Trade Deadline Countdown....January 2016

[Christine-In-AZ]

If Jan. 15th passes and Morris is not traded then the concept of a buy out increases. We still have until the trade deadline to move him but at some point we have to cut our loses.

Another thing that could drive a buy out.......Markieff doubles down on his actions that force the hand of the front office. So far Kieff is saying the right things about playing for his team mates and helping the team win. However if he begins to sense that there is no trade on the horizon he could begin to escalate his misbehavior, forcing the hand of the Suns and leading to a buy out.

For now a buyout is a low probability, but this option could escalate quickly if Markieff pushes the teams boundaries and tests their patience.

A buyout seems extremely remote to me. Morris is owed like 28 more million. Would Morris accept a third of that? Would Sarver even consider cutting Morris a check for say 10 million to free up an unneeded roster spot AND give Keef his freedom? I'd be shocked.

He'll get traded. His 7 to 8 million per year contract is just an average NBA contract and gets more valuable as time goes on...and legal judgements rendered.

Morris plus his contract is still a pretty good asset, seems dumb to just buy it and burn it with the current team situation. The trade may not happen by the trade deadline...may take until between the end of the regular season and the draft. I really don't think the FO is stressing at all after the Bledsoe injury occurred.

What could Markieff do at this point? Other than further soil his NBA reputation with the other 29 teams.

I think the CBA has something about players have to be "bought out" by January 10th of a season, but I'm not sure.

[bwgood77]

If Jan. 15th passes and Morris is not traded then the concept of a buy out increases. We still have until the trade deadline to move him but at some point we have to cut our loses.

Another thing that could drive a buy out.......Markieff doubles down on his actions that force the hand of the front office. So far Kieff is saying the right things about playing for his team mates and helping the team win. However if he begins to sense that there is no trade on the horizon he could begin to escalate his misbehavior, forcing the hand of the Suns and leading to a buy out.

For now a buyout is a low probability, but this option could escalate quickly if Markieff pushes the teams boundaries and tests their patience.

Well at this point it will be EXTREMELY tough to make the playoffs, but here is what I would do if I was the FO and allowed...

Pick up Hornacek's option (maybe not a popular move among those on this forum, but I think we are better NEXT season if Kieff is moved by then, we add another high pick, and let Hornacek work with the same team for a year for once). If we overhaul and start over again with someone new, that scares me.

Let Tucker start at 4, or Leuer, and just keep Morris on the bench. If we don't get good offers, and PJ and Leuer hold it down well, and people STILL hold out until the trade deadline, call their bluff and hold onto Morris until the offseason. At that point, teams will very well know we are not just giving him away for nothing, and then we see what offers we get. If we still get crap offers then, cave only then, so we don't have ANOTHER cloud hanging over next season.

We have had negative clouds hanging over the roster the last two seasons and that makes things significantly tougher. I think if the FO can clean it all up for year four, and let the same coach work with a constant completely rebuilt roster, the results would work much differently.

Recently I got a PM from an old poster who doesn't post any more due to the state of the forum, who is very smart, knows the CBA very well, etc, and here is what he said regarding it:

I got an opportunity to sit with and talk with him for about 3 hours last July on a flight from Phx to Chicago. I was very impressed and think he is the right coach for this team now and the future.

What you're seeing is instability from the front office caused in part because of lame duck status and pressure to achieve something (playoffs) this team might not be capable of. The two fired assistants were likely formenting some instability as they jockeyed for positioning to succeed Hornacek.

The emphasis on playoffs or else have forced Hornacek to do too much jockeying of the rotation to find the "hot" player. There is too little stratification between players making too much fluidity. For example there is not much difference between the abilities of Goodwin and Weems. If there's pressure to win above all, Hornacek has to guess which one will be on and which one will not on any given night. Can't have stability in rotation this way

In my opinion the best thing the Suns could do is to stabilize their situation by:

1 Extending Hornacek
2 Placing emphasis on developing the youngsters - Len, Warren,Booker, Knight, and Goodwin. That means consistent rotation minutes for all of them.
3 Reassure Chandler he is there for his leadership as well as his play - no trade.
4 Resolve Morris' situation.
5 Don't tank. Even though emphasis is on player development, winning games should be a goal. Players have to have to be able to see success of their hard work.

[Cutter]

If Jan. 15th passes and Morris is not traded then the concept of a buy out increases. We still have until the trade deadline to move him but at some point we have to cut our loses.

Another thing that could drive a buy out.......Markieff doubles down on his actions that force the hand of the front office. So far Kieff is saying the right things about playing for his team mates and helping the team win. However if he begins to sense that there is no trade on the horizon he could begin to escalate his misbehavior, forcing the hand of the Suns and leading to a buy out.

For now a buyout is a low probability, but this option could escalate quickly if Markieff pushes the teams boundaries and tests their patience.

A buyout seems extremely remote to me. Morris is owed like 28 more million. Would Morris accept a third of that? Would Sarver even consider cutting Morris a check for say 10 million to free up an unneeded roster spot AND give Keef his freedom? I'd be shocked.

He'll get traded. His 7 to 8 million per year contract is just an average NBA contract and gets more valuable as time goes on...and legal judgements rendered.

Morris plus his contract is still a pretty good asset, seems dumb to just buy it and burn it with the current team situation. The trade may not happen by the trade deadline...may take until between the end of the regular season and the draft. I really don't think the FO is stressing at all after the Bledsoe injury occurred.

What could Markieff do at this point? Other than further soil his NBA reputation with the other 29 teams.

I think the CBA has something about players have to be "bought out" by January 10th of a season, but I'm not sure.

Chris I agree with what you are saying....a buyout is a pretty remote option right now. I'm just saying that if Kieff begins to double down on his negativity this dynamic changes. Instead of throwing a towel at the coach, let's say he throws a water bottle at him, or public berates Hornacek (like Marcus), or maybe shoves Hornacek in the heat of passion. Once one of these escalations happen consequences rise to a new level.

I just hope he is moved on Jan. 15th.

[Christine-In-AZ]

If Jan. 15th passes and Morris is not traded then the concept of a buy out increases. We still have until the trade deadline to move him but at some point we have to cut our loses.

Another thing that could drive a buy out.......Markieff doubles down on his actions that force the hand of the front office. So far Kieff is saying the right things about playing for his team mates and helping the team win. However if he begins to sense that there is no trade on the horizon he could begin to escalate his misbehavior, forcing the hand of the Suns and leading to a buy out.

For now a buyout is a low probability, but this option could escalate quickly if Markieff pushes the teams boundaries and tests their patience.

A buyout seems extremely remote to me. Morris is owed like 28 more million. Would Morris accept a third of that? Would Sarver even consider cutting Morris a check for say 10 million to free up an unneeded roster spot AND give Keef his freedom? I'd be shocked.

He'll get traded. His 7 to 8 million per year contract is just an average NBA contract and gets more valuable as time goes on...and legal judgements rendered.

Morris plus his contract is still a pretty good asset, seems dumb to just buy it and burn it with the current team situation. The trade may not happen by the trade deadline...may take until between the end of the regular season and the draft. I really don't think the FO is stressing at all after the Bledsoe injury occurred.

What could Markieff do at this point? Other than further soil his NBA reputation with the other 29 teams.

I think the CBA has something about players have to be "bought out" by January 10th of a season, but I'm not sure.

Chris I agree with what you are saying....a buyout is a pretty remote option right now. I'm just saying that if Kieff begins to double down on his negativity this dynamic changes. Instead of throwing a towel at the coach, let's say he throws a water bottle at him, or public berates Hornacek (like Marcus), or maybe shoves Hornacek in the heat of passion. Once one of these escalations happen consequences rise to a new level.

I just hope he is moved on Jan. 15th.

Understood...but I'll add that the reported Rocket's deal is not something I want to happen. Not due to the Cory Brewer filler element, but that Terrence Jones doesn't do much for me...and his impending free agency makes acquiring him virtually a flat "no" IMO. Someone is going to offer him serious money this off season.

[bwgood77]

A buyout seems extremely remote to me. Morris is owed like 28 more million. Would Morris accept a third of that? Would Sarver even consider cutting Morris a check for say 10 million to free up an unneeded roster spot AND give Keef his freedom? I'd be shocked.

He'll get traded. His 7 to 8 million per year contract is just an average NBA contract and gets more valuable as time goes on...and legal judgements rendered.

Morris plus his contract is still a pretty good asset, seems dumb to just buy it and burn it with the current team situation. The trade may not happen by the trade deadline...may take until between the end of the regular season and the draft. I really don't think the FO is stressing at all after the Bledsoe injury occurred.

What could Markieff do at this point? Other than further soil his NBA reputation with the other 29 teams.

I think the CBA has something about players have to be "bought out" by January 10th of a season, but I'm not sure.

Chris I agree with what you are saying....a buyout is a pretty remote option right now. I'm just saying that if Kieff begins to double down on his negativity this dynamic changes. Instead of throwing a towel at the coach, let's say he throws a water bottle at him, or public berates Hornacek (like Marcus), or maybe shoves Hornacek in the heat of passion. Once one of these escalations happen consequences rise to a new level.

I just hope he is moved on Jan. 15th.

Understood...but I'll add that the reported Rocket's deal is not something I want to happen. Not due to the Cory Brewer filler element, but that Terrence Jones doesn't do much for me...and his impending free agency makes acquiring him virtually a flat "no" IMO. Someone is going to offer him serious money this off season.

But what do you hold out cap space for? Do you see us landing some big time free agent? I think even though some of our contracts seem on the high side, with the cap going up, we are still fairly well positioned for the future, and if we get a starting PF out of a trade, even if overpaid, who cares? Now if you don't think he is starting material and has no chance of being one I think it makes sense, but I think sometimes cap space is overvalued for the next two years, because I doubt we are going to be able to use it to sign ANY premier free agents, and I think guys under contract will have value in trades....more value than your cap space you hope to use on a star.

[Christine-In-AZ]

Understood...but I'll add that the reported Rocket's deal is not something I want to happen. Not due to the Cory Brewer filler element, but that Terrence Jones doesn't do much for me...and his impending free agency makes acquiring him virtually a flat "no" IMO. Someone is going to offer him serious money this off season.

But what do you hold out cap space for? Do you see us landing some big time free agent? I think even though some of our contracts seem on the high side, with the cap going up, we are still fairly well positioned for the future, and if we get a starting PF out of a trade, even if overpaid, who cares? Now if you don't think he is starting material and has no chance of being one I think it makes sense, but I think sometimes cap space is overvalued for the next two years, because I doubt we are going to be able to use it to sign ANY premier free agents, and I think guys under contract will have value in trades....more value than your cap space you hope to use on a star.

My assessment has Jones future at about as good or maybe slightly less than the '14-'15 version of Markieff Morris...an OK NBA starting PF. In other words- Equaled to a quality back-up PF on a top 6-8 team. I don't want to have to pay him 4/52-54M to keep him...or have to hope he's satisfied playing back-up if the Suns rein in a top PF sometime soon.

No, there's not a big time free agent this summer for the Suns, but I don't want the Suns to overpay Jones. Not worth it. I'm fine with the Suns just holding back on free agent signings next summer if there isn't any bang for the buck, spend in '17 or '18

Alex Len's RFA isn't that far away. Not saying it WILL happen but if he gets it together if only for a couple extended periods over the next 15 months, it'll take quite a bit to retain him.

[jcsunsfan]

I think everyone needs to slow the roll re: trading Knight. Give him some time to prove himself as our starting 1. He's only 23 for cryin out loud. Pair him with Booker, and we could be set.

I've been in favor of trading Bledsoe rather than Knight this whole time. His elevated level of play this season I think would increase his trade value, but now that he's torn his meniscus in both knees - a total of three times - one has to wonder what kind of trade value he has.

Plenty of PFs available in the lotto this year - I'd be shocked if we weren't able to identify the best one available at our slot.

Tucker, Chandler, Morris and Bled are all on my personal trading block.

As a rebuilding team, you have to draft BPA imo. There are limits to that logic, but I don't like going into the draft with a position we have to take. I think we really need to add a young 4 via trade so that it frees up the draft unless a PF we love is for sure going to be there. There are a lot of PF's in this draft in the top 30, so we could always grab one with the Cavs pick.

I would agree with this to a limit. You draft the BPA if there is a clear BPA. If you rate players closely, draft for need. Doesn't do you any good to have a quality player that you are unable to develop.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[bwgood77]

Understood...but I'll add that the reported Rocket's deal is not something I want to happen. Not due to the Cory Brewer filler element, but that Terrence Jones doesn't do much for me...and his impending free agency makes acquiring him virtually a flat "no" IMO. Someone is going to offer him serious money this off season.

But what do you hold out cap space for? Do you see us landing some big time free agent? I think even though some of our contracts seem on the high side, with the cap going up, we are still fairly well positioned for the future, and if we get a starting PF out of a trade, even if overpaid, who cares? Now if you don't think he is starting material and has no chance of being one I think it makes sense, but I think sometimes cap space is overvalued for the next two years, because I doubt we are going to be able to use it to sign ANY premier free agents, and I think guys under contract will have value in trades....more value than your cap space you hope to use on a star.

My assessment has Jones future at about as good or maybe slightly less than the '14-'15 version of Markieff Morris...an OK NBA starting PF. In other words- Equaled to a quality back-up PF on a top 6-8 team. I don't want to have to pay him 4/52-54M to keep him...or have to hope he's satisfied playing back-up if the Suns rein in a top PF sometime soon.

No, there's not a big time free agent this summer for the Suns, but I don't want the Suns to overpay Jones. Not worth it. I'm fine with the Suns just holding back on free agent signings next summer if there isn't any bang for the buck, spend in '17 or '18

Alex Len's RFA isn't that far away. Not saying it WILL happen but if he gets it together if only for a couple extended periods over the next 15 months, it'll take quite a bit to retain him.

But you want to spend money BEFORE your restricted guys are on the market, because you are allowed to exceed the cap to re-sign your own guys. I don't really know what to think of Jones, as I just look at his #s.

[Christine-In-AZ]

But you want to spend money BEFORE your restricted guys are on the market, because you are allowed to exceed the cap to re-sign your own guys. I don't really know what to think of Jones, as I just look at his #s.

I'll just round back to my original opinion that I won't like a Morris-Jones swap if it happens.

A) I'm "meh" about TJones
B) I'm not concerned with holding on to Keef/his nice contract until the off season if need be

If Jones somehow had a contract at 8 or 10m...or even more per, that expired in '17 I'd sign off on a trade. Maybe in that year and a half he'd prove he's worth a contract well north of 50 million for 4, but just 30 40 games to examine his 4 year value on this team? I just don't like it.

It doesn't sound like a McDonough trade to me, but we'll see. I may very well have to learn to like it.

[AtheJ415]

If Jan. 15th passes and Morris is not traded then the concept of a buy out increases. We still have until the trade deadline to move him but at some point we have to cut our loses.

Another thing that could drive a buy out.......Markieff doubles down on his actions that force the hand of the front office. So far Kieff is saying the right things about playing for his team mates and helping the team win. However if he begins to sense that there is no trade on the horizon he could begin to escalate his misbehavior, forcing the hand of the Suns and leading to a buy out.

For now a buyout is a low probability, but this option could escalate quickly if Markieff pushes the teams boundaries and tests their patience.

A buyout seems extremely remote to me. Morris is owed like 28 more million. Would Morris accept a third of that? Would Sarver even consider cutting Morris a check for say 10 million to free up an unneeded roster spot AND give Keef his freedom? I'd be shocked.

He'll get traded. His 7 to 8 million per year contract is just an average NBA contract and gets more valuable as time goes on...and legal judgements rendered.

Morris plus his contract is still a pretty good asset, seems dumb to just buy it and burn it with the current team situation. The trade may not happen by the trade deadline...may take until between the end of the regular season and the draft. I really don't think the FO is stressing at all after the Bledsoe injury occurred.

What could Markieff do at this point? Other than further soil his NBA reputation with the other 29 teams.

I think the CBA has something about players have to be "bought out" by January 10th of a season, but I'm not sure.

Chris I agree with what you are saying....a buyout is a pretty remote option right now. I'm just saying that if Kieff begins to double down on his negativity this dynamic changes. Instead of throwing a towel at the coach, let's say he throws a water bottle at him, or public berates Hornacek (like Marcus), or maybe shoves Hornacek in the heat of passion. Once one of these escalations happen consequences rise to a new level.

I just hope he is moved on Jan. 15th.

Then you don't buy him out--you void his contract or suspend him for even longer. If he continues to act up you can simply void it. We have given him progressive punishment and warnings. Hell, there is precedence to void the second his felony is plead to.

[AtheJ415]

Understood...but I'll add that the reported Rocket's deal is not something I want to happen. Not due to the Cory Brewer filler element, but that Terrence Jones doesn't do much for me...and his impending free agency makes acquiring him virtually a flat "no" IMO. Someone is going to offer him serious money this off season.

But what do you hold out cap space for? Do you see us landing some big time free agent? I think even though some of our contracts seem on the high side, with the cap going up, we are still fairly well positioned for the future, and if we get a starting PF out of a trade, even if overpaid, who cares? Now if you don't think he is starting material and has no chance of being one I think it makes sense, but I think sometimes cap space is overvalued for the next two years, because I doubt we are going to be able to use it to sign ANY premier free agents, and I think guys under contract will have value in trades....more value than your cap space you hope to use on a star.

My assessment has Jones future at about as good or maybe slightly less than the '14-'15 version of Markieff Morris...an OK NBA starting PF. In other words- Equaled to a quality back-up PF on a top 6-8 team. I don't want to have to pay him 4/52-54M to keep him...or have to hope he's satisfied playing back-up if the Suns rein in a top PF sometime soon.

No, there's not a big time free agent this summer for the Suns, but I don't want the Suns to overpay Jones. Not worth it. I'm fine with the Suns just holding back on free agent signings next summer if there isn't any bang for the buck, spend in '17 or '18

Alex Len's RFA isn't that far away. Not saying it WILL happen but if he gets it together if only for a couple extended periods over the next 15 months, it'll take quite a bit to retain him.

[url]http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&p1=morrima02&y1=2015&p2=joneste01&y2=2016&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=
[/url]
Jones's advanced stats are much better than a prime Markieff. His defense and shot blocking are very good for a PF at 24, and his 3 point shooting is improved, although still needs a little more work (say a jump from 33-35%). He has handles that are truly elite, and is a different level athlete than Markieff. He is one of the few PFs who can grab a board and lead the fast break.

All of that to say, while the raw totals make them seem comparable (aside from blocks and FG%), Jones is a much better player already. His TS and EFG are much higher, rebounding % is better, block % is much better, usage is lower, and WS/48 is nearly double.

For our system, I think he's a better fit than any of the other FA power forwards we could find. He's not the offensive juggernaut Ryan Anderson is, but he already defends at a level Anderson never will. For our team, which has offensive players as its best players going forward and who are all very young, I think we need a PF who defends, protects the rim, and plays to the rest of our strengths--running, spreading the floor, etc.. Somebody who can really thrive in those roles.

Every players' value depends on salary, so how much he gets will matter a lot, but you don't make that trade without a number in mind and a general range having been communicated with Jones's personal team/agent.

[thamadkant]

Bobby Portis man... damn. Could have Warren and Portis today..

Portis is a double double big man with KG like intensity and ethic.... sigh.

[AtheJ415]

Bobby Portis man... damn. Could have Warren and Portis today..

Portis is a double double big man with KG like intensity and ethic.... sigh.

I wish we could've moved back into the draft to get him, although I'm not sure what it would've taken. Probably something we wouldn't be willing to part with. Either way, I'd rather have Booker.

[JMac1]

Bobby Portis man... damn. Could have Warren and Portis today..

Portis is a double double big man with KG like intensity and ethic.... sigh.

Too bad he doesn't have KG's length, height, shooting, defense, and leadership, then I would sigh. I think you are a Booker hater, just calling it you out on it. You are on this board slobbing on Portis' knob and beating up on Booker........ Like ATH said, yea, it would be nice to have another young guy with potential, and if we could have gotten him after Booker cool, but you didn't make that distinction.

Become a Bulls fan if you want to talk about Portis and subtlely complain about Booker.

[toucansma]

A buyout seems extremely remote to me. Morris is owed like 28 more million. Would Morris accept a third of that? Would Sarver even consider cutting Morris a check for say 10 million to free up an unneeded roster spot AND give Keef his freedom? I'd be shocked.

He'll get traded. His 7 to 8 million per year contract is just an average NBA contract and gets more valuable as time goes on...and legal judgements rendered.

Morris plus his contract is still a pretty good asset, seems dumb to just buy it and burn it with the current team situation. The trade may not happen by the trade deadline...may take until between the end of the regular season and the draft. I really don't think the FO is stressing at all after the Bledsoe injury occurred.

What could Markieff do at this point? Other than further soil his NBA reputation with the other 29 teams.

I think the CBA has something about players have to be "bought out" by January 10th of a season, but I'm not sure.

Chris I agree with what you are saying....a buyout is a pretty remote option right now. I'm just saying that if Kieff begins to double down on his negativity this dynamic changes. Instead of throwing a towel at the coach, let's say he throws a water bottle at him, or public berates Hornacek (like Marcus), or maybe shoves Hornacek in the heat of passion. Once one of these escalations happen consequences rise to a new level.

I just hope he is moved on Jan. 15th.

Then you don't buy him out--you void his contract or suspend him for even longer. If he continues to act up you can simply void it. We have given him progressive punishment and warnings. Hell, there is precedence to void the second his felony is plead to.

As much as I wish this were the case, the chances of his contract being voided successfully, are slim to none. It would make things a lot easier though.

[AtheJ415]

Chris I agree with what you are saying....a buyout is a pretty remote option right now. I'm just saying that if Kieff begins to double down on his negativity this dynamic changes. Instead of throwing a towel at the coach, let's say he throws a water bottle at him, or public berates Hornacek (like Marcus), or maybe shoves Hornacek in the heat of passion. Once one of these escalations happen consequences rise to a new level.

I just hope he is moved on Jan. 15th.

Then you don't buy him out--you void his contract or suspend him for even longer. If he continues to act up you can simply void it. We have given him progressive punishment and warnings. Hell, there is precedence to void the second his felony is plead to.

As much as I wish this were the case, the chances of his contract being voided successfully, are slim to none. It would make things a lot easier though.

It's not when you've done what Markieff has. The #1 thing in all cases like this is that you show a track record of progressive discipline and continued rulebreaking/insubordination, like the Eagles did with Terrell Owens. We have that with Markieff so far, with a pending felony on the horizon. It would be slim to none if we had never punished Kieff before and then decided we wanted to void it, but since we have continuously disciplined him now thanks to the 2 game suspension, and assuming there was internal discipline before that for his other crap (and I think that's safe to assume, also you can argue the technical foul policy last year qualifies), and then the felony, which is the most serious of them all, it goes from slim to good.

[jcsunsfan]

The problem with voiding his contract is that it actually REWARDS him for this behavior. Someone else will come along and pay him more. Bank on it.

I would be for suspending him without pay.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[toucansma]

Then you don't buy him out--you void his contract or suspend him for even longer. If he continues to act up you can simply void it. We have given him progressive punishment and warnings. Hell, there is precedence to void the second his felony is plead to.

As much as I wish this were the case, the chances of his contract being voided successfully, are slim to none. It would make things a lot easier though.

It's not when you've done what Markieff has. The #1 thing in all cases like this is that you show a track record of progressive discipline and continued rulebreaking/insubordination, like the Eagles did with Terrell Owens. We have that with Markieff so far, with a pending felony on the horizon. It would be slim to none if we had never punished Kieff before and then decided we wanted to void it, but since we have continuously disciplined him now thanks to the 2 game suspension, and assuming there was internal discipline before that for his other crap (and I think that's safe to assume, also you can argue the technical foul policy last year qualifies), and then the felony, which is the most serious of them all, it goes from slim to good.

As I said, I would love it to be true, but if Sprewell, Arenas, and Artest didn't have their contracts voided, its not happening with Kieff. NFL and NBA contracts are totally different. I wish the NBA contracts were more like NFL contracts in fact. Either way, good thought AtheJ415.

I don't think it would be rewarding Kieff, yet, because no one will pay him 8 million out of the gate at the moment.

[Barkley_34]

Hi Guys,

What do you guys think an trade for Jahlil Okafor? In my opinion he is a franchise player in the future and would in the long run all that our franchise needs a strong offensive player in the post, to make space for Bledsoe (Knight), Booker and Warren. I like Len, but still do not see him as a player who will make the difference. Something involving Knight + len and markieff for Okafor + landry and wood could work? I would like the opinion of all, I see a great imbalance in our team and I think that would make this trade.

[bwgood77]

Hi Guys,

What do you guys think an trade for Jahlil Okafor? In my opinion he is a franchise player in the future and would in the long run all that our franchise needs a strong offensive player in the post, to make space for Bledsoe (Knight), Booker and Warren. I like Len, but still do not see him as a player who will make the difference. Something involving Knight + len and markieff for Okafor + landry and wood could work? I would like the opinion of all, I see a great imbalance in our team and I think that would make this trade.

I'm a little concerned with his FG% as a big. When you shoot less than 46% as a big who takes all short range shots, that's an issue, particularly if you are not great defensively. I also don't even know if that's enough to get him. I guess I wouldn't mind giving up those pieces, though I still have pretty high hopes for Len (of course I have high hopes for Brandon Knight as well, but at this point, I'm not sure those boneheaded turnovers will ever improve).