2018 Free Agency and Trade Discussion continued

[bwgood77]

I do not understand why in hell we signed Ariza?
We have Warren, we have JJ and we picked Bridges. So, we already had to guys who play, primarely, the SF spot. Then we picked a third one who can play SG and SF.
Why do you spent money in a SF who will be here one year? Did the Warriors pay us to steal Ariza from the Rockets son minizing their chances? Or are we really thinking about playing with two SFs for extended periods? There is only another plausible option: we are trying to trade JJ or Warren.

Yeah, it was surprising we traded the unprotected pick to move up 6 spots to take Bridges, since we were already knew we had two SFs in Warren and Jackson. Seemed a little crowded. Then the Ariza signing was extremely surprising. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[bwgood77]

One thing that caught my attention is this:

we supposedly tried to get Walker, Lillard or Rozier. While the third one is still in his developement, the first two are stablished PGs with a really developed shoot-first offensive game that I doubly believe would benefit us.

Had we tried to trade for RR, I am pretty sure we had got him.

So, is McD sold on getting a scoring-first star PG to play alongside Booker?

If so, I think he is completely wrong on this, which shows me that he has a very different idea of what a balanced offense is than the one I have.

This is all stuff reported by Gambo, and Lillard and Walker are not even on the block. Or Rozier. I'm sure McD has called a number of teams and made inquiries just like any GM should but I wouldn't put much stock in the specifics of reports coming from talk show hosts, Amico, etc.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I do not understand why in hell we signed Ariza?
We have Warren, we have JJ and we picked Bridges. So, we already had to guys who play, primarely, the SF spot. Then we picked a third one who can play SG and SF.
Why do you spent money in a SF who will be here one year? Did the Warriors pay us to steal Ariza from the Rockets son minizing their chances? Or are we really thinking about playing with two SFs for extended periods? There is only another plausible option: we are trying to trade JJ or Warren.

We really do seem to be following the Houston model: A dominat SG that handles the ball, an anchor at center that loves to score around the basket, and shooters. Booker = Harder, Ayton = Capela, and we snagged their SF and PF. Now all we need is a PG somewhere between Beverly and Chris Paul.

We're going to make TJ play defense and get his 3 point shot going. We're going to make Bender sack up and earn time at the 4/5. We're going to make JJ and Bridges improve.

Obvious why we're discussing our similarities with the Rockets, but the team that comes to mind for me is the Jazz. Strongest at the 2 and 5 with Mitchell/Booker and Gobert/Ayton. Mitchell handles the ball a lot for the Jazz. Ariza is the same archetype as Joe Ingles (Ingles in particular gives TJ fits due to his size and length). We hired the assistant coach of the Jazz, not the Rockets. In the second half of last season, the Jazz caught fire. I'm sure the FO hopes Koko can bring some of that magic to our locker room.

bw posted a great story about Rubio improving his 3FG% part of the way through last season, and he identified TJ as a player we might have similar hopes for. That would be incredible. TJ and Bridges might be compared to Crowder and O'Neal. The Jazz have Favors, but might they actually prefer a Ryan Anderson or benefit from a Dragan Bender? I'm curious to see whether Koko's influence will result in improvements for these players.

The Jazz have Rubio and played their best ball with him. We have defense at the 1 (which is an awesome new development), but we may lack for passing unless one of the second rounders steps up or the bulb turns on for JJ. Are we good enough without the additional shot creation that a Kemba/Dragic would provide? How quickly might Okobo/Melton get there?

I expect we will see a deal for a PG before the season begins. Can't say for sure that I won't hate it.

[lilfishi22]

Booker/Jackson/Ariza/Anderson/Ayton

Im ok with Point-Book, having the ball in his hands more isnt going to be a bad thing, not to mention i think it will end up being less than most PG's handle as Koko's system is all about fluid ball movement and passing, meaning that it wont be completely PG driven and controlled. Booker at 6"7 can guard and body up any PG. Moving Jackson to the starting 2 spot will also create more minutes for Bridges at either SG or SF (As i think that Ariza will split time between SF and PF). Let Booker take on that James Harden role, he's our best player and the team leader, so let him lead the team on the court as well.

Booker/Melton/Okobo/Canaan
Jackson/Bridges/Daniels/Reed
Ariza/Warren/Bridges
Anderson/Bender
Ayton/Holmes/Chandler

In a line-up like that i believe our weakest position is PF and would look to maybe package Chandler with Warren and/or Canaan and see if we can improve there. I still think Tobias Harris would have been a great pick up for us at PF and should be a realistic FA target for us next offseason.

I think it's too much responsibility to put on him right now, even though I wouldn't mind it in the future. He was among the league leaders in turnovers per game last year and had by far the worst ast/to ratio of any non big in that group.

http://www.espn.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/turnovers/sort/avgTurnovers/order/false

Lin is listed in the group but his stats are only from 1 game.

Booker would probably lead the league in turnovers per game and have by far the worst ast/to ratios for non big men of those among the leaders.

It would be nice if it could work because it solves the PG dilemma and the roster glut but I don't think Booker is quite ready yet, at least based on where he left off.

I don't think Booker's a natural passer. When Mike D made Kobe PG (because Kobe refused to give up the ball), it didn't look right. I think the same would be true for Book. He's a scorer. Let him score.

Also, if we're going to be tasking Book with spending additional energy, let that energy be spent on defense. If you make him do everything on offense, I think you'll see Harden-level defense as a result.

I agree. I'm not a huge fan of Point Book. In short periods or if necessary (injuries etc), I'm OK with it but I think it takes away from his off the ball game which makes him so dangerous and efficient. As a secondary ball-handler, I think Point Book is fine but I would like a real PG or at least a primary ball handler next to him.

[MathiasPW]

i don't think Mikal is going to be sitting on the bench too much.... after all he is traded for pick added... and has few years of experience from college....

It doesn't work that way. You don't get playing time because of your cost to be hired (save some cases like superstars and unanimous #1 picks), but because you beat your competition.
If a coach doesn't do that, he loses the locker room fast.

[lilfishi22]

i don't think Mikal is going to be sitting on the bench too much.... after all he is traded for pick added... and has few years of experience from college....

It doesn't work that way. You don't get playing time because of your cost to be hired (save some cases like superstars and unanimous #1 picks), but because you beat your competition.
If a coach doesn't do that, he loses the locker room fast.

It doesn't work that way, I agree. But given Bridges' maturity, amount of college experience and ready to play skillset, I think he will get a good amount of playing time.

[MathiasPW]

Booker/Melton/Okobo/Canaan
Jackson/Bridges/Daniels/Reed
Ariza/Warren/Bridges
Anderson/Bender
Ayton/Holmes/Chandler

In a line-up like that i believe our weakest position is PF and would look to maybe package Chandler with Warren and/or Canaan and see if we can improve there. I still think Tobias Harris would have been a great pick up for us at PF and should be a realistic FA target for us next offseason.

In this era of perimeter-oriented, positionless basketball, Power Forward is the function that got affected the most, as the other position for bigs (C) at least still has a paint-job on the defensive side.

PFs now are basically just a 3rd wing who defends mostly at the perimeter, and, voila, we have a bunch of them.

[MathiasPW]

i don't think Mikal is going to be sitting on the bench too much.... after all he is traded for pick added... and has few years of experience from college....

It doesn't work that way. You don't get playing time because of your cost to be hired (save some cases like superstars and unanimous #1 picks), but because you beat your competition.
If a coach doesn't do that, he loses the locker room fast.

It doesn't work that way, I agree. But given Bridges' maturity, amount of college experience and ready to play skillset, I think he will get a good amount of playing time.

I happen to think just the same.

[Saberestar]

Read on Twitter

It makes Beverley or Teodosic available.

[lilfishi22]

Who is Tyrone Wallace?

[Christine-In-AZ]

I do not understand why in hell we signed Ariza?
We have Warren, we have JJ and we picked Bridges. So, we already had to guys who play, primarely, the SF spot. Then we picked a third one who can play SG and SF.
Why do you spent money in a SF who will be here one year? Did the Warriors pay us to steal Ariza from the Rockets son minizing their chances? Or are we really thinking about playing with two SFs for extended periods? There is only another plausible option: we are trying to trade JJ or Warren.

Yeah, it was surprising we traded the unprotected pick to move up 6 spots to take Bridges, since we were already knew we had two SFs in Warren and Jackson. Seemed a little crowded. Then the Ariza signing was extremely surprising. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

According to the Morey is a God or just foil covered Rocket fans...Ariza's signing is a scheme or a scam in effort to circumvent tax implications, and he'll simply be back in Houston when it matters. A scheme if the Suns are knowingly involved. A scam if the Suns are being played.

Conspiracy! It's breakfast for America 2018, don't ya know (chuckle 'n gack)

https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/houston-rockets-trade-ryan-anderson-daryl-morey-analysis-2018
So what’s next? What are the NBA schemers up to?

Remember: Morey doesn’t grow trees, he plants seeds.

By finding a suitor for Anderson’s monstrous contract, the Rockets just saved themselves ~$3 million in cap space after you add Knight’s 2018-19 contract ($14.6 million) with Chriss’ ($3.2 million).

Their luxury-tax bill just dropped by 28% from $20.4M to $14.7M…

And the last time I checked: Trevor Ariza, one of the most important players on the Rockets’ 65-win team last season, signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Suns as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

What if … just saying … what if Morey told Ariza to go get his bag from the Suns, make sure you commit for only one year, and try his best to get waived before the March deadline? Morey would then scoop him up with the space created in this deal announced last night, unless he uses it on someone else first.

Read on Twitter

?

Is it a wild conspiracy theory that Morey has had this plan since Day 1 and Ariza is one of his many pawns? Yes...

..At some point, the Suns are just going to say “f*** it” and run out all their young draft picks for 35 minutes a game. Between Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, and TJ Warren, this roster is stacked with guys who can be franchise-foundation players for a long time and need to spread their wings as much as possible.

Subsequently, Ariza and Anderson would head to the bench, and it just makes too much sense for Phoenix to waive Ariza, save a couple million dollars in a buyout negotiation and let him sign elsewhere as they #TryonForZion.

More via twitter + acolytes...
https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1035379934359904257

[lilfishi22]

I'd hate to think we're not aware of an impending buyout situation happening but damn that's some high level Morey sht

[BobbieL]

Read on Twitter

It makes Beverley or Teodosic available.

One would think but Clips can always waive Beverly but he is better than Milos.

Warren means Beverly and Boban or Wes J

Chandler would be Milos and Boban

[bwgood77]

I do not understand why in hell we signed Ariza?
We have Warren, we have JJ and we picked Bridges. So, we already had to guys who play, primarely, the SF spot. Then we picked a third one who can play SG and SF.
Why do you spent money in a SF who will be here one year? Did the Warriors pay us to steal Ariza from the Rockets son minizing their chances? Or are we really thinking about playing with two SFs for extended periods? There is only another plausible option: we are trying to trade JJ or Warren.

Yeah, it was surprising we traded the unprotected pick to move up 6 spots to take Bridges, since we were already knew we had two SFs in Warren and Jackson. Seemed a little crowded. Then the Ariza signing was extremely surprising. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

According to the Morey is a God or just foil covered Rocket fans...Ariza's signing is a scheme or a scam in effort to circumvent tax implications, and he'll simply be back in Houston when it matters. A scheme if the Suns are knowingly involved. A scam if the Suns are being played.

Conspiracy! It's breakfast for America 2018, don't ya know (chuckle 'n gack)

https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/houston-rockets-trade-ryan-anderson-daryl-morey-analysis-2018
So what’s next? What are the NBA schemers up to?

Remember: Morey doesn’t grow trees, he plants seeds.

By finding a suitor for Anderson’s monstrous contract, the Rockets just saved themselves ~$3 million in cap space after you add Knight’s 2018-19 contract ($14.6 million) with Chriss’ ($3.2 million).

Their luxury-tax bill just dropped by 28% from $20.4M to $14.7M…

And the last time I checked: Trevor Ariza, one of the most important players on the Rockets’ 65-win team last season, signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Suns as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

What if … just saying … what if Morey told Ariza to go get his bag from the Suns, make sure you commit for only one year, and try his best to get waived before the March deadline? Morey would then scoop him up with the space created in this deal announced last night, unless he uses it on someone else first.

Read on Twitter

?

Is it a wild conspiracy theory that Morey has had this plan since Day 1 and Ariza is one of his many pawns? Yes...

..At some point, the Suns are just going to say “f*** it” and run out all their young draft picks for 35 minutes a game. Between Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, and TJ Warren, this roster is stacked with guys who can be franchise-foundation players for a long time and need to spread their wings as much as possible.

Subsequently, Ariza and Anderson would head to the bench, and it just makes too much sense for Phoenix to waive Ariza, save a couple million dollars in a buyout negotiation and let him sign elsewhere as they #TryonForZion.

More via twitter + acolytes...
https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1035379934359904257

Yes, I saw it brought up in the GB thread and it's ridiculous. I won't be surprised if he ends up back with them. And we get Tucker back. It was funny reading that thread though....I remember people wanting Tucker gone so bad so Warren could start.....and then finally we trade him for a couple of very late 2nds. And then he signs with a team who becomes the best team in the league, led by our ex coach, who replaced a sniper with Tucker....the guy who many thought was trash....and then we, our current Suns, end up with the guy he replaced, who they say he will be a starter. I went through this whole thought process after I posted in that thread that Anderson was a starter for the best team in the league, and someone said "He lost that job and was never earning it back."

[bigfoot]

Yeah, it was surprising we traded the unprotected pick to move up 6 spots to take Bridges, since we were already knew we had two SFs in Warren and Jackson. Seemed a little crowded. Then the Ariza signing was extremely surprising. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

According to the Morey is a God or just foil covered Rocket fans...Ariza's signing is a scheme or a scam in effort to circumvent tax implications, and he'll simply be back in Houston when it matters. A scheme if the Suns are knowingly involved. A scam if the Suns are being played.

Conspiracy! It's breakfast for America 2018, don't ya know (chuckle 'n gack)

https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/houston-rockets-trade-ryan-anderson-daryl-morey-analysis-2018
So what’s next? What are the NBA schemers up to?

Remember: Morey doesn’t grow trees, he plants seeds.

By finding a suitor for Anderson’s monstrous contract, the Rockets just saved themselves ~$3 million in cap space after you add Knight’s 2018-19 contract ($14.6 million) with Chriss’ ($3.2 million).

Their luxury-tax bill just dropped by 28% from $20.4M to $14.7M…

And the last time I checked: Trevor Ariza, one of the most important players on the Rockets’ 65-win team last season, signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Suns as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

What if … just saying … what if Morey told Ariza to go get his bag from the Suns, make sure you commit for only one year, and try his best to get waived before the March deadline? Morey would then scoop him up with the space created in this deal announced last night, unless he uses it on someone else first.

Read on Twitter

?

Is it a wild conspiracy theory that Morey has had this plan since Day 1 and Ariza is one of his many pawns? Yes...

..At some point, the Suns are just going to say “f*** it” and run out all their young draft picks for 35 minutes a game. Between Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, and TJ Warren, this roster is stacked with guys who can be franchise-foundation players for a long time and need to spread their wings as much as possible.

Subsequently, Ariza and Anderson would head to the bench, and it just makes too much sense for Phoenix to waive Ariza, save a couple million dollars in a buyout negotiation and let him sign elsewhere as they #TryonForZion.

More via twitter + acolytes...
https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1035379934359904257

Yes, I saw it brought up in the GB thread and it's ridiculous. I won't be surprised if he ends up back with them. And we get Tucker back. It was funny reading that thread though....I remember people wanting Tucker gone so bad so Warren could start.....and then finally we trade him for a couple of very late 2nds. And then he signs with a team who becomes the best team in the league, led by our ex coach, who replaced a sniper with Tucker....the guy who many thought was trash....and then we, our current Suns, end up with the guy he replaced, who they say he will be a starter. I went through this whole thought process after I posted in that thread that Anderson was a starter for the best team in the league, and someone said "He lost that job and was never earning it back."

All the cries to get rid of Tucker have turned into the cries of get rid of Warren.

[bwgood77]

According to the Morey is a God or just foil covered Rocket fans...Ariza's signing is a scheme or a scam in effort to circumvent tax implications, and he'll simply be back in Houston when it matters. A scheme if the Suns are knowingly involved. A scam if the Suns are being played.

Conspiracy! It's breakfast for America 2018, don't ya know (chuckle 'n gack)

https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/houston-rockets-trade-ryan-anderson-daryl-morey-analysis-2018
So what’s next? What are the NBA schemers up to?

Remember: Morey doesn’t grow trees, he plants seeds.

By finding a suitor for Anderson’s monstrous contract, the Rockets just saved themselves ~$3 million in cap space after you add Knight’s 2018-19 contract ($14.6 million) with Chriss’ ($3.2 million).

Their luxury-tax bill just dropped by 28% from $20.4M to $14.7M…

And the last time I checked: Trevor Ariza, one of the most important players on the Rockets’ 65-win team last season, signed a one-year, $15 million contract with the Suns as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

What if … just saying … what if Morey told Ariza to go get his bag from the Suns, make sure you commit for only one year, and try his best to get waived before the March deadline? Morey would then scoop him up with the space created in this deal announced last night, unless he uses it on someone else first.

Read on Twitter

?

Is it a wild conspiracy theory that Morey has had this plan since Day 1 and Ariza is one of his many pawns? Yes...

..At some point, the Suns are just going to say “f*** it” and run out all their young draft picks for 35 minutes a game. Between Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, and TJ Warren, this roster is stacked with guys who can be franchise-foundation players for a long time and need to spread their wings as much as possible.

Subsequently, Ariza and Anderson would head to the bench, and it just makes too much sense for Phoenix to waive Ariza, save a couple million dollars in a buyout negotiation and let him sign elsewhere as they #TryonForZion.

More via twitter + acolytes...
https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/1035379934359904257

Yes, I saw it brought up in the GB thread and it's ridiculous. I won't be surprised if he ends up back with them. And we get Tucker back. It was funny reading that thread though....I remember people wanting Tucker gone so bad so Warren could start.....and then finally we trade him for a couple of very late 2nds. And then he signs with a team who becomes the best team in the league, led by our ex coach, who replaced a sniper with Tucker....the guy who many thought was trash....and then we, our current Suns, end up with the guy he replaced, who they say he will be a starter. I went through this whole thought process after I posted in that thread that Anderson was a starter for the best team in the league, and someone said "He lost that job and was never earning it back."

All the cries to get rid of Tucker have turned into the cries of get rid of Warren.

Sure, there are quite a few that bring him up, in part because he's not the shiny new toy, but there are a number who value him too. I was surprised...BSoTS posed a question on twitter a while back asking who would be the best 5 Suns this year and most had Warren in there, and a good number high on the list I think.

The fact is, all our players need to improve though...Warren, Booker, everyone. The only guys who haven't shown their weaknesses at the pro level yet are the rookies....and obviously they will have their areas as well.

Just glad we have a coach I believe in.

[TASTIC]

The guys wanting Teodosic...Sell him to me.

I've watched a few vids and like the flash passes and the pass first mentality, but he's a sieve defensively and turns 32 in season. Not exactly the ideal fit next to Booker.

Gimme Pat Bev - who has shown he can play off-ball next to a ball dominant SG - while defending elite PGs.

I honestly think it's George Hill we're looking at, not sure why. $20m guaranteed this year and only $1m next I think I read somewhere???

[Mr Puddles]

The guys wanting Teodosic...Sell him to me.

I've watched a few vids and like the flash passes and the pass first mentality, but he's a sieve defensively and turns 32 in season. Not exactly the ideal fit next to Booker.

Gimme Pat Bev - who has shown he can play off-ball next to a ball dominant SG - while defending elite PGs.

I honestly think it's George Hill we're looking at, not sure why. $20m guaranteed this year and only $1m next I think I read somewhere???

George Hill looked great in Utah and worked directly with Kokoskov while there. Actually George Hill credited Coach Koko for his break out season in Utah.

I realize this is a "what have you done for me lately kind of league", and Hill had a down season last year - but he's only one season away from his break out season in Utah. His three point shooting (40+%) would be much welcome at the PG position where we don't really have a proven shooter. He has the reputation of being a lock-down defender, but lacks focus and isn't always a positive in that department.

Best case scenario though: he's a veteran PG who can space the floor and play solid defense (our two main weakness last season). We need shooters and defenders around Booker & Ayton - on paper Hill fits that role.

If the cost of getting George Hill is Tyson Chandler and a second rounder (and/or a Troy Daniels type of contract) - I'm all for it.

[bwoolf2]

Out of our current PG's on the roster I would start Okobo. He is by far the best passer and has the best vision. I would imagine he will look a lot better with Booker and Ariza on the court spreading the floor than he did in summer league, which he looked solid anyways. Harrison is ideal to come off the bench and be a defensive stopper, I actually think he wouldnt look quite as good as he did in summer league with those guys on the floor as he is forced to become more of a distributor, not his strength.

[PhxLax]

The guys wanting Teodosic...Sell him to me.

I've watched a few vids and like the flash passes and the pass first mentality, but he's a sieve defensively and turns 32 in season. Not exactly the ideal fit next to Booker.

Gimme Pat Bev - who has shown he can play off-ball next to a ball dominant SG - while defending elite PGs.

I honestly think it's George Hill we're looking at, not sure why. $20m guaranteed this year and only $1m next I think I read somewhere???

All for George Hill or Beverley. Both are great temp solutions until you find your stud PG of the future later. For the time being, both can fill the void and not make the PG position a mockery or a seasonal revolving door of "who is starting tonight" junk we witnessed for two years. And none of them cut into salary cap long-term. Both are defensive minded, veterans that can teach the kids a thing or two, and both have ability to play in the playoffs should the Suns get there