The Official 2025 Offseason Thread Part 2

[Rebound Mound]

I understand the USA are a gigantic country by European National standards. I understand some of the coaches, I believe, are still working as assistants because their teams are still in the competition.
But doing online interviews sounds like a little bit unprofessional at this point. You need to meet the guy and get a personal feeling about how he is, what he transmits, his passion...
We are a month away to the draft and still in the process. It is true that we have a GM (a new one, for that matter), but all teams have a HC looking forward to the draft.
We are still like a week ago from appointing a HC.
I do not like to rush things up and a good, meditated, thoughtful decision can do wonders and is the way to build success for the future, but may be we are a little bit tooooooooo slow to find a coach.

[Saberestar]

Booker haters? More like Suns lovers. It's a league, competition of franchises, a collective sport. This ain't singles tennis. If you must trade a player to save the franchise from deacade(s) of irrelevancy, you do that. No afterthoughts, no regrets.

Again, Suns do not owe Booker a thing. He is no Curry nor Duncan so that they have some kind of an obligation to show respect and grant him a special status as a legend above all legends and retain him throughout his whole career. Heck, we traded and let go of guys like Nash, Barkley, Amar'e, Matrix and now we should mortgage our future to accomodate a guy like Booker. God forbid we do anything right...

Suns lovers here?? LOL.

People around here just hates everyone on the organization and it's not something new.

The ridiculous hate that CP3 got when he was on the team was crazy and since he isn’t on the team people talk good things about him.

It's a constant around here. On the Suns: "He is useless". Ex Suns player or retired: "How great he was".

Well, I am used to that so I am not bothered about it. But it's what it's.

[SunsRback4Good]

Booker haters? More like Suns lovers. It's a league, competition of franchises, a collective sport. This ain't singles tennis. If you must trade a player to save the franchise from deacade(s) of irrelevancy, you do that. No afterthoughts, no regrets.

Again, Suns do not owe Booker a thing. He is no Curry nor Duncan so that they have some kind of an obligation to show respect and grant him a special status as a legend above all legends and retain him throughout his whole career. Heck, we traded and let go of guys like Nash, Barkley, Amar'e, Matrix and now we should mortgage our future to accomodate a guy like Booker. God forbid we do anything right...

Suns lovers here?? LOL.

People around here just hates everyone on the organization and it's not something new.

The ridiculous hate that CP3 got when he was on the team was crazy and since he isn’t on the team people talk good things about him.

It's a constant around here. On the Suns: "He is useless". Ex Suns player or retired: "How great he was".

Well, I am used to that so I am not bothered about it. But it's what it's.

You’re so fake. Shut uppp!

[Puff]

You guys hate all of our players want to trade everyone of them then flip what we get in another trade while finding 10,000 gems available in the draft that will cure all of our needs.

I wonder what you will do with yourselves when we run it back with the big three, a new coach, a couple of draft picks and some cheap free agents. If you have half a brain that is likely what is going to happen whether you like it or not. That will allow you to continue to hate all of our players and say the owner does not have a clue. Let's face facts. Will you still be a fan if we basically run it back with a new coach and a few roster adjustments?

[Djedefre]

You can say i strongly dislike Ishbia, yes. Guilty of that. But i do not hate any of our players. Are they particularly likable group? No, because they seem not to care at all and are unbothered constantly embarrassing themselves and this franchise. I can't root for that. Never a fan of Durant's, hated the trade and the fit, but i do not hate him. Do i think he will lead us anywhere? No. Would i be happy if we land a few picks for him? Yes, absolutely, that has to happen in order to start fixing this mess. As for Booker, don't hate the guy. He gave us some performances worthy of remebrance, turned into a very good player over the years, but also along the way demonstrated he could never be a legit face of the franchise because he's just not THAT good. He's no leader and became too complacent. Can you coach this guy into anything at this point? We came to the crossroads, there is just nothing left we could give eachother. No future in flogging the horse. It's already dead.

[Calvin Klein]

You can say i strongly dislike Ishbia, yes. Guilty of that. But i do not hate any of our players. Are they particularly likable group? No, because they seem not to care at all and are unbothered constantly embarrassing themselves and this franchise. I can't root for that. Never a fan of Durant's, hated the trade and the fit, but i do not hate him. Do i think he will lead us anywhere? No. Would i be happy if we land a few picks for him? Yes, absolutely, that has to happen in order to start fixing this mess. As for Booker, don't hate the guy. He gave us some performances worthy of remebrance, turned into a very good player over the years, but also along the way demonstrated he could never be a legit face of the franchise because he's just not THAT good. He's no leader and became too complacent. Can you coach this guy into anything at this point? We came to the crossroads, there is just nothing left we could give eachother. No future in flogging the horse. It's already dead.

absolutely.

I do NOT want to see Booker go though, but realistically, it would probably be the best for all parties involved.

[BobbieL]

You can say i strongly dislike Ishbia, yes. Guilty of that. But i do not hate any of our players. Are they particularly likable group? No, because they seem not to care at all and are unbothered constantly embarrassing themselves and this franchise. I can't root for that. Never a fan of Durant's, hated the trade and the fit, but i do not hate him. Do i think he will lead us anywhere? No. Would i be happy if we land a few picks for him? Yes, absolutely, that has to happen in order to start fixing this mess. As for Booker, don't hate the guy. He gave us some performances worthy of remebrance, turned into a very good player over the years, but also along the way demonstrated he could never be a legit face of the franchise because he's just not THAT good. He's no leader and became too complacent. Can you coach this guy into anything at this point? We came to the crossroads, there is just nothing left we could give eachother. No future in flogging the horse. It's already dead.

I don't hate any of the players. But regarding Durant, like you, I just don't want him on the team and I hated the trade. I can see he is immensely talented player - but that doesn't make him the right fit for the Suns at the cost to get him at this stage of his career. A 25 year old KD - no doubt

[mkot]

I don't hate any of the players. But regarding Durant, like you, I just don't want him on the team and I hated the trade. I can see he is immensely talented player - but that doesn't make him the right fit for the Suns at the cost to get him at this stage of his career. A 25 year old KD - no doubt

Not to derail the conversation but I don't think a 25 year old KD would work in this era of basketball, not as your #1 guy.

I have touched on this before several times but this POs just give more evidence to support the theory that, in this day and age you just can't have too many one-way player. KAT is a great shooting big man but is limited defensively, makes dumb mistakes, and his offensive bag is limited and tends to commit offensive fouls or TOs in bunches. Mitchell Robinson is a great rebounder, the Knicks were able to stay in game because they can at least win the possession game when he is on the court, but he can't guard on an island, and is literally zero on the offensive end. Teams with a skilled and high IQ ball handler will see the vulnerability and exploit them. The Pacers guard relentlessly attack Town's drop and found success every single time. Thib then put Robinson in for defense and rebounding but the Pacers just don't guard him, he doesn't know what to do with the ball unless it's a dunk, watching him throw the ball off the backboard is painful. Similar strategy in the Cavs series, they will gladly let Mobley shoot 13 3s a game, not guard Allen and at the same time attack him on defense. They will let Mitchell play his favorite iso ball, but they also knew he will give up more points than he could score so the Pacers just hunt him. Hali was getting hunted too but he compete to narrow the margin, he was able to step up his defense during this playoff run and that's make a difference, this make their floor so much higher. Garland is small but he has quick feet and movements, Mitchell is also strong and quick, there's no reason for them to not be competing on the defensive end. Even Brunson stepped up his defense to make up the margin.

The Knicks and Cavs are prime example that the formula and personnel to win bunch of games in the regular season don't translate in the playoffs. You can cover or hide one or two holes on the court and make that player's minutes worthwhile, but when you have more than 3 it becomes difficult.

Celtics in '24 literally have 7 guys on their roster capable of playing on both sides of the ball, the Mavs last year only had 1 Luka to cover, Michael Porter was probably the worse defender in that '23 Nuggets squad but he is still 6'10 and they had Bruce Brown off the bench for him if he isn't making his shots.

There are many different ways to build championship contending team around your star player(s) but I believe the baseline is you need two-way players who can be star in their role, not more star who likes to score the ball, and we have 3 on our roster.

[Sunsdeuce]

To all the points stated above. It comes down to what you (or more realistically the organization) prioritizes more…

A) the name in front of the jersey. When you prioritize the name in front of the jersey, you do what’s best for the team even if it means letting a go of a player that you think is locally popular. If it results in wins, no one will remember Booker. But if you are losing WITH Booker, what’s the difference even if you don’t succeed. Sometimes you have to trade players wildly popular with the local community. Examples of players who were wildly (more popular within the suns fan base than Booker)…. Nash, Barkley, Dan Majerle, or even arguably Marion.

B) the name in back of the jersey. If you prioritize the name on the back of the jersey, you won’t succeed long term. Only one player in NBA history deserved to be prioritized and his name was Michael Jordan. Dude almost guaranteed championships. And that’s where the list ends. And the most important part of this is you never prioritize a player who didn’t even make the all-star team.

[Slim Charless]

I don't hate any of the players. But regarding Durant, like you, I just don't want him on the team and I hated the trade. I can see he is immensely talented player - but that doesn't make him the right fit for the Suns at the cost to get him at this stage of his career. A 25 year old KD - no doubt

Not to derail the conversation but I don't think a 25 year old KD would work in this era of basketball, not as your #1 guy.

I have touched on this before several times but this POs just give more evidence to support the theory that, in this day and age you just can't have too many one-way player. KAT is a great shooting big man but is limited defensively, makes dumb mistakes, and his offensive bag is limited and tends to commit offensive fouls or TOs in bunches. Mitchell Robinson is a great rebounder, the Knicks were able to stay in game because they can at least win the possession game when he is on the court, but he can't guard on an island, and is literally zero on the offensive end. Teams with a skilled and high IQ ball handler will see the vulnerability and exploit them. The Pacers guard relentlessly attack Town's drop and found success every single time. Thib then put Robinson in for defense and rebounding but the Pacers just don't guard him, he doesn't know what to do with the ball unless it's a dunk, watching him throw the ball off the backboard is painful. Similar strategy in the Cavs series, they will gladly let Mobley shoot 13 3s a game, not guard Allen and at the same time attack him on defense. They will let Mitchell play his favorite iso ball, but he will give up more points than he could score. Garland is small but he has quick feet and movements, Mitchell is also strong and quick, there's no reason for them to not be competing on the defensive end. Even Brunson stepped up his defense.

The Knicks and Cavs are prime example that the formula and personnel to win bunch of games in the regular season don't translate in the playoffs. You can cover or hide one or two holes on the court and make that player's minutes worthwhile, but when you have more than 3 it becomes difficult.

Celtics in '24 literally have 7 guys on their roster capable of playing on both sides of the ball, the Mavs last year only had 1 Luka to cover, Michael Porter was probably the worse defender in that '23 Nuggets squad but he is still 6'10 and they had Bruce Brown off the bench for him if he isn't making his shots.

There are many different ways to build championship contending team around your star player(s) but I believe the baseline is you need two-way players who can be star in their role, not more star who likes to score the ball, and we have 3 on our roster.

Pre-achilles Durant was on pace to be the best offensive player of all time. If you believe what the highlighted part then you "maybe" should stop watching basketball and find another sport to follow.

That's nuts. He was unguardable.

[Puff]

How did we do after we allowed Amare to walk to the Knicks for more money due to his physical problems? We had all our draft picks and due to our poor record, they were very good ones. We sucked for 10 years that included the first few years of the Booker pick. Then we got the 1st pick and drafted the wrong guy but still went to the finals due to picking up an old broken down CP3 to make the team a legit potential champion.

All I am saying is that there is no sure-fire way for us to go.

None of you or me either have a guaranteed path to success for this franchise. Neither does Wishbia and his new alignment. I think we are blessed to have KD as part of our team even though I also hated the trade for him. He is one of the leagues all-time greats and we have him. We are not going to get another KD any time soon. If we can infuse a new system with a few tweaks, they may not be capable of winning a championship but could provide watchable basketball for all of us. That will end in a couple of years then we will have the money to go out and buy his replacement in free agency. We will be making that decision on what the player we buy has done in the NBA not on what a draft pick might provide, especially a draft pick not in the top 5 of the draft. That is if we can acquire any draft pick in the top 5 for the next decade, we surely don't have any now and probably will not secure any with the trade for KD or Booker.

If we can magically acquire great draft picks and young potential studs in a trade for KD and or Book I would do it. However, I really do not see that happening.

Which direction will the new alignment take? That is the question. I am hoping for the best but will be there watching no matter which direction they take.

[MrMiyagi]

You guys hate all of our players want to trade everyone of them then flip what we get in another trade while finding 10,000 gems available in the draft that will cure all of our needs.

I wonder what you will do with yourselves when we run it back with the big three, a new coach, a couple of draft picks and some cheap free agents. If you have half a brain that is likely what is going to happen whether you like it or not. That will allow you to continue to hate all of our players and say the owner does not have a clue. Let's face facts. Will you still be a fan if we basically run it back with a new coach and a few roster adjustments?

Oso and Dunn were the best part of last season by a long shot. KD and Beal have really sucked the life out of Booker's game. I don't think we have a watchable product of both of those guys remain on the roster. So if we keep the "big 3" and add minimum dudes again, yeah I'm probably not watching, just like I stopped watching this year.

[mkot]

Pre-achilles Durant was on pace to be the best offensive player of all time. If you believe what the highlighted part then you "maybe" should stop watching basketball and find another sport to follow.

That's nuts. He was unguardable.

Did you stop reading the rest of my post after the first sentence?

I'm in the believe that iso ball is no longer the winning formula in this day and age, and you can't just be great at one thing and expect to win a championship. Just look at all the champions in the last 5 or 6 years, their best player were either a two-way monster or an ATG offensive engine where teammates can play through him. KD is in none of these mold and has been on the losing end even when given the #1 role.

[mkot]

All I am saying is that there is no sure-fire way for us to go.

None of you or me either have a guaranteed path to success for this franchise.

You are right, and I don't mind the gamble, I disagreed with the double and triple down. And it's not like they can't pivot, they just chose not to

[Saberestar]

According to NBA insider Marc Stein of The Stein Line, there are two coaches who have made strong impressions during the process and another name to watch.

Stein wrote Monday:

“The Suns are expected to narrow their list of coaching candidates to three or so finalists as this week unfolds.

“There have been rumbles in coaching circles that both Miami's Chris Quinn and Dallas' Sean Sweeney have made strong impressions in the interview process to date among the numerous assistant coaches that the Suns have spoken to since the process commenced."

“Cleveland's Jordan Ott — one of two Michigan State alumni who advanced to the second round of the search — is another name to watch. Beyond his coaching credentials after stints with the Hawks, Nets, Lakers and Cavaliers, Ott's alma mater cannot be discounted as a factor given that Suns owner Mat Ishbia is never shy about his Spartan ties. Ishbia, remember, has already appointed fellow Spartan Brian Gregory as his new GM despite Gregory's very limited NBA experience — one season as a full-time Suns executive after one as a consultant."

https://www.si.com/nba/suns/news/3-candidates-impressing-phoenix-suns-hc-search

[Puff]

You guys hate all of our players want to trade everyone of them then flip what we get in another trade while finding 10,000 gems available in the draft that will cure all of our needs.

I wonder what you will do with yourselves when we run it back with the big three, a new coach, a couple of draft picks and some cheap free agents. If you have half a brain that is likely what is going to happen whether you like it or not. That will allow you to continue to hate all of our players and say the owner does not have a clue. Let's face facts. Will you still be a fan if we basically run it back with a new coach and a few roster adjustments?

Oso and Dunn were the best part of last season by a long shot. KD and Beal have really sucked the life out of Booker's game. I don't think we have a watchable product of both of those guys remain on the roster. So if we keep the "big 3" and add minimum dudes again, yeah I'm probably not watching, just like I stopped watching this year.

That is your choice, and I expect you will have a lot of company. If they do end up keeping the big three I will watch for a while but if they play like they did last year I probably will end up on the sidelines like you.

Quite frankly I enjoyed Oso more than Dunn and I liked Dunn, just hated his shot, but the other parts of his game were a breath of fresh air. I hope the new coach can keep him in the mix. He should spend every minute this summer working on his shooting motion. He will be a short timer in the NBA if he doesn't improve that part of his game.

The guy that intrigues me most in Gillespie. The only thing that worries me is his size. He is probably destined to be a backup. KD seemed to really like his game, and they worked well together. There are some players that are projected at the end of the first round that could be nice additions. Phillon or Clayton as our new PG as well as some bigs and the SF form U of A. It will be nice to see a couple of guys added to our team this summer. I think the addition of Tyus Jones caused a lot of our problems. I liked the decision we made to get him but did not like the decision to give him the starters spot as part of the deal. We might have been better off just signing Morris as our back up PG while keeping Beal as the starter, with Gillespie fighting for minute versus Morris. This and other rotation decisions that Bud made destroyed our team. I know it is not popular, but I believe Bud caused most of our problems.

[thamadkant]

I don't hate any of the players. But regarding Durant, like you, I just don't want him on the team and I hated the trade. I can see he is immensely talented player - but that doesn't make him the right fit for the Suns at the cost to get him at this stage of his career. A 25 year old KD - no doubt

Not to derail the conversation but I don't think a 25 year old KD would work in this era of basketball, not as your #1 guy.

I have touched on this before several times but this POs just give more evidence to support the theory that, in this day and age you just can't have too many one-way player. KAT is a great shooting big man but is limited defensively, makes dumb mistakes, and his offensive bag is limited and tends to commit offensive fouls or TOs in bunches. Mitchell Robinson is a great rebounder, the Knicks were able to stay in game because they can at least win the possession game when he is on the court, but he can't guard on an island, and is literally zero on the offensive end. Teams with a skilled and high IQ ball handler will see the vulnerability and exploit them. The Pacers guard relentlessly attack Town's drop and found success every single time. Thib then put Robinson in for defense and rebounding but the Pacers just don't guard him, he doesn't know what to do with the ball unless it's a dunk, watching him throw the ball off the backboard is painful. Similar strategy in the Cavs series, they will gladly let Mobley shoot 13 3s a game, not guard Allen and at the same time attack him on defense. They will let Mitchell play his favorite iso ball, but they also knew he will give up more points than he could score so the Pacers just hunt him. Hali was getting hunted too but he compete to narrow the margin, he was able to step up his defense during this playoff run and that's make a difference, this make their floor so much higher. Garland is small but he has quick feet and movements, Mitchell is also strong and quick, there's no reason for them to not be competing on the defensive end. Even Brunson stepped up his defense to make up the margin.

The Knicks and Cavs are prime example that the formula and personnel to win bunch of games in the regular season don't translate in the playoffs. You can cover or hide one or two holes on the court and make that player's minutes worthwhile, but when you have more than 3 it becomes difficult.

Celtics in '24 literally have 7 guys on their roster capable of playing on both sides of the ball, the Mavs last year only had 1 Luka to cover, Michael Porter was probably the worse defender in that '23 Nuggets squad but he is still 6'10 and they had Bruce Brown off the bench for him if he isn't making his shots.

There are many different ways to build championship contending team around your star player(s) but I believe the baseline is you need two-way players who can be star in their role, not more star who likes to score the ball, and we have 3 on our roster.

25 year old KD would absolutely be a top 2 NBA player today. His skill set is perfect today. He was basically 6'11 version of Kobe minus the attitude, alpha mentality and competitiveness. But KD was a freak of nature, unicorn for sure.

BUT... a big BUT.
He is such a bad leader. He is simply the teams most potent weapon but he doesn't fix the chemistry issues because he doesn't care for it. Like Kobe, it took Pau Gasol coming in and being the glue leader. Just like when Pippen had to be the team leader because MJ hated some of his team mates because they were scrub in his eyes... Pippen was the one that made the role players work along with Phil Jackson's calmness and mentor like presence.

So my point is... KD is a top 20 GOAT. And he would be amazing today if he was 25 years old. But if you want your team to go all the way and beat other elite teams, you need a leader that will talk to the role players and also connect with the best player and make the team work.

Suns lost that when Chris Paul was traded.
Before Chris Paul, Suns had Rubio who was a fun leader who made the young Suns work well together.
Booker is in the same mold as KD, minus the talent, physical traits and athleticism. Both Booker and KD are horrible leaders.

Look at SGA, he is the one that pulls his team mates away from scuffles on the court, SGA is the one that talks the other players down when things are unstable or every is rattled.

For Wolves, Conley is the leader type, same thing he does when Anthony Edwards act immature, which he does a lot. Conley is the one that yanks his team mates jersey back to the huddle or the direction of the team.

Both Wolves and Thunder are WCF material because of having great leaders on their team.

For Knicks, they have Brunson, who who leads them. Very smart guy and an excellent leader.

For Pacers, it's actually a couple of people, Siakam and Carlisle who act the leaders. Haliburton is immature still but greatly talented, but Carlisle is a great teaching coach and he leads them.


Again, back to Suns... Suns are a bad team because their best players are selfish and bad leaders. Booker yelling at his team mates while on the court for missing defensive stops is such a common scene.

[Calvin Klein]

How did we do after we allowed Amare to walk to the Knicks for more money due to his physical problems? We had all our draft picks and due to our poor record, they were very good ones. We sucked for 10 years that included the first few years of the Booker pick. Then we got the 1st pick and drafted the wrong guy but still went to the finals due to picking up an old broken down CP3 to make the team a legit potential champion.

All I am saying is that there is no sure-fire way for us to go.

None of you or me either have a guaranteed path to success for this franchise. Neither does Wishbia and his new alignment. I think we are blessed to have KD as part of our team even though I also hated the trade for him. He is one of the leagues all-time greats and we have him. We are not going to get another KD any time soon. If we can infuse a new system with a few tweaks, they may not be capable of winning a championship but could provide watchable basketball for all of us. That will end in a couple of years then we will have the money to go out and buy his replacement in free agency. We will be making that decision on what the player we buy has done in the NBA not on what a draft pick might provide, especially a draft pick not in the top 5 of the draft. That is if we can acquire any draft pick in the top 5 for the next decade, we surely don't have any now and probably will not secure any with the trade for KD or Booker.

If we can magically acquire great draft picks and young potential studs in a trade for KD and or Book I would do it. However, I really do not see that happening.

Which direction will the new alignment take? That is the question. I am hoping for the best but will be there watching no matter which direction they take.

Letting amare go was the right thing to do. He was damaged goods and he lasted one season…maybe not even that.
What they did with the cap space and picks is another story.

[Puff]

If I were CP3, I would head to Dallas.

[BobbieL]

How did we do after we allowed Amare to walk to the Knicks for more money due to his physical problems? We had all our draft picks and due to our poor record, they were very good ones. We sucked for 10 years that included the first few years of the Booker pick. Then we got the 1st pick and drafted the wrong guy but still went to the finals due to picking up an old broken down CP3 to make the team a legit potential champion.

All I am saying is that there is no sure-fire way for us to go.

None of you or me either have a guaranteed path to success for this franchise. Neither does Wishbia and his new alignment. I think we are blessed to have KD as part of our team even though I also hated the trade for him. He is one of the leagues all-time greats and we have him. We are not going to get another KD any time soon. If we can infuse a new system with a few tweaks, they may not be capable of winning a championship but could provide watchable basketball for all of us. That will end in a couple of years then we will have the money to go out and buy his replacement in free agency. We will be making that decision on what the player we buy has done in the NBA not on what a draft pick might provide, especially a draft pick not in the top 5 of the draft. That is if we can acquire any draft pick in the top 5 for the next decade, we surely don't have any now and probably will not secure any with the trade for KD or Booker.

If we can magically acquire great draft picks and young potential studs in a trade for KD and or Book I would do it. However, I really do not see that happening.

Which direction will the new alignment take? That is the question. I am hoping for the best but will be there watching no matter which direction they take.

Letting amare go was the right thing to do. He was damaged goods and he lasted one season…maybe not even that.
What they did with the cap space and picks is another story.

Agreed. Letting amare go was fine it was signing those players to multiple years which was the problem. Warrick - fine, one year deal. Not four years or whatever. Childress was terrible. Frye was actually good.