*MERGED* Done Deal. Goodbye Jrich/Hedo/Clark

[Qwigglez]

For all of you that are whining, stop. We knew a deal had to be done, and we aren't going to just get everything that we want without losing something in return. Yes, it sucks that J-Rich is leaving, but this gives the Suns a better opportunity for the future.
2 1st Round Picks, I have a feeling the Suns will make one more move to keep Nash happy... well, happier.

[swe_suns]

I hope we have vc+gortat+pietrus tomorrow against okc

[irish22022]

Wow. Can't believe this. Took me a minute to think of what to say.

Vince will struggle for the first 3 or 4 games, and then will start averaging around 20-25 points. You only need one thing when playing Steve Nash: An offensive mind. He has one. He can leap (still higher then most after all these years... although not like Jrich), he can run, and he can shoot. I'll admit Jrich was more valuable in a few ways, mainly just being comfortable in our system and his ability to rebound. BUT, what Vince may lack in physical play, Pietrus and Gortat will assist with just fine.

I personally think this is the best decision this franchise has made since jrich/dudley. It's incredible. It makes us more competitive this year, and way more prepared to rebuild things in the coming years. Huge amounts of salary coming off the books next year instead of Hedo's 3 years. First round pick always a good thing. Clark isn't an NBA player. If you compare Clark to Dudley on paper, Clark would dominate. The difference? Clark just doesn't have the heart or motivation. He'll be out of the league in a couple of years, if that.

I'm most excited about letting Dragic control the ball with the second unit full time.
To see what Gentry does with the starting lineups (does Frye get the start at PF?).
FINALLY having some front court depth.

With my renewed confidence in this FO, I'm excited to see what we do with one of our extra wings. Maybe nothing, They're all pretty damn solid and Hill can't play forever.

Nash/Dragic
Carter/Dudley/JChill
Hill/Pietrus/JChill
Warrick/Frye
Lopez/Gortat

This is rad. Give Frye back to the second unit. Dragic needs him. The second unit is filled with awesome energy guys and guys who can play a streak really hard. Leave Warrick in the starting lineup. We really need that offensive presence to give Carter more space. I vote to keep Lopez in the starting role, but limit his minutes for a while. I like that he can hit that midrange shot. To be fair, I haven't seen much of Gortat.

[phx#7]

Guessing Carter doesn't finish the season with the Suns.

[perezident]

VC is my all time favourite player! With you medical staff in place imagine VC down the stretch of the season! I'm glad you guys did this move now rather than later! This surely a quick fix and save to the season. I like Hedo but he wasnt going to get the job done

[rsavaj]

Vince Carter is a loser.

[SUN]

Wow. Can't believe this. Took me a minute to think of what to say.

Vince will struggle for the first 3 or 4 games, and then will start averaging around 20-25 points. You only need one thing when playing Steve Nash: An offensive mind. He has one. He can leap (still higher then most after all these years... although not like Jrich), he can run, and he can shoot. I'll admit Jrich was more valuable in a few ways, mainly just being comfortable in our system and his ability to rebound. BUT, what Vince may lack in physical play, Pietrus and Gortat will assist with just fine.

I personally think this is the best decision this franchise has made since jrich/dudley. It's incredible. It makes us more competitive this year, and way more prepared to rebuild things in the coming years. Huge amounts of salary coming off the books next year instead of Hedo's 3 years. First round pick always a good thing. Clark isn't an NBA player. If you compare Clark to Dudley on paper, Clark would dominate. The difference? Clark just doesn't have the heart or motivation. He'll be out of the league in a couple of years, if that.

I'm most excited about letting Dragic control the ball with the second unit full time.
To see what Gentry does with the starting lineups (does Frye get the start at PF?).
FINALLY having some front court depth.

With my renewed confidence in this FO, I'm excited to see what we do with one of our extra wings. Maybe nothing, They're all pretty damn solid and Hill can't play forever.

Nash/Dragic
Carter/Dudley/JChill
Hill/Pietrus/JChill
Warrick/Frye
Lopez/Gortat

This is rad. Give Frye back to the second unit. Dragic needs him. The second unit is filled with awesome energy guys and guys who can play a streak really hard. Leave Warrick in the starting lineup. We really need that offensive presence to give Carter more space. I vote to keep Lopez in the starting role, but limit his minutes for a while. I like that he can hit that midrange shot. To be fair, I haven't seen much of Gortat.

[SharoneWright]

I think Nash will jive with Pietrus and Gortat at the very least. Plus you get rid of that slug Hedo. And a 1st rounder... Solid win for Blanks.

[b-ball forever]

Wow. Can't believe this. Took me a minute to think of what to say.

Vince will struggle for the first 3 or 4 games, and then will start averaging around 20-25 points. You only need one thing when playing Steve Nash: An offensive mind. He has one. He can leap (still higher then most after all these years... although not like Jrich), he can run, and he can shoot. I'll admit Jrich was more valuable in a few ways, mainly just being comfortable in our system and his ability to rebound. BUT, what Vince may lack in physical play, Pietrus and Gortat will assist with just fine.

I personally think this is the best decision this franchise has made since jrich/dudley. It's incredible. It makes us more competitive this year, and way more prepared to rebuild things in the coming years. Huge amounts of salary coming off the books next year instead of Hedo's 3 years. First round pick always a good thing. Clark isn't an NBA player. If you compare Clark to Dudley on paper, Clark would dominate. The difference? Clark just doesn't have the heart or motivation. He'll be out of the league in a couple of years, if that.

I'm most excited about letting Dragic control the ball with the second unit full time.
To see what Gentry does with the starting lineups (does Frye get the start at PF?).
FINALLY having some front court depth.

With my renewed confidence in this FO, I'm excited to see what we do with one of our extra wings. Maybe nothing, They're all pretty damn solid and Hill can't play forever.

Nash/Dragic
Carter/Dudley/JChill
Hill/Pietrus/JChill
Warrick/Frye
Lopez/Gortat

This is rad. Give Frye back to the second unit. Dragic needs him. The second unit is filled with awesome energy guys and guys who can play a streak really hard. Leave Warrick in the starting lineup. We really need that offensive presence to give Carter more space. I vote to keep Lopez in the starting role, but limit his minutes for a while. I like that he can hit that midrange shot. To be fair, I haven't seen much of Gortat.

Pietrus will likely play SG, which would move Dudley back to his natural SF spot...

[RaisingArizona]

Vince Carter is a loser.

Doubt he finishes the year with the Suns. More deals to come, I'd bet on it.

[Qwigglez]

Could see a potential three team trade that involves New York, Phoenix, and Denver.
Suns get-
Anthony Randolph
JR Smith

Knicks get-
Melo
Josh Childress

Nuggets get-
Wilson Chandler
Eddy Curry
Ronny Turiaf
Landry Fields
1st Round Pick (Magic)
1st Round Pick (Knicks)

Nash/Dragic
Carter/Smith
Hill/Dudley
Randolph/Warrick
Gortat/Lopez

Suns would have a ton of money for the offseason!! I don't like Smith's attitude though...

[ma_falaa_50]

we all know that the suns are no better than just a .500 team right now! We have no post presence. Lopez is inconsistent and is always hurt. Last night's game was another example of how Hedo affects goran's game. Now we can have jchill play at his natural position at SF. we no longer have a log jam at SF. We can have Frye at PF and gortat at C. Pietrus is a pretty nice defender and consistent 3 point threat. I like the trade because it had to be done!

[-SDU-]

No chance warrick starts

Gortat over Lopez? Lopez to the defensive second unit?

[Risensun]

Guessing Carter doesn't finish the season with the Suns.

Vince Carter is a loser.

Doubt he finishes the year with the Suns. More deals to come, I'd bet on it.

I feel so much better right now.

[BVPN]

I'm going to quote this again.

http://arizona.sbnation.com/phoenix-suns/2010/12/18/1883989/phoenix-suns-rumored-deal-for-vince-carter-and-marcin-gortat-smells

The deal would radically remake the Suns roster in the middle of the season for the third time in four seasons. For a team that revolves around Steve Nash who values stability and consistency in his relationships on and off the court, it is hard to have a positive reaction to the move.

The portion that makes sense for the Suns is swapping Hedo Turkoglu for Marcin Gortat but it says a lot about the thought process and decision-making that they would be desperate enough to move Hedo that they are willing to take on Vince Carter in place of Jason Richardson. It's both an admission of mistake on the initial Hedo decision but also a potentially devastating blow to the rest of this season.

Jason Richardson is a perfect fit at the two guard next to Steve Nash -- at least on the offensive end of the floor -- but it took a full season to get there. Replacing him with Vince Carter now will be a huge set-back to the flow of the offense and provide no upgrade defensively.
....
Nash and Carter once again gives the Suns a player (Carter) who's (liike Hedo) is most effective with the ball in his hands and we've already seen that Nash isn't willing to relinquish that control. If Carter didn't fit with Jameer Nelson, he's not going to fit with Steve Nash.

The real question now, assuming this deal happens as reported, is what if anything this means for Nash and possibility of moving him. With the team hovering around .500 and seeing yet another teammate get moved, you can easily envision a frustrated Steve asking to be dealt. Certainly a late first round pick and some cash isn't going to placate Nash.

There are some who've called for the Phoenix Suns to admit their window has closed and to being the rebuilding process immediately. This could very well be the first step. What to watch for next is the reaction from Nash and any signs that the Suns might want to flip Carter's expiring contract for some other better fitting pieces.

Why does our FO suck so much? Jesus.

Who cares? We lost Hedo's albatross, got a 1st round pick, and lost a player in Jrich who was probably going to leave this offseason anyway. We are in a MUCH better position for the future now. We were never going to contend this year with the team we had anyway. I love that the FO admitted their offseason mistakes and fixed them.

[Cutter]

Gortat comes off the bench the first few games at a minimum.

[Mr. Sun]

Whoa.... just came home and learning all this!!!!!!! Who is sending the 1st rounder? I gotta go find more details now.

[phx#7]

Gortat will get plenty of PT if he stays out of foul trouble. While I don't think much of his overall game he is a good rebounder. He and Lopez should be able to play together too, especially if Lopez gets back to hitting the 15-17 footers like he was the end of last season.

[Qwigglez]

Vince Carter is a loser.

Vince Carter will be a bad ass!! Lol. And if not, we got Pietrus!

[richboy]

Nice an extra pick. I hope we re-sign Pietrus.

Your not going to want anything to do with Pietrus in a few months. All the guy does is jack up 3s. He has taken 6 fta all season. He has the worst bball iq in the NBA.