The 2016 Offseason Thread

[Qwigglez]

All the joys of the offseason in full display. Now that SL is over it's going to be even worse. OMG...

Well at least we got the Olympic team to look forward to.(Secretly hoping someone gets injured and Booker replaces them).

[TASTIC]

I think his ceiling is Lamar Odom without the D. His passing at this position will be better suited in this era of basketball than those in the past but his lack of range is going to hurt him big time.

I know the comparison has been said a lot - but I completely agree, I just don't see the LeBron or any other superstar.

Odom, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as he keeps his head on straight.

[MrMiyagi]

I think his ceiling is Lamar Odom without the D. His passing at this position will be better suited in this era of basketball than those in the past but his lack of range is going to hurt him big time.

I know the comparison has been said a lot - but I completely agree, I just don't see the LeBron or any other superstar.

Odom, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as he keeps his head on straight.

I think he's a much better passer and rebounder than Odom. He's like Super-Odom.

[asudevil]

What have i just read over the past 4+ pages?

It's terrible on every front.

I'm sorry, but we spent the good part of the past 5 pages arguing what is considered a TROLL? Then we have guys who think Booker is over-rated at AGE 19, and someone calling out fans thinking Gerald freaking Green was thought of as a top 5 talent?

I stopped seriously reading a good 6 pages ago, and just skimmed over the garbage....and what i read was truly that.

[JTrain]

Whether someone is overrated (or underrated, or properly rated) has precisely nothing to do with age.

[Zelaznyrules]

What have i just read over the past 4+ pages?

It's terrible on every front.

I'm sorry, but we spent the good part of the past 5 pages arguing what is considered a TROLL? Then we have guys who think Booker is over-rated at AGE 19, and someone calling out fans thinking Gerald freaking Green was thought of as a top 5 talent?

I stopped seriously reading a good 6 pages ago, and just skimmed over the garbage....and what i read was truly that.

Hmmm. I think that was misunderstood. I was just trying to make the point that you can find fans that fall in love with and overrate any player, it doesn't mean that scouts and GM's share those views. And when Green first signed with Miami there were a lot of devastated fans that really thought Green was a great player. They got most of their Suns info watching highlight clips on NBA TV and if that's all you see, Gerald came off looking pretty fantastic during that 48 win season.

[Frank Lee]

Does it concern anyone that we have absolutely no inside game? No low post scoring what so ever? Even our guards can't really body up on someone. This squad has all the makings of a 3ball small ball gimmicky chuckfest..... but.... at least we have the shooters.

[theSUNalsoRISES]

Does it concern anyone that we have absolutely no inside game? No low post scoring what so ever? Even our guards can't really body up on someone. This squad has all the makings of a 3ball small ball gimmicky chuckfest..... but.... at least we have the shooters.

Thats the modern game. You really only need a capable inside presence. a no nonsense type center. Chandler (when fit) and Len (when he's on) actual fits the bill of an ideal modern center. Looking at what Bogut brought to the warriors. He brought solid defense and he was capable of scoring over smaller guys, getting into the post and getting fouled. So we potentially have a decent inside presence if Chandler and Len step up. 3ball small ball is no longer a gimmick given the warriors success and the even cavs this year(Who won without a true center).

[MathiasPW]

PJ Tucker is not so bad in the paint as well.

That's where he took most his shots last season at a meh clip of 51%

http://nbasavant.com/player.php?player_id=200782

[Zelaznyrules]

Does it concern anyone that we have absolutely no inside game? No low post scoring what so ever? Even our guards can't really body up on someone. This squad has all the makings of a 3ball small ball gimmicky chuckfest..... but.... at least we have the shooters.

I think you can relax on this one, Booker has been working on his post up game. But yeah, it's a concern that we don't have anyone with a back to the basket game. I'd even settle for a big man that could make the 8 to 12 footer consistently. It's a little scary to think that we'll have to rely almost solely on dribble penetration or long distance shooting. But if we can keep our turnovers down and play decent defense, we can still win a lot of games this way. It wouldn't hold up in the playoffs but that's probably not much of a concern right now. We'll be a flawed team until we can solve this problem but I see no reasonable way around it. I sure wouldn't overpay to get a mediocre inside scorer and I don't see any good ones on the market.

[Zelaznyrules]

PJ Tucker is not so bad in the paint as well.

That's where he took most his shots last season at a meh clip of 51%

http://nbasavant.com/player.php?player_id=200782

I'm sure most of those came from put backs and fast breaks. He's not exactly an option if you're looking to dump the ball to your low post scorer for a safe basket. And, you're right, 51% from there is very meh indeed.

[MathiasPW]

PJ Tucker is not so bad in the paint as well.

That's where he took most his shots last season at a meh clip of 51%

http://nbasavant.com/player.php?player_id=200782

I'm sure most of those came from put backs and fast breaks. He's not exactly an option if you're looking to dump the ball to your low post scorer for a safe basket. And, you're right, 51% from there is very meh indeed.

I won't go as far as to search video, but while most of his shots there are indeed put backs (definitely not fast breaks...the ball always flies away from PJ when he runs a fast break ), PJ actually can get a hook shot in or back his defender with his body to create some space.
His percentage is also low because he has several very contested shots when he manages to grab those power rebounds amidst three defenders.

[carey]

Booker quickly became our most overrated player. Not that I'm not glad to have him, but he wasn't higher than 8th on our team in the major advanced stats (VORP, BMP, WS/48, PER). He passes the "eye test" which is usually an indication of being better on offense than defense.

Yes, I know he's still young. It will be interesting to see how he improves this year. I don't currently envision him becoming an All-Star-level player, but I hope I'm wrong.

His shooting percentages took a bad turn when he spent long stretches playing with the following 4 players, Ronnie Price, PJ Tucker, Alex Len and Tyson Chandler. He was basically the offense for the last quarter of the season, and he was defended like it. If he doesn't become an All-Star something went horribly wrong.

[Zelaznyrules]

PJ Tucker is not so bad in the paint as well.

That's where he took most his shots last season at a meh clip of 51%

http://nbasavant.com/player.php?player_id=200782

I'm sure most of those came from put backs and fast breaks. He's not exactly an option if you're looking to dump the ball to your low post scorer for a safe basket. And, you're right, 51% from there is very meh indeed.

I won't go as far as to search video, but while most of his shots there are indeed put backs (definitely not fast breaks...the ball always flies away from PJ when he runs a fast break ), PJ actually can get a hook shot in or back his defender with his body to create some space.
His percentage is also low because he has several very contested shots when he manages to grab those power rebounds amidst three defenders.

Yeah it's a shame he's never learned to kick the ball back out when he's surrounded by trees. But I still believe he makes more sense as a backup inside player than he does as a starting small forward.

[Zelaznyrules]

Booker quickly became our most overrated player. Not that I'm not glad to have him, but he wasn't higher than 8th on our team in the major advanced stats (VORP, BMP, WS/48, PER). He passes the "eye test" which is usually an indication of being better on offense than defense.

Yes, I know he's still young. It will be interesting to see how he improves this year. I don't currently envision him becoming an All-Star-level player, but I hope I'm wrong.

His shooting percentages took a bad turn when he spent long stretches playing with the following 4 players, Ronnie Price, PJ Tucker, Alex Len and Tyson Chandler. He was basically the offense for the last quarter of the season, and he was defended like it. If he doesn't become an All-Star something went horribly wrong.

And he also had to play out of position often during that stretch when Bledsoe, Knight and Price were all injured. Just looking at stats and ignoring the reasons, it's clear Booker didn't have a great season. But watching the games you could see how special this kid is now and should become. And it wasn't just us homer fans that thought so, every big name 2 and 3 in the game raved about him.

[carey]

And he also had to play out of position often during that stretch when Bledsoe, Knight and Price were all injured. Just looking at stats and ignoring the reasons, it's clear Booker didn't have a great season. But watching the games you could see how special this kid is now and should become. And it wasn't just us homer fans that thought so, every big name 2 and 3 in the game raved about him.

By whose standards? That was a fantastic rookie season by a 19 year old.

[Zelaznyrules]

And he also had to play out of position often during that stretch when Bledsoe, Knight and Price were all injured. Just looking at stats and ignoring the reasons, it's clear Booker didn't have a great season. But watching the games you could see how special this kid is now and should become. And it wasn't just us homer fans that thought so, every big name 2 and 3 in the game raved about him.

By whose standards? That was a fantastic rookie season by a 19 year old.

That's part of what I meant by "ignoring the reasons". When you consider he was the youngest player in the league, surrounded by very little talent and forced to play out of position for much of the time - he had an incredible season. If you just look at the stats and put him up against your everyday NBA veteran, he had a mediocre year at best. That's why so many non-Suns fans are incredulous when they hear us raving about him.

[NavLDO]

I mean I'm trying to find the silver lining, but there is nothing on paper that seperates our core from the rest of the pack. I'd take Minny/Philly any day of the week due to top shelf talent and Denver is right up there cauz I think Jokic could be better than Porzingis. I would probably takes ours over the Laker's. Randle is Thomas Robinson 2.0, Nance is a nice rotation big, DLo may not cut it at point he is more of a Ginoblisque playmaking off guard but won't have his size advnatage there. Zubac was a steal he is only 19 and has a fully developed body and polished footwork, Ingram will have growing pains but already has NBA 3pt range, dynamic iso scorer and more burst off the bounce than advertised

How dare you support your negativity with evidence...

You may be right or wrong, but at least you are open to potential, and I agree with you, but I would add a 'yet', because who the hell knows how any of these teenagers will pan out. And I can accept that had the 2013 Draft been a re-do, Gobert would likely have gone ahead of Len, so I guess I'm not a huge fan of the 'tank'; early evidence suggests that Booker may be one of the top 5 picks last year's draft, and I'm really high on Warren as well, but 'tank'ing to get a top 5 pick is pointless, IMO. It's done Philly no good yet in 3 years...ZERO improvement...maybe you are right and the next 3 years will be better.

But what 'top shelf' talent are you speaking about with Philly?? I see a C who hasn't played in two years, another C with no D, and a PF with limited range, yet really good D. Grant and Holmes look to have potential. and Luwawu might be good, but I'll be honest, I like our roster as a 'team' better than their collection of 'individuals'.

[Qwigglez]

Does it concern anyone that we have absolutely no inside game? No low post scoring what so ever? Even our guards can't really body up on someone. This squad has all the makings of a 3ball small ball gimmicky chuckfest..... but.... at least we have the shooters.

Not really concerning since most teams don't have post scoring anymore. Warriors don't, and even the Cavs don't have a reliable post scorer. Love is a stretch four, Tristan Thompson grabs offensive boards, but I wouldn't say he's a post scorer. I bet we'll see some Ulis in the post during the season though so don't worry too much.

[NTB]

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I don't care the new cap, this is hilarious