda feels like a nightmare I'm trying to wake up from but honestly, when was the last time the Phoenix Suns organisation genuinely walked the walked and not just talked the talk when it comes to doing what's necessary to win it all? Maybe with the Barkley trade? There were enough cost cutting moves during the SSOL era to suggest we did a little more than the bare minimum without going all in. What about the last two seasons? CP3 moved our timeline forward but we didn't make any major moves to say we're going all in. This is that all-in move

This is a good summary and I tend to agree. I'm coming around to the trade. I think, like any JJ trade so far, you certainly question the efficient use of assets and if we could have given up less or received more. But we aren't part of those conversations so it's only speculation.

Your comment made me think that this trade with Ishbia is better than this trade with Sarver when we had a similarly good, on the verge of really contending team: "The Phoenix Suns today traded center Kurt Thomas and two future first-round draft picks to the Seattle SuperSonics for a future conditional second-round pick. In addition to salary cap relief, the trade leaves Phoenix with an $8 million trade exception for their use in future dealings."

So it could be worse.

The rest is pretty much agreed, but I just have to point out: if you've been a "gm" for howevermany years, and this exact topic comes up at every gddmn trade you make, from "sources", "experts", media, talking heads, regular fans (or the bunch of die hard weridos like me here )... you can be pretty effing sure that you do a sht job of asset management.

Is it passable? Yes. The problem? This is what seperates a good franchise/team from the championship franchise.
We all know and see how competitive the league is. We all know and see how you have to get a bit lucky to win it all.
But you have to give yourself (and your team) the absolute maximum chance, and you can do that by managing the assets right.
I mean our "gm" missmanaged our assets in 4-5 trades / signings / non signings / drafts in a row. We could have had 1-2 more picks, useful (bench?) players by now, or 1-2 years ago. Any of those could have been the difference for us winning it all, or CP staying healthier, or etc...

[Bogyo]

And we didn't need to add Crowder, and could have had some (light) protections on some of the picks, but our new owner got a little trigger happy. Not worth crying over now, just worth mentioning when discussing returns.

Exactly
Crowder could have been multiple seconds
Kept Mikal and Cam
Trade a FRP

Oh well ..Durant needs to be KD

And a player like Connaughton, as discussed. He is not much worse than Ross for example.
I get the KD trade, and why it was made, and I'm not (fully) unhappy about it - although I still mourn the loss of Bridges.
But you could have Connaughton, could have traded less for OG (3 picks with protection plus Cam? or 2 picks and a bunch of seconds with Cam?), and add Jackson from the buyout list. Not KD, and we are not as much of a favourite as we are now - but probably a team which is easier to root for, and is a bit more sustainable than the current one. Oh well, we got KD. Let's hope health is good and we get our first championship here.

[Mulhollanddrive]

In 3 years time we will have 5 first round picks in the next 7 years - that's more than Denver have now.

I think there have been some pre-conceived narratives regarding losing depth and flexibility that aren't really the case.

[Revived]

Idk if this already got talked about here but has anyone read the article below? Any thoughts on it?

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/philboas/2023/02/10/kevin-durant-to-phoenix-suns-worst-trade-arizona-sports-history/69893819007/

If there’s a paywall block then try link below

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2023/02/12/columnist-kevin-durant-trade-suns-nets-worst-arizona-sports-history

[Revived]

There's clearly merit on both approaches.

Quite simply:

Do you want to give yourself the best opportunity you're *likely* to get to become a tier 1 contender at the cost of everything plus the kitchen sink?

Or do you want to keep running with the fun group of guys, keep all of your assets and maybe, hopefully one day become a tier 1 contender?

Why is this the only two options though?

Another option should be, do you want to keep running with the same group with a few minor changes to shore up some of the weaknesses such as another ball handler/bench scoring etc.

I touched on this a bit on my post here

viewtopic.php?p=104212795#p104212795

[Mulhollanddrive]

I think that falls into the 2nd option still.

If you got TJ Warren and TJ McConnell as examples to shore up weaknesses we are still underdogs for nearly every match up from the 2nd round on.

[Revived]

I think that falls into the 2nd option still.

If you got TJ Warren and TJ McConnell as examples to shore up weaknesses we are still underdogs for nearly every match up from the 2nd round on.

What if it was Jordan Clarkson instead?

Last summer after Suns got embarrassed by Mavs, Hawks made a massive trade giving up only picks, what if the Suns made that move instead for a PG the same age as Booker that’s defensively the best at that position, shoots decent from 3 and can score/facilitate at a solid level.

If the Suns had Dejounte Murray taking over for CP3, we wouldn’t have a handicap that constantly gets picked on defensively like CP3 does. Not sure if people remember it or not but that’s one of the main ways the Bucks beat us in Finals by hunting CP3 on switches and Pelicans/Mavs followed that script last year. They wouldn’t be able to do that against the 6’4 Murray.

Oh and ofc could have kept both Bridges and Johnson as well in an acquisition like that. Give up Payne, picks and whatever expirings. Keep CP3 and have Murray come off the bench then once CP3 retires, move Murray to starters

Imagine a hypothetical lineup of

Murray
Booker
Bridges
Johnson
Ayton

Is there a better mix of offense/defense lineup in the entire NBA? Not sure.

[Mulhollanddrive]

I think we are going way, way out of our way to keep 2 role players turning 27.

Warren is as close to Murray than Murray is to Durant.

[Revived]

I think we are going way, way out of our way to keep 2 role players turning 27.

Warren is as close to Murray than Murray is to Durant.

That’s not the same though.

Murray/Bridges/Johnson/trading 1 less first rd pick is what the difference to acquiring him instead of Durant is. The value between the two leans in favor of the former, imo.

Other factor is Murray has another 5-6 years of being a borderline All Star caliber player while KD has at most 1 or maybe (if we all sit and pray together) 2 years left before his already skinny and fragile bones fall apart completely and his availability becomes worse than Kobe’s in the latter years of his career.

But if we win championships then it’s all a moot point. The expectation should be at least 2 championships within the next 2-3 years if not at least 1 title needed for this trade to not be a disaster.

[garrick]

Yes and the draft isn't the only way to build a team. And we also have alternate year picks so we're not totally down to zero. Just based on what Isaiah Thomas tweeted about the Suns being a destination now that Sarver is gone, I do think we're in a better position than ever to convince a star FA to join us. As for the front office, I don't doubt there is likely a change incoming. With Jones getting promoted to President of Basketball Ops (and also still GM), he could be relinquishing the day to day GM role and another GM with more experience could be hired. Also wouldn't put it past Ishbia to move on from Jones altogether and bring in his own guys.

Read on Twitter

I'm not pretending, nor should anyone pretend this move isn't without risks and I presume Ishbia knows this is a big time gamble so it could certainly backfire and we could look like the Nets after they realised Garnett/PP were both pretty cooked but it is what it is. And even then the Nets were only out of the playoff picture for 3 years and made a couple of smart picks in the late 20's (Allen and Levert) before they started to make noise again. Deal is done and whatever happens, happens. I only hope we win it all to make Mikal's sacrifice worth it

Phoenix just isn't a major free agent destination even when Jerry Colangelo was the owner and everyone at the time raved about how a 1st class organization that the Suns were so I doubt Ishbia being the owner would change how free agents view Phoenix. Steve Nash was the last major free agent to sign with us and that was only because the Mavs were stupid enough not to resign him for what he was asking for.

Trades and drafting is really the only way to rebuild for most teams and signing away our draft picks is putting us in a bind as we no longer have any assets to use for the next 5 years.

It's also a very different time. Private air travel is easier, cheaper and more available than ever making commutes to LA more than doable. Phoenix itself has also slowly climbed the population ladder as well over the decades. Phoenix went from the 20th largest city in the US when Jerry became GM of the Suns in the early 70's to 6th largest when he sold the team to Sarver. Since then Phoenix has flipped flopped between 5th and 6th (with Philly) until now where Phoenix is now solidly the 5th largest city in the US. Phoenix is now a major city with an NBA team, great weather all year and only an hr and a half flight to LA.

With new facilities, a new owner, a certified homegrown star in Booker to anchor the team moving forward, I think there's a lot to like about the Suns as a free agent destination. I understand this may not equate to real meaningful increases star FA wanting to come to Phoenix but I'm only suggesting that this is a new start after two decades of Phoenix not being a super attractive place to play and we're putting ourselves in the best possible position to attract those FA's. Let's just remember for a second that our best chance at a star prior to CP3 was a "potential" meeting with Lebron before he chose to go back to Cleveland. That was literally our best attempt since the Nash days. In the past3 seasons alone, we've had respected HOF'ers like CP3 and Durant force their way to the Suns.

Posted by
u/Mcdavidovercrosby
1 year ago
Every NBA City ranked as a free agent destination (how players would likely rank them)
This is a ranking of every NBA city as a free agent destination based on how I believe most players in the league perceive the cities. Its not a scientific study, just a quick and hopefully harmless ranking that will lead to some discussion.

Factors considered to determine the ranking:

NBA player’s stated public opinions of the cities – through interviews, team websites or social media.

The amount of major/quality free agents they have attracted – only considered free agents’ examples where the city likely mattered in their decision

Additional factors such as taxes, weather, nightlife and big market perks that many players have stated are important to them

The ranking is based on how players perceive the cities not how I or a normal person would, therefore don’t get too salty if you think a city that was rated low should be higher. This is not a ranking about the quality of cities, there will undoubtedly be cities you think are better personally ranked lower than you would like.

This ranking is exclusively about the cities and not the quality of teams. Competitive teams in “undesirable” locations may attract big player who are looking to win a ring, but that wouldn’t count towards this ranking.

NBA Cities Ranked as Free Agent Destinations

Los Angeles: Pretty obvious, most popular location in the league, many players chose to go there in the offseason. Has the weather, the nightlife and all the big market perks a young millionaire would enjoy.

Miami: Also pretty obvious. Also has the weather, the nightlife and all the big market perks a young millionaire would enjoy.

New York: Has the big market perks and nightlife, weather is not great, but it is the biggest market and sports city in the world. Knicks have not been renowned for attracting top tier free agents, but a bad owner/ situation will always offset a decent city.

San Francisco: Weather, Big City Perks, Access to Silicon Valley

Atlanta: Black Mecca, Decent nightlife and weather, access to many big city perks

Chicago: Big Market. Notable free agent Pau Gasol reportedly told KD that he would rather sign with Chicago over OKC because the city had more to offer. Recently acquired free agents like De Rozan

Boston: Historic sports city, weather isn’t great but still a decent sized market. Recently signed major free agents like Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. Kyrie Irving famously said that Boston felt more like a “Sports City” than Cleveland

Houston

Philadelphia

Dallas

Phoenix

DC: Being the capital has some perks, not the biggest market but still can provide players with many of big city amenities they may desire

Denver

Orlando: Small market but great weather and taxes

Charlotte: Decent weather and nightlife according to some players

San Antonio: Small market but decent weather and taxes

Portland: Taxes aren’t great, city isn’t really big and the weather is nothing to write home about.

Detroit

Milwaukee: Cold, small market city, only likely to attract free agents because of Giannis and a decent team

New Orleans: Small market but players have nothing but great things to say about the food.

Sacramento: Weather is decent, but its California so the taxes are not amazing and it doesn’t have the amenities that the two other NBA Californian cities have

Toronto: Big market city but being in another country has been a major drawback for free agents. Weather is not great and there are unique challenges of being in another country that many players such as Lou Williams, Gilbert Arenas and DeMar DeRozan have highlighted such as crossing the border

Minneapolis: Nightlife isn’t great and has some of the coldest weather in the league.

Memphis: One of the smallest markets and not known for its nightlife. Bleacher report claims that an unnamed source said “I'm not sure why they moved the Grizzlies from a beautiful city like Vancouver to a pit like Memphis.”

Indianapolis: Cold and small market

OKC: One of the smallest markets in the league

Salt Lake City: Pretty self explanatory. I’ll just leave this quote from Marcus Morris: 'I don't know if anybody wants to go to Utah'

Cleveland: I’ll just leave this quite from Joakim Noah. “You think Cleveland’s cool?” Noah said. “I’ve never heard anybody say, ‘I’m going to Cleveland on vacation.’ What’s so good about Cleveland?”

I understand not every city has clearly stated reasoning or even any reasoning at all, however, this is the ranking I believe would reflect what most players in the league would say if they were all asked to rank each city

I think there's a bit more to what makes a NBA city attractive to top tier players like Lebron, KD, AD etc and I don't think good management or superb facilities is top of the list.

If you look at the most attractive places I think LA and SF are top of the list due to a combination of things like endorsements, night life, weather and demographics.

I pretty much agree with this list from reddit that while Phoenix is not in the bottom of the rankings of free agent destinations but we are still way off from the top 10.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/q3qtz5/every_nba_city_ranked_as_a_free_agent_destination/

[darmani]

"He who doesn't take risks, never gets to drink champagne"

[lilfishi22]

There's clearly merit on both approaches.

Quite simply:

Do you want to give yourself the best opportunity you're *likely* to get to become a tier 1 contender at the cost of everything plus the kitchen sink?

Or do you want to keep running with the fun group of guys, keep all of your assets and maybe, hopefully one day become a tier 1 contender?

Why is this the only two options though?

Another option should be, do you want to keep running with the same group with a few minor changes to shore up some of the weaknesses such as another ball handler/bench scoring etc.

I touched on this a bit on my post here

viewtopic.php?p=104212795#p104212795

That's basically the 2nd option because adding a ball handler or a little more scoring depth doesn't make us a tier 1 contender that adding a KD would. I think last playoffs showed us we were more pretenders than contenders without that third all-star+ level player. Dallas beat us with one all-NBA level guy and one all-star level player because one of our all-star+ level player just didn't show up after G2 and we had no one else to rely on. Even Book wasn't all that in that Dallas series either with 3 sub-20pt games in that series. KD gives us a certified playoff performer that can legitimately carry a team by himself. He allows CP3, Book or DA to have no show games and still have a chance in every game because he's just that level of player.

I think the Kyrie thing is just as risky if not more. Yes it would've been awesome to have kept the Twins and 1-2 of those picks but he's also a proven head case. If we don't win it all this year, you basically have to resign him (long term) otherwise we would've given up those picks for a few months of Kyrie. Then if you resign him long term, how long until that whole Kyrie situations turns untenable again, like at every one of his stops?

So yes, the give up would've been lower for Kyrie but you also get what you pay for......the way I'm looking at it with the KD vs Kyrie debate, it's buy it nice or buy it twice.

[lilfishi22]

Phoenix just isn't a major free agent destination even when Jerry Colangelo was the owner and everyone at the time raved about how a 1st class organization that the Suns were so I doubt Ishbia being the owner would change how free agents view Phoenix. Steve Nash was the last major free agent to sign with us and that was only because the Mavs were stupid enough not to resign him for what he was asking for.

Trades and drafting is really the only way to rebuild for most teams and signing away our draft picks is putting us in a bind as we no longer have any assets to use for the next 5 years.

It's also a very different time. Private air travel is easier, cheaper and more available than ever making commutes to LA more than doable. Phoenix itself has also slowly climbed the population ladder as well over the decades. Phoenix went from the 20th largest city in the US when Jerry became GM of the Suns in the early 70's to 6th largest when he sold the team to Sarver. Since then Phoenix has flipped flopped between 5th and 6th (with Philly) until now where Phoenix is now solidly the 5th largest city in the US. Phoenix is now a major city with an NBA team, great weather all year and only an hr and a half flight to LA.

With new facilities, a new owner, a certified homegrown star in Booker to anchor the team moving forward, I think there's a lot to like about the Suns as a free agent destination. I understand this may not equate to real meaningful increases star FA wanting to come to Phoenix but I'm only suggesting that this is a new start after two decades of Phoenix not being a super attractive place to play and we're putting ourselves in the best possible position to attract those FA's. Let's just remember for a second that our best chance at a star prior to CP3 was a "potential" meeting with Lebron before he chose to go back to Cleveland. That was literally our best attempt since the Nash days. In the past3 seasons alone, we've had respected HOF'ers like CP3 and Durant force their way to the Suns.

Posted by
u/Mcdavidovercrosby
1 year ago
Every NBA City ranked as a free agent destination (how players would likely rank them)
This is a ranking of every NBA city as a free agent destination based on how I believe most players in the league perceive the cities. Its not a scientific study, just a quick and hopefully harmless ranking that will lead to some discussion.

Factors considered to determine the ranking:

NBA player’s stated public opinions of the cities – through interviews, team websites or social media.

The amount of major/quality free agents they have attracted – only considered free agents’ examples where the city likely mattered in their decision

Additional factors such as taxes, weather, nightlife and big market perks that many players have stated are important to them

The ranking is based on how players perceive the cities not how I or a normal person would, therefore don’t get too salty if you think a city that was rated low should be higher. This is not a ranking about the quality of cities, there will undoubtedly be cities you think are better personally ranked lower than you would like.

This ranking is exclusively about the cities and not the quality of teams. Competitive teams in “undesirable” locations may attract big player who are looking to win a ring, but that wouldn’t count towards this ranking.

NBA Cities Ranked as Free Agent Destinations

Los Angeles: Pretty obvious, most popular location in the league, many players chose to go there in the offseason. Has the weather, the nightlife and all the big market perks a young millionaire would enjoy.

Miami: Also pretty obvious. Also has the weather, the nightlife and all the big market perks a young millionaire would enjoy.

New York: Has the big market perks and nightlife, weather is not great, but it is the biggest market and sports city in the world. Knicks have not been renowned for attracting top tier free agents, but a bad owner/ situation will always offset a decent city.

San Francisco: Weather, Big City Perks, Access to Silicon Valley

Atlanta: Black Mecca, Decent nightlife and weather, access to many big city perks

Chicago: Big Market. Notable free agent Pau Gasol reportedly told KD that he would rather sign with Chicago over OKC because the city had more to offer. Recently acquired free agents like De Rozan

Boston: Historic sports city, weather isn’t great but still a decent sized market. Recently signed major free agents like Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. Kyrie Irving famously said that Boston felt more like a “Sports City” than Cleveland

Houston

Philadelphia

Dallas

Phoenix

DC: Being the capital has some perks, not the biggest market but still can provide players with many of big city amenities they may desire

Denver

Orlando: Small market but great weather and taxes

Charlotte: Decent weather and nightlife according to some players

San Antonio: Small market but decent weather and taxes

Portland: Taxes aren’t great, city isn’t really big and the weather is nothing to write home about.

Detroit

Milwaukee: Cold, small market city, only likely to attract free agents because of Giannis and a decent team

New Orleans: Small market but players have nothing but great things to say about the food.

Sacramento: Weather is decent, but its California so the taxes are not amazing and it doesn’t have the amenities that the two other NBA Californian cities have

Toronto: Big market city but being in another country has been a major drawback for free agents. Weather is not great and there are unique challenges of being in another country that many players such as Lou Williams, Gilbert Arenas and DeMar DeRozan have highlighted such as crossing the border

Minneapolis: Nightlife isn’t great and has some of the coldest weather in the league.

Memphis: One of the smallest markets and not known for its nightlife. Bleacher report claims that an unnamed source said “I'm not sure why they moved the Grizzlies from a beautiful city like Vancouver to a pit like Memphis.”

Indianapolis: Cold and small market

OKC: One of the smallest markets in the league

Salt Lake City: Pretty self explanatory. I’ll just leave this quote from Marcus Morris: 'I don't know if anybody wants to go to Utah'

Cleveland: I’ll just leave this quite from Joakim Noah. “You think Cleveland’s cool?” Noah said. “I’ve never heard anybody say, ‘I’m going to Cleveland on vacation.’ What’s so good about Cleveland?”

I understand not every city has clearly stated reasoning or even any reasoning at all, however, this is the ranking I believe would reflect what most players in the league would say if they were all asked to rank each city

I think there's a bit more to what makes a NBA city attractive to top tier players like Lebron, KD, AD etc and I don't think good management or superb facilities is top of the list.

If you look at the most attractive places I think LA and SF are top of the list due to a combination of things like endorsements, night life, weather and demographics.

I pretty much agree with this list from reddit that while Phoenix is not in the bottom of the rankings of free agent destinations but we are still way off from the top 10.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/q3qtz5/every_nba_city_ranked_as_a_free_agent_destination/

Some NBA cities will always have some inherent advantages over others. No matter how historically successful and professionally run a Spurs org is, they'll never lure an FA from an LA, a Chicago or Miami if all else is equal. I accept that. However, how good an NBA city is both highly subjective and also just one of the many factors an athlete considers when making their decisions.

I also think NBA cities is really more separated by tiers rather than straight rankings. Rankings suggests a #6 city is better than a #8 city when in reality, it's more like:

Tier 1:
LA's
MIA
NY's
San Fran

Tier 2:
ATL
CHI
BOS
PHI
DAL
PHO
HOU

Tier 3:
DC
DEN
ORL
SAN AN
CHA
etc etc etc

So a tier 1 city has real advantages over a tier 2 city which an athlete likely weigh more heavily. It's why LA is always able to sign top FA's. But recent history has shown that Phoenix is rising (no pun intended), maybe not into a tier 1 NBA city but it's certainly getting increasing interest from some great players. A big part of that is our recent competitiveness and the other major part imo is Booker, players respect him and want to play with him. CP3 was just the first domino. The city and the new facilities are a real bonus, as is an owner who is willing to spend.

[sashaturiaf]

Warm weather, 1 hour flight to LA, stable organisation and player friendly GM that also is in the title race.

Phoenix is definitely a top 8 destination in the NBA at worst right now.

[Fo-Real]

Warm weather, 1 hour flight to LA, stable organisation and player friendly GM that also is in the title race.

Phoenix is definitely a top 8 destination in the NBA at worst right now.

Scottsdale women!!

[handsome salary]

I'M STILL EXCITED!!!!!

[WeekapaugGroove]

I'm far more comfortable making this move with Ishbia as the owner than Sarver. You need someone willing to spend in the short term to maximize this window and longer term they will need to spend to offset not having draft picks.

Before the Eeyore's reply with all the worst case scenarios, yes I realize any range of outcomes are possible. But realistically if you're willing to spend money and aren't trying to lose it's unlikely to actually be terrible. So even if **** goes bad down the road it's far more likely you're giving up late lotto picks not top 3.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[jcsunsfan]

A couple of things. Sarver knew that he was a problem drawing free agents, so if Sarver was the owner, this trade might have been a bad one since he would not have been able to fill out the roster with buyout players.

Even if the Suns do not win a championship, this is a smart move from Ishbia's perspective. Stars sell tickets. I LOVE the team ball that the Suns play with Cam and Mikal, but KD and especially the combo of KD, Book, and CP3 is going to fill up the building and sell lots of merch. Also, Ishbia immediately gets NBA player cred for being willing to spend to win. That gets him more players in the future, and that might even a better bet than the draft. When KD and CP3 come off the payroll, the Suns will have the money to add another player for another big 3.

We sold Mikal high. His offensive numbers during Booker's absence proved he could score. With Book and Cp3 taking more of a prime role again, his scoring would have dropped back. If we were going to move him, it was the perfect moment.

I love Mikal. Like Book said, lets get him back in 2026.

[Bogyo]

I think that falls into the 2nd option still.

If you got TJ Warren and TJ McConnell as examples to shore up weaknesses we are still underdogs for nearly every match up from the 2nd round on.

What if it was Jordan Clarkson instead?

Last summer after Suns got embarrassed by Mavs, Hawks made a massive trade giving up only picks, what if the Suns made that move instead for a PG the same age as Booker that’s defensively the best at that position, shoots decent from 3 and can score/facilitate at a solid level.

If the Suns had Dejounte Murray taking over for CP3, we wouldn’t have a handicap that constantly gets picked on defensively like CP3 does. Not sure if people remember it or not but that’s one of the main ways the Bucks beat us in Finals by hunting CP3 on switches and Pelicans/Mavs followed that script last year. They wouldn’t be able to do that against the 6’4 Murray.

Oh and ofc could have kept both Bridges and Johnson as well in an acquisition like that. Give up Payne, picks and whatever expirings. Keep CP3 and have Murray come off the bench then once CP3 retires, move Murray to starters

Imagine a hypothetical lineup of

Murray
Booker
Bridges
Johnson
Ayton

Is there a better mix of offense/defense lineup in the entire NBA? Not sure.

And right about now we could have slipped in and did what the fLakers done, just to screw them, and get rid of GrandPauls contract (no hard feelings, but you do not fit our timeline, good luck elsewhere, thanks for the finals run and the memories).
Then you could add DLo, Vanderbilt and Beasly to the group above. I'm pretty certain there is no better balanced team than that, and its more sustainable. Less star power for sure, but also pretty sure that better team going forward, more assets, controlled salaries etc... Oh well, we got KD! 2 more years to win it all!