Alex Len

[Saberestar]

Yeah Len at $13m/yr would be exactly what Chandler is going to make next year. That's a fine price for him. I'd bet we match anything up to $15m or so. If we can keep Len in that range and also get Williams to a good deal, we have a C glut but with less of the ego issues we had with our PG glut in the past, so we'd be in a good position to field offers without having to cave. You want a budget backup C who won't hurt your team while your starter rests or gets injured? Give us a pick or a prospect for Big Sauce. You want a proven vet for your playoff push who won't be on your cap much longer? Pick or prospect for Chandler. Athletic rim protector who still has room to improve and was just signed to a long-term deal? Then we have something in stock for that too! Don't want to pay full price for any of those options? No problem, we'll keep them all! One stop shopping!

There are not too many decent FA or RFA this summer for all the money that teams MUST spend.

Mozgov and Deng got those big contracts because they were the best players that LA could sign last summer, and it's OK because a lot of their players are on a rookie's contracts. The salary floor is really high on these days, franchises need to get there with whoever can sign.

Big Sauce and Len are gonna be paid big time IMO. We can not have three Cs that are not really good earning around $40M combined. Their trade value would drop quickly because one or even two of them will not play minutes at all (we have Chriss and Bender too).

We have to choose two of them.

Someone is gonna give Len $18M per year and Williams can receive offers around $10M per year.
That doesn't mean that they deserve that money, it's just the way the league is distributing the money with the new high cap. There are yet too many players with "old" contracts (like Bledsoe) in the league.

[lilfishi22]

Len at $16m is probably the max I'll go. If the market says he's worth $18m, then he should get that money.

[kennydorglas]

I guess if we'll split the money between them.
Big Sauce right now is the 7th best defensive big in the league (per RPM as a PF)

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I don't think Len gets anywhere approaching $18M. If he gets offered more than $11M, I think I let him go. We need better players than Alex if we're going to win anything.

[RaisingArizona]

Len at $16m is probably the max I'll go. If the market says he's worth $18m, then he should get that money.

We will be treadmilling if we near max out average players.

[NTB]

I don't think Len gets anywhere approaching $18M. If he gets offered more than $11M, I think I let him go. We need better players than Alex if we're going to win anything.

My limit is $13M for him.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I don't think Len gets anywhere approaching $18M. If he gets offered more than $11M, I think I let him go. We need better players than Alex if we're going to win anything.

My limit is $13M for him.

If Tyson can be dealt for nothing? Sure. Swap one for the other. That's a lateral move I'd be okay with.

[Qwigglez]

Trade Tyson back to the team that drafted him in exchange for a center that we originally drafted too.

[bigfoot]

We should not resign Len. He is a low-end backup center. Chandler, Bender, Williams, and Chriss can handle the 5 spot next year.

[Qwigglez]

Someone in a Suns group on FB was at the casino and saw Alex Len playing Blackjack with a buddy.

You guys think it's okay for players to blow off steam during the season? Or should he be focusing on improving? I know we're pretty much done with the season, so I don't care too much.

[bwgood77]

Someone in a Suns group on FB was at the casino and saw Alex Len playing Blackjack with a buddy.

You guys think it's okay for players to blow off steam during the season? Or should he be focusing on improving? I know we're pretty much done with the season, so I don't care too much.

Yeah, these guys are not robots. They have lives too. If he was out getting wasted, then it might not be good, but players go out and do stuff all the time. I mean Booker and Ulis sit and home and Booker watches Ulis play video games. Is that ok?

I think these guys put in a fair amount of work.

[Christine-In-AZ]

It's the number of years that give me pause when thinking of re-signing Len...see: slow/stalled development. 4 or 5 years? That's virtually a "no-go" for me, and I'm one that doesn't want to see him leave.

His agent probably wouldn't bite, but I'd offer him a two year deal, with large first year money. Suns have plenty of space right now anyway and aren't shopping this summer (it seems). In two, three years it's going to get costly for Sarver.

2 year 30 million. 18M year one. That's a tradable contract right away.

I'd even go 3 years, 18-12-12M with like a 2 million dollar buyout year three. Again, very tradeable.

Alex has disappointed all of us, but his floor is pretty well established IMO. My guess is most all GMs still believe he has at least some potential left to fulfill.

It's the time contracted, not so much the money.

[bwgood77]

It's the number of years that give me pause when thinking of re-signing Len...see: slow/stalled development. 4 or 5 years? That's virtually a "no-go" for me, and I'm one that doesn't want to see him leave.

His agent probably wouldn't bite, but I'd offer him a two year deal, with large first year money. Suns have plenty of space right now anyway and aren't shopping this summer (it seems). In two, three years it's going to get costly for Sarver.

2 year 30 million. 18M year one. That's a tradable contract right away.

I'd even go 3 years, 18-12-12M with like a 2 million dollar buyout year three. Again, very tradeable.

Alex has disappointed all of us, but his floor is pretty well established IMO. My guess is most all GMs still believe he has at least some potential left to fulfill.

It's the time contracted, not so much the money.

The only problem is there is a max raise/reduction by year of 7.5% so it couldn't quite be that bad. I don't think we will need to offer him that much.

Last year we did a mock offseason on the Trade and Transaction Games forum with some of the more knowledgeable posters on the site (one representing each team). Of course it's not based on reality but it might tell what knowledgeable fans think their team might need a center and is willing to offer Len a deal and how much. I can match it or walk, and that's it. So we would need to see what teams might feel they need a center or think he is worth, at least somewhere in the ball park. The positive thing for us is that he didn't start, a ton, and split total rebounds almost every game with Chandler or Williams so his averages this year were not great even though is per minute blocks and rebounds were upper range.

[Qwigglez]

Someone in a Suns group on FB was at the casino and saw Alex Len playing Blackjack with a buddy.

You guys think it's okay for players to blow off steam during the season? Or should he be focusing on improving? I know we're pretty much done with the season, so I don't care too much.

Yeah, these guys are not robots. They have lives too. If he was out getting wasted, then it might not be good, but players go out and do stuff all the time. I mean Booker and Ulis sit and home and Booker watches Ulis play video games. Is that ok?

I think these guys put in a fair amount of work.

I don't care too much like I said previously. Some Suns fans on that page seemed to be somewhat annoyed that he wasn't putting in work instead, I'm sure they were half-joking though.

[RaisingArizona]

Someone in a Suns group on FB was at the casino and saw Alex Len playing Blackjack with a buddy.

You guys think it's okay for players to blow off steam during the season? Or should he be focusing on improving? I know we're pretty much done with the season, so I don't care too much.

Yeah, these guys are not robots. They have lives too. If he was out getting wasted, then it might not be good, but players go out and do stuff all the time. I mean Booker and Ulis sit and home and Booker watches Ulis play video games. Is that ok?

I think these guys put in a fair amount of work.

I don't care too much like I said previously. Some Suns fans on that page seemed to be somewhat annoyed that he wasn't putting in work instead, I'm sure they were half-joking though.

I don't particularly like Len but that's ridiculous. Everyone needs adequate downtime from their work.

[Christine-In-AZ]

It's the number of years that give me pause when thinking of re-signing Len...see: slow/stalled development. 4 or 5 years? That's virtually a "no-go" for me, and I'm one that doesn't want to see him leave.

His agent probably wouldn't bite, but I'd offer him a two year deal, with large first year money. Suns have plenty of space right now anyway and aren't shopping this summer (it seems). In two, three years it's going to get costly for Sarver.

2 year 30 million. 18M year one. That's a tradable contract right away.

I'd even go 3 years, 18-12-12M with like a 2 million dollar buyout year three. Again, very tradeable.

Alex has disappointed all of us, but his floor is pretty well established IMO. My guess is most all GMs still believe he has at least some potential left to fulfill.

It's the time contracted, not so much the money.

The only problem is there is a max raise/reduction by year of 7.5% so it couldn't quite be that bad. I don't think we will need to offer him that much.

Last year we did a mock offseason on the Trade and Transaction Games forum with some of the more knowledgeable posters on the site (one representing each team). Of course it's not based on reality but it might tell what knowledgeable fans think their team might need a center and is willing to offer Len a deal and how much. I can match it or walk, and that's it. So we would need to see what teams might feel they need a center or think he is worth, at least somewhere in the ball park. The positive thing for us is that he didn't start, a ton, and split total rebounds almost every game with Chandler or Williams so his averages this year were not great even though is per minute blocks and rebounds were upper range.

Yeah, after I posted those numbers I kind of remembered there's rules prohibiting such numbers. Still only want to guarantee him 2 years, and someone is going to offer more for sure.

Side topic: I don't know who it was, and I don't want to search for it right now, but someone not long ago made a post about Len's weed smoking...maybe just a joke based on not much/nothing. I am very curious as to why Alex has not improved...could even be argued that he's regressed 2 years running. Now I'm not anti-weed in general...I've inhaled a fair amount in my lifetime , but if you're a professional athlete and your marijuana use is negatively effecting your play, your progress as a player? That's not cool. So is Len a pothead? Anybody got stories?

[Qwigglez]

I got a story and it may shock some of you...

In Len's second year, he had two games where he had 17 points and 19 points to go along with 11 boards and 7 boards. Suns front office asked Len how did this happen. Len told them he smoked some MJ before the game, it helps him mellow out and find his groove, helps him catch the ball. The front office told him that is against league rules and to stop immediately. Len stopped, and wasn't able to find his rhythm for the rest of the season, he was only able to produce back to back games of at least double figures in points one more time that year!

Fast-forward to his 3rd season, Len got a vape pen that had his favorite substance in it. He figured it helps his anxiety on the court so he started secretly using it before games. During a 5 game stretch he averaged 15.6 points, 8.4 boards, 1.6 blocks on 54 FG%, while also shooting 4.8/6.6 FTs. Ridiculously good for a then 22-year old! He didn't want anyone to find out so he stopped using it for several games and figured maybe it was just a placebo effect. It turns out, not using had a negative impact for Len on the court as he was only able to produce double figures in points one time in the next 14 games. So Len of course, does his pre-game ritual of getting high and was able to put up stats of 15 points, 10.6 boards on 50 FG% in 3 games. He stopped again for 8 games, and it resulted in the same effect, Len playing like ass. Alex figured enough is enough, he was going to use it for the rest of the season and didn't care if he would get caught! During a 9 game stretch Len put up straight fire! 18 points & 13 boards! The problem was, Len was starting to take lazy shots, which resulted in poor FG% and defensively he wasn't defending the rim as well as he used to. His game play became sporadic the rest of the season, eventually coming down to whether or not Len felt like trying hard.

Front office was wary of Len's behavior and asked him to submit to a drug test during the summer. It came back positive so the team assigned a buddy to monitor him at all times. Alex Len has been clean ever since, but now suffers from depression, and this is the Alex Len we see today.

Spoiler:

Len while playing high


Len not so high

[Christine-In-AZ]

I got a story and it may shock some of you...

In Len's second year, he had two games where he had 17 points and 19 points to go along with 11 boards and 7 boards. Suns front office asked Len how did this happen. Len told them he smoked some MJ before the game, it helps him mellow out and find his groove, helps him catch the ball. The front office told him that is against league rules and to stop immediately. Len stopped, and wasn't able to find his rhythm for the rest of the season, he was only able to produce back to back games of at least double figures in points one more time that year!

Fast-forward to his 3rd season, Len got a vape pen that had his favorite substance in it. He figured it helps his anxiety on the court so he started secretly using it before games. During a 5 game stretch he averaged 15.6 points, 8.4 boards, 1.6 blocks on 54 FG%, while also shooting 4.8/6.6 FTs. Ridiculously good for a then 22-year old! He didn't want anyone to find out so he stopped using it for several games and figured maybe it was just a placebo effect. It turns out, not using had a negative impact for Len on the court as he was only able to produce double figures in points one time in the next 14 games. So Len of course, does his pre-game ritual of getting high and was able to put up stats of 15 points, 10.6 boards on 50 FG% in 3 games. He stopped again for 8 games, and it resulted in the same effect, Len playing like ass. Alex figured enough is enough, he was going to use it for the rest of the season and didn't care if he would get caught! During a 9 game stretch Len put up straight fire! 18 points & 13 boards! The problem was, Len was starting to take lazy shots, which resulted in poor FG% and defensively he wasn't defending the rim as well as he used to. His game play became sporadic the rest of the season, eventually coming down to whether or not Len felt like trying hard.

Front office was wary of Len's behavior and asked him to submit to a drug test during the summer. It came back positive so the team assigned a buddy to monitor him at all times. Alex Len has been clean ever since, but now suffers from depression, and this is the Alex Len we see today.

Wow!...

[bwgood77]

I got a story and it may shock some of you...

In Len's second year, he had two games where he had 17 points and 19 points to go along with 11 boards and 7 boards. Suns front office asked Len how did this happen. Len told them he smoked some MJ before the game, it helps him mellow out and find his groove, helps him catch the ball. The front office told him that is against league rules and to stop immediately. Len stopped, and wasn't able to find his rhythm for the rest of the season, he was only able to produce back to back games of at least double figures in points one more time that year!

Fast-forward to his 3rd season, Len got a vape pen that had his favorite substance in it. He figured it helps his anxiety on the court so he started secretly using it before games. During a 5 game stretch he averaged 15.6 points, 8.4 boards, 1.6 blocks on 54 FG%, while also shooting 4.8/6.6 FTs. Ridiculously good for a then 22-year old! He didn't want anyone to find out so he stopped using it for several games and figured maybe it was just a placebo effect. It turns out, not using had a negative impact for Len on the court as he was only able to produce double figures in points one time in the next 14 games. So Len of course, does his pre-game ritual of getting high and was able to put up stats of 15 points, 10.6 boards on 50 FG% in 3 games. He stopped again for 8 games, and it resulted in the same effect, Len playing like ass. Alex figured enough is enough, he was going to use it for the rest of the season and didn't care if he would get caught! During a 9 game stretch Len put up straight fire! 18 points & 13 boards! The problem was, Len was starting to take lazy shots, which resulted in poor FG% and defensively he wasn't defending the rim as well as he used to. His game play became sporadic the rest of the season, eventually coming down to whether or not Len felt like trying hard.

Front office was wary of Len's behavior and asked him to submit to a drug test during the summer. It came back positive so the team assigned a buddy to monitor him at all times. Alex Len has been clean ever since, but now suffers from depression, and this is the Alex Len we see today.

Spoiler:

Len while playing high


Len not so high

I take it this is another Mathias attempt?

[Qwigglez]

Nope. Go check out his stats. All true.