2017 Draft Discussion Part 4: 3 Day Countdown!

[DirtyDez]

Suns with Fox starting at PG are bottom-5 again next year. Nothing wrong with that but he's just so far away.

[TOO]

Suns with Fox starting at PG are bottom-5 again next year. Nothing wrong with that but he's just so far away.

I dont think he's that far away, he's slight, but he still can get to wherever he wants on the court and defends hard. I think he's a contributor from day 1.

[jcsunsfan]

I would do Chriss, Bledsoe and #4 for Porzingis. I would throw in #32 and take back Noah's contract if they give us #8.

This trade would open room for Bender to develop and give Ulis real minutes. There are a number of good point guards available in free agency this year. They might be a bit older, but that might no be a bad thing with this group.

[DirtyDez]

Suns with Fox starting at PG are bottom-5 again next year. Nothing wrong with that but he's just so far away.

I dont think he's that far away, he's slight, but he still can get to wherever he wants on the court and defends hard. I think he's a contributor from day 1.

He's so raw though... can't shoot, mediocre vision, 170 lbs surrounded by below average shooters. I think his ceiling can be high but it will be ugly at first.

[Zelaznyrules]

I realize this has been talked about ad nauseum on this board, but does anyone think we're all severely undervaluing Bender? He's got amazing skills for his size and had a rookie transition period at 18 years old that included an injury. I'm not saying he's Porzingis or ever going to be Porzingis, but everyone is so quick to dump him and basically act like he's throwaway trash at 19 years old. He's still younger than half of this draft.

Oh yeah, I think most severely undervalue him.

Word. The national media is worse. They haven't watched Suns games; they know Bender's stats and they watched him play in SL. Having watched every minute of Bender's play this season, I can say there are several attributes that make him unique, but primarily his intelligence and quickness. Passes and shots fly out of his hands very fast. And on defense, he's a few years ahead of most players. My biggest concerns with Bender are position and Ulis, who doesn't appear very eager to share the ball with him. Seems to me Ulis has formed a clique that does not include Bender - and I'm not sure Watson is doing anything to stop that rift from developing. That's something the FO needs to be on top of, IMO.

That's such a strange conclusion to jump to. I remember you talking about it before and I just didn't see it that way at all. And really, they didn't even play together all that much. I'd be surprised if they were on the court 200 minutes combined, and it takes time to learn your teammates. Also, Watson, from the summer on, made a big deal out of wanting Ulis to defer less and to prioritize assists less. He wanted him to focus on being more of scoring threat and was on him often for passing instead of shooting. I could see being concerned that his close friendship with Booker might result in problems, I just don't see a justification for thinking it's aimed at a specific person.

[sunsbum]

Way too much to give up for KP. Maybe if we got the #8 back but if they arent sending that pick back forget it.

[NTB]

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[Sreister]

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Please be right Gambo. Celts trading for KP and losing Jackson is a blow to the gut to us. That's worst case scenario IMO. Even if we don't get KP, losing on the ability to draft Jackson and the trade offer's we'll get would really hurt. That being said, unless we do something stuff like LMA or Love, tonight should be a net win for us. Isaac, Tatum, Fox, all a net win as far as I'm concerned. It would just be a bigger win to get KP, or Jackson, or a monster trade for Jackson.

[Zelaznyrules]

haven't been this excited for a draft in some time... Wouldn't be upset with drafting Tatum, Jackson, Fox, or Isaac. Like we are in such a good spot. Obviously with out giving up too much talent I would love to get KP.. But its a process. and I'm excited with the pieces we have...

But Im not big on either of our point guards. Can anyone make me excited about either of the two that we have?

This might be a good read...I posted this well before we drafted him....and there are probably more draft and prospect experts on the NBA Draft board so I posted it there. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1442361

To make is short, he's small but feisty and his size doesn't mean he's a bad defender. He was actually DPOY of the SEC last year. And he is a GREAT passer...had one of the best ast/to ratios in all of basketball, and I think historically good. He didn't play much until the end of the year and looked really good. He's also long time best friends with Booker, so drafting a PG to play ahead of Ulis might not sit particularly well with either.

That's my primary concern with drafting Fox. But I've held fast to the idea that perhaps Fox and Ulis can share the backcourt, too. Even if Ulis is our long-term starter (by no means a given), we will still need a high-caliber third guard to run with those two. You would want that player to be a great defender and athlete - Fox checks one of those boxes and might check the second. We'll see what happens. Fox is a possibility if and only if we have a deal lined up for Bled.

That's an incredibly small guard tandem. I guess it might work if we had a strong rim protector. My concern with Fox goes away if the front office is confident that he's clearly better than Ulis. If it's close, I definitely want Tatum or Jackson. But if they believe he's a star in the making, then I think the possible chemistry issues because of the Booker/Fox relationship goes away.

[Qwigglez]

Seems like a lot of teams want to get in on Josh Jackson. If he fell to us, and we were really comfortable with Warren at 3, then I think I would trade the No 4 and both Miami picks to get KP. Not giving up Bender and Chriss, and certainly not Booker.

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[Waylay13]

Seems like a lot of teams want to get in on Josh Jackson. If he fell to us, and we were really comfortable with Warren at 3, then I think I would trade the No 4 and both Miami picks to get KP. Not giving up Bender and Chriss, and certainly not Booker.

If Jackson falls to us (I hope and pray that he does) I think he can be a transformational talent for the Suns as far as defense goes. I think his fire and drive will rub off on others to get them to play better defense. I think he will challenge Booker and Chriss to play more defense and will reignite Bledsoe and Chandler to be defensive players again. I think that Booker will spend some time with him and get his shot working better.

[SkinnyOMiller]

So Fox or Tatum? Because that is what it appears to be coming down to.

[RaisingArizona]

I'm still Isaac or bust. Crazy couple of days around here. I can barely take it.

[bwgood77]

Hmm. You might be convincing me. I confess, I might have fallen victim to "two big white guys" thinking rather than just looking at their skill sets. Wow.

I've always hated the Bender/KP comparisons because they are completely different players. But even I, for a second, was kind of thinking the same way until I really thought about it more, and then when I saw this post it clarified it. Bender's bbiq is very high. I don't know if you listened to the Vecenie podcast, which is definitely worth a listen (last post in podcast thread) but it mentioned how we were better offensively and defensively when he as on the floor.

Perhaps my biggest concern about Bender has to do with his playing time. He gets very little of it, here and abroad. We justify this and the justifications all sound reasonable but I can't quite forget that strange Watson interview last December (?) that made it sound like there might be a real issue with this kid. It led to speculation or rumors about his talent level and his work ethic on one side and from the Bender supporters it led to accusations that Earl didn't like Euro players or white guys or whatever but still, it's a little bit of smoke that has me looking for the flames. It may mean absolutely nothing but that just makes a weird interview even weirder. But then again, it was Watson.

Please don't make up strange things like this unless you have a link to an interview or something. This is how terrible rumors get started. I read this everything posted here and I don't recall that and I'm sure it would have been something that was discussed had it happened. If you think maybe I simply forget, please link to interview.

[Qwigglez]

In case the Celtics do take Jackson, these guys talk about Tatum to Phoenix.
http://www.nba.com/video/2017/06/21/20070620-gametime-mock-draft-phoenix-suns-4-pick

[Sreister]

I've always hated the Bender/KP comparisons because they are completely different players. But even I, for a second, was kind of thinking the same way until I really thought about it more, and then when I saw this post it clarified it. Bender's bbiq is very high. I don't know if you listened to the Vecenie podcast, which is definitely worth a listen (last post in podcast thread) but it mentioned how we were better offensively and defensively when he as on the floor.

Perhaps my biggest concern about Bender has to do with his playing time. He gets very little of it, here and abroad. We justify this and the justifications all sound reasonable but I can't quite forget that strange Watson interview last December (?) that made it sound like there might be a real issue with this kid. It led to speculation or rumors about his talent level and his work ethic on one side and from the Bender supporters it led to accusations that Earl didn't like Euro players or white guys or whatever but still, it's a little bit of smoke that has me looking for the flames. It may mean absolutely nothing but that just makes a weird interview even weirder. But then again, it was Watson.

Please don't make up strange things like this unless you have a link to an interview or something. This is how terrible rumors get started. I read this everything posted here and I don't recall that and I'm sure it would have been something that was discussed had it happened. If you think maybe I simply forget, please link to interview.

I'm so glad you said something. I'm not always hanging around so I didn't respond and question it thinking I just missed something.

[RaisingArizona]

So if McD wants Jackson, Sarver wants Fox and Watson wants Isaac what's the hierarchy? To me, it's looking like Boston is taking Jackson for a potential trade or just keeping him because he's BPA to them. So if it's Fox/Isaac, who gets the nod?

[Villalobos]

So if McD wants Jackson, Sarver wants Fox and Watson wants Isaac what's the hierarchy? To me, it's looking like Boston is taking Jackson for a potential trade or just keeping him because he's BPA to them. So if it's Fox/Isaac, who gets the nod?

Owner >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GM in contract year >>>>>>>>>> Coach

[NTB]

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