2016-17 Phoenix Suns Preseason Thread

[bwgood77]

I was thinking, if we wanted to trade Len at the deadline, because we decided to stick with Chandler for the next couple years - who would be interested? Similarly, if we simply wait til this summer for RFA - who would be interested (and capable of making an offer)? There simply aren't that many teams who would appear to be in the market for a guy like Alex. Given that, we might be able to sign him at a bargain. No matter what you think of Len, if we can retain him for under $10 mil/yr, that's a bargain.

You can't trade Len for that reasoning imo. Chandler is super old and you need 2 centers. We're a rebuilding team who will probably be really bad again this year and Len is still super young and a better fit for the direction of the team. If you want to trade Len because you are scared of his next deal then okay, but it would have to be for a young center or picks that we could use to get a comparable young talent. Keep in mind that bigs take time, so anybody we draft is going to take a few years to develop. And Chandler may not last that long. Imo, we should trade Chandler for a youngster or pick, start Len and see exactly what we have before negotiating his deal. If he's not what we want we can move him then and go into FA with a starting spot and money to sell, or with an extra pick or 2 to use on bigs.

That said, I'm biased because I don't really want Chandler on the team and would rather he be traded. We're in rebuild mode and I think you can find vet locker room presences for cheaper. Same goes for Tucker, who a playoff team would value at the $5 mil mark for the stretch run, and who we really don't need on this rebuilding team.

Being the 4th year of his career, do you think Len is our center of the future? One that could start on a contender?

[AtheJ415]

I was thinking, if we wanted to trade Len at the deadline, because we decided to stick with Chandler for the next couple years - who would be interested? Similarly, if we simply wait til this summer for RFA - who would be interested (and capable of making an offer)? There simply aren't that many teams who would appear to be in the market for a guy like Alex. Given that, we might be able to sign him at a bargain. No matter what you think of Len, if we can retain him for under $10 mil/yr, that's a bargain.

You can't trade Len for that reasoning imo. Chandler is super old and you need 2 centers. We're a rebuilding team who will probably be really bad again this year and Len is still super young and a better fit for the direction of the team. If you want to trade Len because you are scared of his next deal then okay, but it would have to be for a young center or picks that we could use to get a comparable young talent. Keep in mind that bigs take time, so anybody we draft is going to take a few years to develop. And Chandler may not last that long. Imo, we should trade Chandler for a youngster or pick, start Len and see exactly what we have before negotiating his deal. If he's not what we want we can move him then and go into FA with a starting spot and money to sell, or with an extra pick or 2 to use on bigs.

That said, I'm biased because I don't really want Chandler on the team and would rather he be traded. We're in rebuild mode and I think you can find vet locker room presences for cheaper. Same goes for Tucker, who a playoff team would value at the $5 mil mark for the stretch run, and who we really don't need on this rebuilding team.

Being the 4th year of his career, do you think Len is our center of the future? One that could start on a contender?

Probably not, but I still think he could be. I mean, look at Bismack Biyombo's progression. Either way, I don't feel that sticking with a super old Chandler is a reason for trading anybody. I'd follow the same logic with trading TJ because we wanted to stick with Tucker. It just doesn't make sense imo based on where this team is.

Even if we have perfect chemistry and fire on all cylinders, this team is simply too young to win. Bledsoe will help, but best case scenario if all things work out perfectly is probably a .500 team. The realistic scenario is probably more like 30 wins. And the growth from the key components (Booker, Chriss, Warren, etc.) is likely still a few years away. I just don't think keeping Chandler at all makes sense. Same for Tucker.

[Zelaznyrules]

Being the 4th year of his career, do you think Len is our center of the future? One that could start on a contender?

Do you want to know how quickly things can change? If you had asked me that question a few weeks ago I would have said "hell yes, without a doubt". I really thought last year was an anomaly for Len brought about mostly by his hand injury, a patchwork lineup and the fact we frequently had to play him out of position. Never in my wildest nightmares did I envision he'd open up our first 4 preseason games playing like he not only shouldn't be a starter but that he probably doesn't even belong in the league.

So much of our season is riding on Chandler and Len effectively controlling the lane. If we can't put Len in the middle and spread the court with Warren, Chriss or Bender at the 4, we're really going to struggle this season. I'd be fine with struggling if it was due to us giving serious minutes to Warren, Chriss, Bender, Len and Ulis. But I'm not looking forward to a team that's playing Barbosa, Tucker, Chandler and Dudley major minutes in pursuit of a playoff dream that just isn't going to happen (IMO). OTOH, if Len is not capable of being our center of the future we might as well lock up a top 3 pick this season and see what's available.

[bwgood77]

Being the 4th year of his career, do you think Len is our center of the future? One that could start on a contender?

Do you want to know how quickly things can change? If you had asked me that question a few weeks ago I would have said "hell yes, without a doubt". I really thought last year was an anomaly for Len brought about mostly by his hand injury, a patchwork lineup and the fact we frequently had to play him out of position. Never in my wildest nightmares did I envision he'd open up our first 4 preseason games playing like he not only shouldn't be a starter but that he probably doesn't even belong in the league.

So much of our season is riding on Chandler and Len effectively controlling the lane. If we can't put Len in the middle and spread the court with Warren, Chriss or Bender at the 4, we're really going to struggle this season. I'd be fine with struggling if it was due to us giving serious minutes to Warren, Chriss, Bender, Len and Ulis. But I'm not looking forward to a team that's playing Barbosa, Tucker, Chandler and Dudley major minutes in pursuit of a playoff dream that just isn't going to happen (IMO). OTOH, if Len is not capable of being our center of the future we might as well lock up a top 3 pick this season and see what's available.

I agree. I typed up an elaborate agreement, but deleted it as you said it well enough. This is a growing season. I think many of us expect Len not to be our center of the future...most of us, so anything he does well is a positive. Booker will be fun to watch. The rest or our team is Bledsoe, Knight, and journeymen or rookies for the most part. We have to take the positives that we can because there will be a lot of games like the game last night in the first half, and we won't come back.

Our young guys are going to face serious growing pains and Miyagi's sig says it best, don't judge these guys quickly because they should be soph's in college. Bender maybe a freshman this year.

If Bender came to the states this year for college, he would be a freshman at AZ still adjusting to the country and U.S. rules and court. And I would wonder if he would do well. So playing for an NBA team is a gargantuan adjustment for a guy like him and I hope people realize that. I know many won't, but it is.

[asudevil]

For me this season isnt about anything more than assessing what we have. The playoffs are a dream unless something crazy happens.....which would be AMAZING. But at the end of the day, we are still trying to figure out what this team is made of. About the ONLY thing we know is Booker is legit. Outside of that we have a good group of mentors (Chandler/Barbosa/Tucker/Dudley) coaching the team we have.

Len - dark-horse. We've seen glimpses of him being a quality C. But we arent sure at the moment.
Warren - He looked like he could be a quality SF/PF last season, but was lost due to injury
Goodwin - my vote is still on the fence on him. Right now, he's that player we will regret trading.....but at the end of the year, he might be the player we regret keeping.
Knight - He's of course not the starting SG, unless Booker shows he's got that SF mentality. Chances are he's the 6th man off the bench, but we have no idea if he'll welcome that role, much less succeed.
Bledsoe - History has shown that this is the year he stays healthy. Beyond that, he could be injury prone the following year. He's a quality PG, but hasnt proved that he'll stay on the floor consistantly.

Chriss - I've loved what i've heard. Granted, i dont get a chance to see full games, but he's got the chance to be something special.
Bender - So young. He's got the chance to become a Dirk like player, or could fade away like 90% of young Euro players.
Ulis - He's small but has heart. He'll be fighting for minutes behind a potentially deep back-court.
Jones JR - I know nothing about the kid....but he has heart and is athletic as well....anyone.

If this team is at least competitive night in and night out, the roster will be fun to watch evolve. But if things go south, I see quite a few players that will be extremely unhappy with their roles and will want out.

We also have a multitude of potential quality draft picks that could be packaged with players to net a quality player if the opportunity arises.

My hope is that come the halfway point the Suns know what they have....and the right situation arises where we can trade a combo of Len/Knight/Goodwin/Picks to net us a top notch C or SF to build around Booker, a healthy Bledsoe, and this young draft class.

At this moment I cant say that there is a player on this roster or even picks that i would gladly trade away (Len/Knight/Goodwin are the closest). And for that matter we have no clue as to what player/s that we could net from that. There are too many questions that i need answered that a half season of real basketball will hopefully answer.

[Years90Suns]

I am quite more worried about what to do with Knight than about what to do with Len.
Knight is a borderline starter with a ton of individual quality, but has yet to translate that into any kind of beneficial product for the team. One has to make teammates better, even more so if one plays the PG position (although he has a SG scorer mind).
He is only 23, though.

Len has a solid body to be an NBA center. Even ha can share the court with another C. The thing with Len is that he is able to do different things on the court, but he should develope just a couple for the moment to make a living, and for us to be a player who we can use. Just rebounding, intimidating and scoring from a couple of spots could be enough.

We seem to be a team that is not going to play with his Cs /whoever they are) a lot for the next 10-12 years (Booker, Chriss, Bender, Ulis and may be Knight, Goodwin, Warren). We just need somebody that can offer an inside presence, some rebounds, some points here and there and good hands to catch any pass. Not all five players on the court can be stars.

I believe we need to leave this group come together. They need to grow as a team and as a group. They need to gain some experience. They need to develope. We cannot make changes every year. Not changes into the core of this group. We have to wait, wish that Bledsoe is ok for the whole RS and try to develope Len, Knight and the rest of the guys in the way we need to.

[Frank Lee]

McDogpaddle has been treading water since he's been here.... to bank on the development of kids is a risky path (see ALen) , and adding a handful of marginal vets is scotch taping a piñata. The logical path out of mediocrity is free agency and /or a trade for a legitimate top tier player.

The season will be one where we are all instructed to forgive success in exchange for the sake of ' development of teenagers..... unless the blockbuster deal presents itself.

And about all I see that could actually alter the near future and maybe even vault us into talks of realistic contention is to win the Boogie Sweepstakes. He'll cost us Len, knight, bender or Criss, TJ and some picks..... and cause a minor forum revolt, but the table is set. It's just a question of how hungry is McD? It won't be an easy swap dealing with Divac, and it's likely going to have to be prompted by a disgruntling DmC actually point to phnx... but other than that, we are facing a yawner nod off yr with only an elbow nudge here and there pointing out biased potential.

If McDabble doesn't deal ? Look for a run on the OCGs

[Saberestar]

Some interesting things here...

Suns guard Devin Booker is questionable to play Friday night against Dallas due to a right ankle sprain that held him out of Thursday’s practice.
Booker is leading the NBA in scoring average this preseason with 21.5 points per game in 25.2 minutes per game. He also is averaging 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and making 22 of his 23 free throw attempts.

I hope that he doesn't play tonight against Dallas, we have a full week before the last preseason game to recover that ankle.

“I can only control what I can control,” Goodwin said. “I’m just staying positive. Whenever my name is called, I’ll try my best to be prepared and play the best I can because you never know what will happen. I’ll stay positive and be the best teammate I can. When I tend to focus on all the outside, it affects me as a person.”

I like that "new" mentality, Watson is making a heck of a job in that regard.
Goodwin probably is better than Barbosa at this stage of his career, so it's a possibility that he is gonna play more minutes than what we are expecting now. I think Barbosa has regressed a lot.

Suns center Tyson Chandler (hamstring) will not play Friday, his fourth consecutive preseason game missed, while guards Brandon Knight (sore left knee) and John Jenkins (abdominal strain) are questionable.

More minutes for Len, hopefully he plays a good game against Bogut and he puts an smile in our faces. I want to see Ulis more minutes on the court too.

Chriss leads rookies with 6.3 rebounds per game and his 12.8 scoring average trails only Memphis’ Troy Williams, an undrafted Suns summer leaguer.

I love that. Chriss is surprising me in a good way.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/10/13/phoenix-suns-rookie-tyler-ulis-relishes-preseason-time/92023380/

[batsmasher]

Troy Williams seems a load like TJ. If he wasn't so much like TJ he may have had a better shot at making the final roster. Seems like a pretty cool guy. Hopefully he makes it in Memphis.

[Saberestar]

Troy Williams seems a load like TJ. If he wasn't so much like TJ he may have had a better shot at making the final roster. Seems like a pretty cool guy. Hopefully he makes it in Memphis.

Yeah, I wanted him on our roster.

[batsmasher]

I know it's early in the equation, but what do people think of the chances that the 2015 draft becomes the best ever?

KAT, D-Lo, Porzee, Turner, Booker all have at least all-star potential. KAT has MVP potential.

Then there are another bunch of guys that could have a chance, including: Jahlil, Mario, Winslow, Oubre.

[bigfoot]

After reading the last few pages of this thread ... I can't imagine what will be posted after a few regular season games

[NTB]

Read on Twitter

[Qwigglez]

I know it's early in the equation, but what do people think of the chances that the 2015 draft becomes the best ever?

KAT, D-Lo, Porzee, Turner, Booker all have at least all-star potential. KAT has MVP potential.

Then there are another bunch of guys that could have a chance, including: Jahlil, Mario, Winslow, Oubre.

The best since Lebron's class IMO.

[bwgood77]

I know it's early in the equation, but what do people think of the chances that the 2015 draft becomes the best ever?

KAT, D-Lo, Porzee, Turner, Booker all have at least all-star potential. KAT has MVP potential.

Then there are another bunch of guys that could have a chance, including: Jahlil, Mario, Winslow, Oubre.

The best since Lebron's class IMO.

[Qwigglez]

^Jokic too. Some people think Mudiday may be a decent player, but I'm not a fan.

[jcsunsfan]

Read on Twitter

Hmm. Didn't know that.

[alphagorilla]

Call me optimistic but I think Chriss will be a serious candidate for Rookie of the year.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Call me optimistic but I think Chriss will be a serious candidate for Rookie of the year.

He's already the second most valuable player on the roster, I reckon.

[ATTL]

If an injury propels chriss to the starting lineup I could see Chriss having a shot at ROY. Similar to googs being hurt/ineffective for amares rookie year.