2020 Preseason Speculation - Lineup battles underway

[BobbieL]

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That’s telling



We are at 11 now... with Saric on deck. I’d bet we have a standing offer on the table for Baynes. You’d think something will be happening with him soon.

We have 4 mandatory slots to fill...ink Dario and it’s 3....and I think you can carry 17. Gleague is up in the air this yr, and we semi nixed it anyway, so that practice facility might really be beneficial.


Interesting big dudes left, assuming we sign Saric.

Youngsters
CBoucher ... sleepy good, can get better. Long, bouncy, swatty
Len... he is still a big dude, and still kind of cranky. Might be too rough on DA in practice.
Hernagomez... smart player, limited but not a liability
Giles ... does he just need a place to settle and thrive?

Oldsters
Baynes ... come on big beard, run one to two more
Ersan ilysova ... could of had him way back when for a song, and it remains the same.




I’m not so worried about the guard spot. May be get Yogi F for cheapy cheap? Shabazz ?
I’ll bet it’s already been discussed, if CP goes lame, then it’s point Book time. There arent many pgs left that are upgrades over Payne and Carter for that matter.


Pickins getting slim. Just try to add 3 from the list left.

My guard choice is still Etwuan Moore - especially with so many teams that already have the 15 players. At this point - he might be pretty happy to get the BAE from the Suns. If not, I might just wait for the market to play out and see if any players are bought out (e.g. Hill from the Thunder)

And yes, based on the market and the fact the Suns are over the cap - sure, why not give Saric a 3/30 type deal. He should only get better at this point.

Lets go win some damn games!!!!

[Bogyo]

Also, I haven't been around for about a day, but as a fairly big critic of Jones (at least compared to other posters), I have to say that the Carter contract is real nice, hats off, give credit where credit is due, etc...

I also understand the Crowder signing, the salary is also good compared to other FA signings this year, even thoug it might create a bit of a logjam in the frontcourt as outlined in my previous post, and makes the draft a bit more of a head-sratcher with Haliburton and Vassel on board at 10.

[Frank Lee]

Jeezus... I don’t understand how some can think we are crowded or content with/in the front court

We got a nimble numbskull in Ayton... and a handful of tweeners. OK, so we drafted a PF/C... but expecting him to jump in and contribute bucks the draft odds. (When will the fever break ) Smith will be coddled into 10-12 mins unless forced into action from injury. If he gives anything more it’s a bonus. And here is no need to rush.

The rest? Not even a true PF. 6’6” Crowder is the biggest at 235. Inking up Baynes looks better and better to me.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Jeezus... I don’t understand how some can think we are crowded or content with/in the front court

We got a nimble numbskull in Ayton... and a handful of tweeners. OK, so we drafted a PF/C... but expecting him to jump in and contribute bucks the draft odds. (When will the fever break ) Smith will be coddled into 10-12 mins unless forced into action from injury. If he gives anything more it’s a bonus. And here is no need to rush.

The rest? Not even a true PF. 6’6” Crowder is the biggest at 235. Inking up Baynes looks better and better to me.

They'll add another big or two to the roster, no doubt about that.

As far as Baynes I still think he probably leaves unless his market just goes to ****. Others can simply offer him a better role. With the suns the best he's looking at is the 15 or so minutes Ayton sits but even that's a little sketchy because Saric and Smith could both steal some C minutes. Now I'd love for him to come back but I could see him offered a starter or more of a timeshare opp somewhere and for a guy his age that could be important.

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[BobbieL]

Jeezus... I don’t understand how some can think we are crowded or content with/in the front court

We got a nimble numbskull in Ayton... and a handful of tweeners. OK, so we drafted a PF/C... but expecting him to jump in and contribute bucks the draft odds. (When will the fever break ) Smith will be coddled into 10-12 mins unless forced into action from injury. If he gives anything more it’s a bonus. And here is no need to rush.

The rest? Not even a true PF. 6’6” Crowder is the biggest at 235. Inking up Baynes looks better and better to me.

They'll add another big or two to the roster, no doubt about that.

As far as Baynes I still think he probably leaves unless his market just goes to ****. Others can simply offer him a better role. With the suns the best he's looking at is the 15 or so minutes Ayton sits but even that's a little sketchy because Saric and Smith could both steal some C minutes. Now I'd love for him to come back but I could see him offered a starter or more of a timeshare opp somewhere and for a guy his age that could be important.

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Toronto seems like a very good option for Baynes at present. I don't think the Lakers or Clippers have the money. Maybe if there is a sign and trade but that might only be for Sweet Lou and truly am not sure how that works out. Plus the Lakers depth at guard is pretty thin.

The Warriors if they get that injury MLE would be an option I would think. I am a bit surprised the Baynes market dried up so quickly. IF he wanted to come back - would be happy to have him. But I agree, I think he goes

What about Reggie Jackson on the BAE

[WeekapaugGroove]

Jeezus... I don’t understand how some can think we are crowded or content with/in the front court

We got a nimble numbskull in Ayton... and a handful of tweeners. OK, so we drafted a PF/C... but expecting him to jump in and contribute bucks the draft odds. (When will the fever break ) Smith will be coddled into 10-12 mins unless forced into action from injury. If he gives anything more it’s a bonus. And here is no need to rush.

The rest? Not even a true PF. 6’6” Crowder is the biggest at 235. Inking up Baynes looks better and better to me.

They'll add another big or two to the roster, no doubt about that.

As far as Baynes I still think he probably leaves unless his market just goes to ****. Others can simply offer him a better role. With the suns the best he's looking at is the 15 or so minutes Ayton sits but even that's a little sketchy because Saric and Smith could both steal some C minutes. Now I'd love for him to come back but I could see him offered a starter or more of a timeshare opp somewhere and for a guy his age that could be important.

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Toronto seems like a very good option for Baynes at present. I don't think the Lakers or Clippers have the money. Maybe if there is a sign and trade but that might only be for Sweet Lou and truly am not sure how that works out. Plus the Lakers depth at guard is pretty thin.

The Warriors if they get that injury MLE would be an option I would think. I am a bit surprised the Baynes market dried up so quickly. IF he wanted to come back - would be happy to have him. But I agree, I think he goes

What about Reggie Jackson on the BAE

Sure I'd be cool with Reggie. Bowser knows him from his time in Detroit.

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[Saberestar]

Jeezus... I don’t understand how some can think we are crowded or content with/in the front court

We got a nimble numbskull in Ayton... and a handful of tweeners. OK, so we drafted a PF/C... but expecting him to jump in and contribute bucks the draft odds. (When will the fever break ) Smith will be coddled into 10-12 mins unless forced into action from injury. If he gives anything more it’s a bonus. And here is no need to rush.

The rest? Not even a true PF. 6’6” Crowder is the biggest at 235. Inking up Baynes looks better and better to me.

They'll add another big or two to the roster, no doubt about that.

As far as Baynes I still think he probably leaves unless his market just goes to ****. Others can simply offer him a better role. With the suns the best he's looking at is the 15 or so minutes Ayton sits but even that's a little sketchy because Saric and Smith could both steal some C minutes. Now I'd love for him to come back but I could see him offered a starter or more of a timeshare opp somewhere and for a guy his age that could be important.

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Yeah, Baynes is a good backup but James Jones decided that Saric is a better option as a full time backup C for us so he doesn't have an spot on next season's roster.

Starting the season in the frontcourt we basically have changed from:

Saric/Kaminsky
Ayton/Baynes/Diallo

To:

Crowder/Cam
Ayton/Saric/Smith

I think the last one is way more dynamic and trendy than last year's early rotation. We changed it already during the course of last season playing Oubre/Cam the majority of their minutes at PF, so this season we will not lose time and will start doing it since tip off.

But with a few open roster spots yet I expect us to sign another big body as a bench warmer to give us even more depth and complete the roster.

[BobbieL]

They'll add another big or two to the roster, no doubt about that.

As far as Baynes I still think he probably leaves unless his market just goes to ****. Others can simply offer him a better role. With the suns the best he's looking at is the 15 or so minutes Ayton sits but even that's a little sketchy because Saric and Smith could both steal some C minutes. Now I'd love for him to come back but I could see him offered a starter or more of a timeshare opp somewhere and for a guy his age that could be important.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Toronto seems like a very good option for Baynes at present. I don't think the Lakers or Clippers have the money. Maybe if there is a sign and trade but that might only be for Sweet Lou and truly am not sure how that works out. Plus the Lakers depth at guard is pretty thin.

The Warriors if they get that injury MLE would be an option I would think. I am a bit surprised the Baynes market dried up so quickly. IF he wanted to come back - would be happy to have him. But I agree, I think he goes

What about Reggie Jackson on the BAE

Sure I'd be cool with Reggie. Bowser knows him from his time in Detroit.

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Could the Clippers and Suns do a double S&T : jackson for Baynes. Jackson gets more than the BAE

The big thing I am looking for from the guard spot is somebody that can score the ball if Booker is not on the floor. Or Paul too. So it would be Carter and Jackson And there will be nights that Jackson is "on" and that really helps the team.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Toronto seems like a very good option for Baynes at present. I don't think the Lakers or Clippers have the money. Maybe if there is a sign and trade but that might only be for Sweet Lou and truly am not sure how that works out. Plus the Lakers depth at guard is pretty thin.

The Warriors if they get that injury MLE would be an option I would think. I am a bit surprised the Baynes market dried up so quickly. IF he wanted to come back - would be happy to have him. But I agree, I think he goes

What about Reggie Jackson on the BAE

Sure I'd be cool with Reggie. Bowser knows him from his time in Detroit.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Could the Clippers and Suns do a double S&T : jackson for Baynes. Jackson gets more than the BAE

The big thing I am looking for from the guard spot is somebody that can score the ball if Booker is not on the floor. Or Paul too. So it would be Carter and Jackson And there will be nights that Jackson is "on" and that really helps the team.

It's possible I guess. Personally I don't view Reggie as all that good so I wouldn't pay him too much but as long as it's a 1 or 2 year deal then whatever.

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[Saberestar]

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[bigfoot]

The Suns filled a two-way slot with Ty-Shon Alexander and he is one of the 12 contracts out of 17.

The current roster stands as:

Paul, Payne, Ty-Shon (2-way)
Booker, Carter, Okobo
Bridges, Nader
Crowder, Johnson
Ayton, Smith

Saric would be 13.
Then four more players are needed to fill out to 17. One of those is two-way.
However, if Okobo's non-guaranteed contract is waived next week, a fifth player is needed.

[BobbieL]

Sure I'd be cool with Reggie. Bowser knows him from his time in Detroit.

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Could the Clippers and Suns do a double S&T : jackson for Baynes. Jackson gets more than the BAE

The big thing I am looking for from the guard spot is somebody that can score the ball if Booker is not on the floor. Or Paul too. So it would be Carter and Jackson And there will be nights that Jackson is "on" and that really helps the team.

It's possible I guess. Personally I don't view Reggie as all that good so I wouldn't pay him too much but as long as it's a 1 or 2 year deal then whatever.

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I wasn't thinking long term and i wasn't think more than like 5-6m per year. Just more than the BAE but not MLE and for sure only one year . But if its E Moore for the BAE or wait on Hill (at least a couple weeks) - I am good with both too

[Barkley6]

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Some quick math tells me that's 64* roster spots open league wide.

Here are the unrestricted FAs I think are NBA roster locks for those spots:

PG: (9)
Brandon Knight, Dellavedova, Yogi Farrell, Quinn Cook, Shabazz Napier, Emmanuel Mudiay, Shaq Harrison, Reggie Jackson, Isaiah Thomas

SG (11)
Bazemore, Etwaun Moore, Langston Galloway, Marco Bellinelli, Kyle Korver, Austin Rivers, GRIII, Furkan Korkmaz, Jordan McRaie, Dion Waiters, Tyler Johnson

SF (7)
Solomon Hill, Evan Turner, Rondae Hollis Jefferson, DeAndre Bembry, Bruno Caboclo, DeMarre Carrol, Ryan Broekhoff

PF (9)
John Henson, Ersan Ilyasova, Frank Kaminsky, Noah Vonleh, Markieff Morris, Caleb Swanigan, Cheick Diallo, Skal Labissiere, Anthony Tolliver

C (12)
Anthony Davis, Hassan Whiteside, Marc Gasol, Bismack Biyombo, Ian Mahinmi, Aron Baynes, Alex Len, Thon Maker, WCS, Kyle O'Quinn, Ante Zizic, Willy Hernangomez

So all told, that's 48 guys. This DOES NOT count RFAs because I wasn't sure if those guys were included in the roster count, if the roster count from the tweet DOESN'T include RFAs then this list would change significantly. There are currently 55 RFAs. Some of them may be renounced still, but the point I'm making is that if you're a 'buyer' in FA, which the Suns most definitely are based on our roster construction, you've got quite a long list of options to choose from, and more so as guys continue to sign.

So, what I take from this, is that it's likely the Suns with 11 roster spots, will likely end up with at least 3 names from these lists. If Phoenix can be patient, it's likely they can get a 2 guys from the above list on the vet minimum, particularly in the wing/big markets because there is a lot of choice there. That tells me that if PHX is in the market for a PG, they need to be using the BAE on that player, as that's the thinnest FA group at the moment.

*Edited for Jakarr Sampson, Bryn Forbes, and Harry Giles signings.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I wouldn't rush to get to 15, there are some teams with some roster decisions and we could see some decent guys available in a week or two when things shake out.

That's where keeping the BAE can come in handy because you can slightly outbid the minimum and could be the difference in landing someone. This also applies to the buyout market later in the season.

Another BAE note is if dealing with a vet of 8+ years the BAE and vet minimum for more tenured guys is virtually the same.

With Okobo unless he just doesn't work hard or they haven't seen any improvement the past year there's really no reason to not roster him. You took a developmental PG and hes on a cheap contract so might as well continue to try to develop him.

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[Barkley6]

I wouldn't rush to get to 15, there are some teams with some roster decisions and we could see some decent guys available in a week or two when things shake out.

That's where keeping the BAE can come in handy because you can slightly outbid the minimum and could be the difference in landing someone. This also applies to the buyout market later in the season.

Another BAE note is if dealing with a vet of 8+ years the BAE and vet minimum for more tenured guys is virtually the same.

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worth noting Baynes is an 8 year vet.

[Barkley6]

I wouldn't rush to get to 15, there are some teams with some roster decisions and we could see some decent guys available in a week or two when things shake out.

That's where keeping the BAE can come in handy because you can slightly outbid the minimum and could be the difference in landing someone. This also applies to the buyout market later in the season.

Another BAE note is if dealing with a vet of 8+ years the BAE and vet minimum for more tenured guys is virtually the same.

With Okobo unless he just doesn't work hard or they haven't seen any improvement the past year there's really no reason to not roster him. You took a developmental PG and hes on a cheap contract so might as well continue to try to develop him.

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I think there's a reason we traded Jerome and Lecque and held onto Okobo. I think there's enough there to craft an NBA rotation player, and I would like to see what Okobo can learn from CP3. Looking at PGs we've had making the transition from overseas to the NBA, Barbosa and Dragic both needed about 2 years to settle in and then became solid rotation guys. Maybe we can expect the same from Okobo.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I wouldn't rush to get to 15, there are some teams with some roster decisions and we could see some decent guys available in a week or two when things shake out.

That's where keeping the BAE can come in handy because you can slightly outbid the minimum and could be the difference in landing someone. This also applies to the buyout market later in the season.

Another BAE note is if dealing with a vet of 8+ years the BAE and vet minimum for more tenured guys is virtually the same.

With Okobo unless he just doesn't work hard or they haven't seen any improvement the past year there's really no reason to not roster him. You took a developmental PG and hes on a cheap contract so might as well continue to try to develop him.

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I think there's a reason we traded Jerome and Lecque and held onto Okobo. I think there's enough there to craft an NBA rotation player, and I would like to see what Okobo can learn from CP3. Looking at PGs we've had making the transition from overseas to the NBA, Barbosa and Dragic both needed about 2 years to settle in and then became solid rotation guys. Maybe we can expect the same from Okobo.

Yeah and Okobo has nice size and athletism so there is a base to build on. But ultimately the suns will have a better feel for him because they see him in practice while we only have a small game sample size to judge. He hasn't been good but at times we have seen flashes of what made him a well thought of prospect. My biggest concern with him I don't know if he has a great feel for the game, now experience can help with that but some is instinctive.

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[Barkley6]

I wouldn't rush to get to 15, there are some teams with some roster decisions and we could see some decent guys available in a week or two when things shake out.

That's where keeping the BAE can come in handy because you can slightly outbid the minimum and could be the difference in landing someone. This also applies to the buyout market later in the season.

Another BAE note is if dealing with a vet of 8+ years the BAE and vet minimum for more tenured guys is virtually the same.

With Okobo unless he just doesn't work hard or they haven't seen any improvement the past year there's really no reason to not roster him. You took a developmental PG and hes on a cheap contract so might as well continue to try to develop him.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

I think there's a reason we traded Jerome and Lecque and held onto Okobo. I think there's enough there to craft an NBA rotation player, and I would like to see what Okobo can learn from CP3. Looking at PGs we've had making the transition from overseas to the NBA, Barbosa and Dragic both needed about 2 years to settle in and then became solid rotation guys. Maybe we can expect the same from Okobo.

Yeah and Okobo has nice size and athletism so there is a base to build on. But ultimately the suns will have a better feel for him because they see him in practice while we only have a small game sample size to judge. He hasn't been good but at times we have seen flashes of what made him a well thought of prospect. My biggest concern with him I don't know if he has a great feel for the game, now experience can help with that but some is instinctive.

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I think having a year with Rubio and now the chance to learn with CP3 will be huge for him. Gotta say, I doubt Dragic would be who he is today without Nash's mentorship. What I've seen from Okobo when he gets minutes is that he tries too hard to play mistake free. He does a good job of not committing mistakes, but the problem is he doesn't do much of anything else either. If he can get some confidence to take shots, drive, and use his athleticism a little more, I think he can be a player.

[bigfoot]

I think we should take a vet minimum swing at Isaiah Thomas as a safety net for Payne.

He would get paid $2.3M but the league would cover $1.5M so Sarver would be on the hook for $800K.

He can certainly run a bench offense and if surrounded by a group of defenders shouldn't hurt us too badly.

[rcc8884]

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There goes Bryn Forbes