bigfoot wrote:Training camp starts in less than a month
Exciting to be sure! But I wish there was any indication of news as to what our core players are/ might have been working on/ areas of their games over this condensed offseason???
Paul- Health and durability!
Booker- Ball handling in pressure situations/ decision making?
Ayton- Ballhandling/ dribble drive game skills, Midrange jumper, Physicality and aggression and consistency in both of those areas ( be dominant consistently)?
Mikal Bridges- Isolation scoring/ three point shooting consistency/ willingness to shoot?
Jae Crowder- SHOOTING CONSISTENCY!!!
Anything that I missed or left out guys? I think it'll be really interesting to see who we bring in for training camp! I really hope that we bring in some uber athletic strong and aggressive talent either from overseas or from the undrafted/ waived talent pool. Bringing these players in to really push and challenge our core starters and key 2nd rotation players can only be good to our teams' growth and competitive fire!!!
But we definitely need to add some strong athleticism, edge like what Oubre brought at times for energy and that tough edge!
Puff wrote:I think most of us were impressed with the moves that Jones made to the end of our roster last year (Moore and Galloway). Let's hope he does his job well again. Let's hope Smith is who a lot of us thought he was when we drafted him.
Yeah, but the position really at our end of roster was Damian Jones, a really bad signing, and then he was replaced by Kaminsky. While I really liked the Moore and Galloway signings at the time, they didn't up being good enough to play much. Our roster feels much improved to me given the guard and big depth for top 9 and likely an improved Jalen. Going into last year I expected much more from Saric too. We really only had 7 main guys until Craig was added...and we could easily make a similar add later if we leave a roster spot open...or maybe sign an unguaranteed guy.
bigfoot wrote:Training camp starts in less than a month
And after a big lull, college football has some big games next Saturday. I'm not a big college football fan but it will be nice to at least turn the tube on to see some competition and filled stadiums. Then AZ has a new coach which is good...and on ESPN.
The the following Thursday and Sunday, the NFL. Very nice having the NFL start and then NBA a little over a month later (regular season).
Years90Suns wrote:I am not happy with the moves we did this summer.
I am happy that we got a back up center, but McGee was not the player I would have chosen a different player, as he has no understanding of the game and once he enters the court, everybody has to adapt to this. Ayton can set screens, receive ally oops, shoot... Javale cannot do most of those things, except the alleys.
In second place, I would have get ridden of Crowder. I would like to have someone taller and more athletic, as we lack players blocking shots, getting rebounds in traffic (my feeling, not based on statistics).
I am happy with the returning of Paul, Payne, Frank. But I would try to move Crowder and Saric for a real PF. Nance would have been perfect. They are too similar.
I did. Bring back CP3 and Payne were HUGE great moves. Getting Shamet as a huge upgrade at backup 2 and sharpshooter to bolster the lineup and a C to make us less vulnerable when Ayton is off the floor with his rebounding and rim protection. He averaged over 14 boards per 36 and 3 blocks per 36 last year. We needed that in a big way...and a guy with olympic experience.
bigfoot wrote:Training camp starts in less than a month
Exciting to be sure! But I wish there was any indication of news as to what our core players are/ might have been working on/ areas of their games over this condensed offseason???
Paul- Health and durability!
Booker- Ball handling in pressure situations/ decision making?
Ayton- Ballhandling/ dribble drive game skills, Midrange jumper, Physicality and aggression and consistency in both of those areas ( be dominant consistently)?
Mikal Bridges- Isolation scoring/ three point shooting consistency/ willingness to shoot?
Jae Crowder- SHOOTING CONSISTENCY!!!
Anything that I missed or left out guys? I think it'll be really interesting to see who we bring in for training camp! I really hope that we bring in some uber athletic strong and aggressive talent either from overseas or from the undrafted/ waived talent pool. Bringing these players in to really push and challenge our core starters and key 2nd rotation players can only be good to our teams' growth and competitive fire!!!
But we definitely need to add some strong athleticism, edge like what Oubre brought at times for energy and that tough edge!
I do think DA will slowly become more physical in the paint. He saw, in the finals, what it took. He either didn't have it or was gassed too often. I'd love to see him expand his 3pt shooting game a bit. If you can pull out defenders to respect him out there, it opens up our offense in a whole other way.
Bridges and CamJo, I want them both to be able to drive a bit. I don't expect them to be able to create, but I want to see hesitation, take a few steps, and pull up jumper or sometimes get to the rim. When a help defender closes on them, that persons man can cut for a pass and easy bucket.
Paul....just rest up. Heal the wrist.
Booker, maybe a little better decision making? Hard to see how much better he can get. Not sure what else he can fix at this point.
Payne...court awareness. Recognize when you have an open lane, that a big man is possibly tailing you. The last 2 rounds, he was snuffed quite a bit by false security that he had an open lane.
Years90Suns wrote:I am not happy with the moves we did this summer.
I am happy that we got a back up center, but McGee was not the player I would have chosen a different player, as he has no understanding of the game and once he enters the court, everybody has to adapt to this. Ayton can set screens, receive ally oops, shoot... Javale cannot do most of those things, except the alleys.
In second place, I would have get ridden of Crowder. I would like to have someone taller and more athletic, as we lack players blocking shots, getting rebounds in traffic (my feeling, not based on statistics).
I am happy with the returning of Paul, Payne, Frank. But I would try to move Crowder and Saric for a real PF. Nance would have been perfect. They are too similar.
I did. Bring back CP3 and Payne were HUGE great moves. Getting Shamet as a huge upgrade at backup 2 and sharpshooter to bolster the lineup and a C to make us less vulnerable when Ayton is off the floor with his rebounding and rim protection. He averaged over 14 boards per 36 and 3 blocks per 36 last year. We needed that in a big way...and a guy with olympic experience.
Bringing back CP3 and Payne was a prerequisite. We had no way to replace them so bringing them back was a must, not really an addition. I like the Shamet move.
The one area that wasn't really addressed last season and somewhat addressed this offseason was front court depth. The issue I have with it isn't so much that McGee isn't a nice piece but more that I wanted him last season when he would be an insurance big behind Saric (he was still decent at the time). This season he's going to be a rotation big (1st big off the bench?) and the level of player you need there is different. It's the difference between really needing Frank to contribute because he's your 1st big off the bench vs him being an insurance big who may or may not play at all.
I still think we need one more veteran big (MILSAP PLEASE!). When you're a championship caliber team, the margin for error is tiny because only 1 team can win it all and that team has to go through a murderer's row of great teams just for a chance at the title. It's the reason why championship caliber teams stack their roster. I feel like we're running a very lean team
bigfoot wrote:Training camp starts in less than a month
Exciting to be sure! But I wish there was any indication of news as to what our core players are/ might have been working on/ areas of their games over this condensed offseason???
Paul- Health and durability!
Booker- Ball handling in pressure situations/ decision making?
Ayton- Ballhandling/ dribble drive game skills, Midrange jumper, Physicality and aggression and consistency in both of those areas ( be dominant consistently)?
Mikal Bridges- Isolation scoring/ three point shooting consistency/ willingness to shoot?
Jae Crowder- SHOOTING CONSISTENCY!!!
Anything that I missed or left out guys? I think it'll be really interesting to see who we bring in for training camp! I really hope that we bring in some uber athletic strong and aggressive talent either from overseas or from the undrafted/ waived talent pool. Bringing these players in to really push and challenge our core starters and key 2nd rotation players can only be good to our teams' growth and competitive fire!!!
But we definitely need to add some strong athleticism, edge like what Oubre brought at times for energy and that tough edge!
I do think DA will slowly become more physical in the paint. He saw, in the finals, what it took. He either didn't have it or was gassed too often. I'd love to see him expand his 3pt shooting game a bit. If you can pull out defenders to respect him out there, it opens up our offense in a whole other way.
Bridges and CamJo, I want them both to be able to drive a bit. I don't expect them to be able to create, but I want to see hesitation, take a few steps, and pull up jumper or sometimes get to the rim. When a help defender closes on them, that persons man can cut for a pass and easy bucket.
Paul....just rest up. Heal the wrist.
Booker, maybe a little better decision making? Hard to see how much better he can get. Not sure what else he can fix at this point.
Payne...court awareness. Recognize when you have an open lane, that a big man is possibly tailing you. The last 2 rounds, he was snuffed quite a bit by false security that he had an open lane.
All great points for sure man!
I really do hope Ayton does get stronger and more consistently dominant. Really good point about his three point shot too, I can't believe that I totally forgot about that....lol. But Ayton being able to do that consistently would take our offense to another level dynamically. Bridges and Cam Johnson being able to put the ball on the floor in ISO situations as well as midrange pullups on close outside will also be huge for us! And with Bridges likely near max increase, I really expect nothing less going into next season and the following one as well.
One thing to consider though is how much money we'll also soon have to commit to Cam Johnson as well, Should he keep progressing beyond what great play and statistics he showed us in the playoffs. Can you imagine IF he takes his defense and ISO scoring dribble drive game to the next level? We may very well be looking at another near max commitment in terms of market value??? Then our choices become even more complicated!
Completely agree on paul too! He just needs to remain healthy and load manage at best as possible. As for Booker, Definitely decision making under pressure. That'll be important especially in context with his ball handling abilities whenever teams trap him or constantly double him to try and fluster/ fustrate him into turnovers. But the poise part of the decision making will of course come with further practice, in game experience and better ballhandling development/ ability in high pressure situations really.
Absolutely agree on Payne by the way. His court awareness with penetration and being aware of recovery and help recovery/ defense will be very important for his progression. I know that they're again having a condensed offseason. But with our front office seemingly abandoning the long game in terms of player development as certain tenured ( older) members of our core will at some point move on from our team, That internal development and balance of young talent infusion will become critically important to our competitive viability.
Years90Suns wrote:I am not happy with the moves we did this summer.
I am happy that we got a back up center, but McGee was not the player I would have chosen a different player, as he has no understanding of the game and once he enters the court, everybody has to adapt to this. Ayton can set screens, receive ally oops, shoot... Javale cannot do most of those things, except the alleys.
In second place, I would have get ridden of Crowder. I would like to have someone taller and more athletic, as we lack players blocking shots, getting rebounds in traffic (my feeling, not based on statistics).
I am happy with the returning of Paul, Payne, Frank. But I would try to move Crowder and Saric for a real PF. Nance would have been perfect. They are too similar.
I did. Bring back CP3 and Payne were HUGE great moves. Getting Shamet as a huge upgrade at backup 2 and sharpshooter to bolster the lineup and a C to make us less vulnerable when Ayton is off the floor with his rebounding and rim protection. He averaged over 14 boards per 36 and 3 blocks per 36 last year. We needed that in a big way...and a guy with olympic experience.
Bringing back CP3 and Payne was a prerequisite. We had no way to replace them so bringing them back was a must, not really an addition. I like the Shamet move.
The one area that wasn't really addressed last season and somewhat addressed this offseason was front court depth. The issue I have with it isn't so much that McGee isn't a nice piece but more that I wanted him last season when he would be an insurance big behind Saric (he was still decent at the time). This season he's going to be a rotation big (1st big off the bench?) and the level of player you need there is different. It's the difference between really needing Frank to contribute because he's your 1st big off the bench vs him being an insurance big who may or may not play at all.
I still think we need one more veteran big (MILSAP PLEASE!). When you're a championship caliber team, the margin for error is tiny because only 1 team can win it all and that team has to go through a murderer's row of great teams just for a chance at the title. It's the reason why championship caliber teams stack their roster. I feel like we're running a very lean team
I am sticking with my trade when I first thought of this:
Saric, a couple 2nds and $2m for Young
From a dollar standpoint, the Spurs get a year of Saric for basically $4m and they get a couple seconds for their trouble
This is what Shams said in the Athletic:
The Suns are among the contenders who have pursued Spurs forward Thaddeus Young, sources said. San Antonio acquired Young in a sign-and-trade — along with a first-round pick and two second-round picks — and now are expected to receive strong interest in the veteran forward from competitive teams. Young averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while playing in 68 games (23 starts) and shooting 55.9 percent from the field a season ago.
I find Sidery's tweet to be a bit sensationalized compared to the source information
I am sticking with my trade when I first thought of this:
Saric, a couple 2nds and $2m for Young
From a dollar standpoint, the Spurs get a year of Saric for basically $4m and they get a couple seconds for their trouble
This is what Shams said in the Athletic:
The Suns are among the contenders who have pursued Spurs forward Thaddeus Young, sources said. San Antonio acquired Young in a sign-and-trade — along with a first-round pick and two second-round picks — and now are expected to receive strong interest in the veteran forward from competitive teams. Young averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while playing in 68 games (23 starts) and shooting 55.9 percent from the field a season ago.
I just don’t see how he fits… unless McGee is going to be 3rd string center. I can’t see Monty playing Thad and McGee together
Perfect fit on our roster because he is bigger and stronger than our current Fs, he would be a nice defender to put on any big F as LeBron, Paul George, Anteto or Durant.
I am sticking with my trade when I first thought of this:
Saric, a couple 2nds and $2m for Young
From a dollar standpoint, the Spurs get a year of Saric for basically $4m and they get a couple seconds for their trouble
This is what Shams said in the Athletic:
The Suns are among the contenders who have pursued Spurs forward Thaddeus Young, sources said. San Antonio acquired Young in a sign-and-trade — along with a first-round pick and two second-round picks — and now are expected to receive strong interest in the veteran forward from competitive teams. Young averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while playing in 68 games (23 starts) and shooting 55.9 percent from the field a season ago.
I just don’t see how he fits… unless McGee is going to be 3rd string center. I can’t see Monty playing Thad and McGee together
I think Thad fits right in. He had a bad year shooting the three last season, but he's had several good years in the past. He's not a marksman but I bet he could get back to efficiency shooting open set shots in our offense. I'm all for it if the price is reasonable. If the price is Smith, I'm not excited about it, though maybe I still pull the trigger if we can get draft assets in return and/or Young is down for a team-friendly one or two year extension.
matt131 wrote:This is what Shams said in the Athletic:
The Suns are among the contenders who have pursued Spurs forward Thaddeus Young, sources said. San Antonio acquired Young in a sign-and-trade — along with a first-round pick and two second-round picks — and now are expected to receive strong interest in the veteran forward from competitive teams. Young averaged 12.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists while playing in 68 games (23 starts) and shooting 55.9 percent from the field a season ago.
I just don’t see how he fits… unless McGee is going to be 3rd string center. I can’t see Monty playing Thad and McGee together
I think Thad fits right in. He had a bad year shooting the three last season, but he's had several good years in the past. He's not a marksman but I bet he could get back to efficiency shooting open set shots in our offense. I'm all for it if the price is reasonable. If the price is Smith, I'm not excited about it, though maybe I still pull the trigger if we can get draft assets in return and/or Young is down for a team-friendly one or two year extension.
I'd do it, even if the price is Smith. This is one of those "all-in" moves that we need to have a realistic chance to get back to the finals and maybe even win. We are missing the athletic/phisycal wing/forward from our rotation, to guard the LeBrons, KD's, Giannises of the NBA. That could do that as a PF and sometimes a smallball C. I think he could even get his 3PT% above 35% on our team - he has done it on lesser teams where there was more attention on him. This would push Cam to backup SF, and our team would be pretty complete to compete with anybody.
That's a legit 13 deep roster, with a good mix of everything in there, and plenty of insurance policies. Get back Galloway or Moore on a vet min (or something similar for the wing), and we are good to go. I know that we would not have any rookies for the next 2 years probably, but if we do not win the whole thing in the next 2 years with CP and we don't even seem to try our hardest to put a team together that has a realistic chance to do it all, it will seem a to be a bit of waste for me.
If the price for Thad Young is Smith/Saric, you pull the trigger right now.
Smith *may* be excellent in the future. But this team only has another 1-2 yrs to be champions and you simply cannot wait for him to get better and grow.
You'll still need to find some summer league cheapos to fill out the roster esp if you do this 2-for-1 trade, but that rotation will be amazing as most have already posted...
I wonder what the Spurs are asking for from us. I'm guessing they are trying to pry more than just Smith to take back Saric. I'm thinking we told them, Saric & Smith. That's it. The offer will remain on the table if they reconsider at a later time.
FLEX From Jersey (@FlexFromJersey) Tweeted: Just a reminder that I tweeted this out on August 8th. The Suns and Spurs have been discussing this trade for weeks. National Media is just now finding out!
