Offseason Thread 7: A Tale Of Two Dragons

[LukasBMW]

We're still getting the rotation laid out and players are still ramping up. I don't think Dragic has looked so great thus far, yet he's not catching the slack that the Morris twins, Tucker, or Plumlee are getting.

Now that we cut the training camp practicing bodies and are down to 16 players, Horny will start to fine tune the lineup.

I don't see the Suns giving up on Plumlee until at least mid season and I don't see them giving up on Len until at least another year.

Our lineup is crowded and we now have lots of solid players with "good" contracts on the team. It may be time to trade in some chips for a star player, but it won't happen until mid season.

[JDLAW]

Suspect that Thurs. game against depleted Spurs will have the Suns juggling a number of "interesting" line-ups/combinations.

I have no worries about Dragic, Bledsoe, Thomas, the Morris Twins, Green, Tucker or Plumlee once the season starts. Tolliver looks OK also. My only concern about Len is the injury and I am confident it, and he, will be fine. Ennis will be in Bakersfield, Barron will be gone. TJ and Goodwin will see some limited time in Bakersfield.

Don't anticipate trades unless some team makes an offer the Suns' cannot refuse.

[spanishninja]

Bledsoe is officially #41 on ESPN's top 500. Bit higher than my prediction of #45. Now to see if Dragic makes top 25 like I believe.

[aIvin adams]

The only player whose play has disappointed me a lil is Archie. (obviously Len's pinkie is the biggest bummer of the preseason-- which when you think about it means we are having a pretty good preseason).

but he's one of my favorite players on the team so I'm hoping to see him get some more burn leading up to opening night

[Big NBA Fan]

I always felt Nerlens Noel was a better fit for the current Suns than Len.

I think Len has more offensive potential, but Noel is a world-class athlete who will be a great shot-blocker and defensive anchor for many years.

Put Noel on the SSOL teams and the Suns would have been a dynasty.

The only thing missing- and Nash has mentioned this in the past - was an elite defensive anchor.

Noel
Amare
Marion
Raja
Nash

Scary team...especially if they kept Joe Johnson.

[Saberestar]

The only player whose play has disappointed me a lil is Archie. (obviously Len's pinkie is the biggest bummer of the preseason-- which when you think about it means we are having a pretty good preseason).

but he's one of my favorite players on the team so I'm hoping to see him get some more burn leading up to opening night

Plumlee has not disappointed you? Then your expectations about him were vey low.
McDonough said that he was impress in september because he has been playing very well in the pick-up games and has made a tremendous progress in his game during the offseason...but in summer league and in 3 preseason games he has been horrible, worse than last year.
Hopefullpy he will play beter when season begins.

[aIvin adams]

The only player whose play has disappointed me a lil is Archie. (obviously Len's pinkie is the biggest bummer of the preseason-- which when you think about it means we are having a pretty good preseason).

but he's one of my favorite players on the team so I'm hoping to see him get some more burn leading up to opening night

Plumlee has not disappointed you? Then your expectations about him were vey low.

correct.

last year i was wrong about him; this year i'm not wrong, yet. wouldn't mind being wrong again tho

[NavLDO]

Bledsoe is officially #41 on ESPN's top 500. Bit higher than my prediction of #45. Now to see if Dragic makes top 25 like I believe.

Yeah, they must be ranking somewhat on potential. Is there a "guide" or "methodology" published explaining what factors they are taking into account, because a guy that only started half the season, for the first time in his career, is ranked ahead of guys like Faried, Hibbert, and Beal? Potential and what he actually produced for 42 games? Sure, he's probably more talented, but IMO, you have to take the other stuff into account as well.

If he plays for a majority of the season (65+ games) and puts up similar stats, than I'd expect him to be around 30, but those 42 games may very well have been an aberration.

Ah well, no biggie, I guess. Better to oversell him than undersell him, as far as Suns fans goes.

[SideSwipe]

I always felt Nerlens Noel was a better fit for the current Suns than Len.

I think Len has more offensive potential, but Noel is a world-class athlete who will be a great shot-blocker and defensive anchor for many years.

Put Noel on the SSOL teams and the Suns would have been a dynasty.

The only thing missing- and Nash has mentioned this in the past - was an elite defensive anchor.

Noel
Amare
Marion
Raja
Nash

Scary team...especially if they kept Joe Johnson.

While I get what you are saying, you need to slow down on Noel. Shooting has been pretty abysmal so far as suspected. He had a decent Summer league and one good pre-season game. We previously had a guy who was abysmal, but could block some shots and run the floor. His name was Steven Hunter. He didn't start, we went with Amare at the 5 instead. The biggest difference is that Hunter hit a much higher percentage of his shots. Keep that in mind for comparisons sake.

With that said, Noel has a higher ceiling, but he will need to learn to stick within himself and his own game better before the Nerlens Night Train rolls out. He is extremely athletic, shows good shot-blocking instincts and can be good defensively. He will need to prove himself as a solid man-to-man defender (not just weak side help), as a better rebounder and better shot selector for him to be big time.

[lilfishi22]

Adams in Oklahoma putting 22 points in 21 minutes...I do not see Len putting that stats even in a preseason game for the next 2-3 years.

We will know today if he is healthy and can play tomorrow against the Spurs. Hopefully he comes back and makes a good impression, we need him badly.

Gobert blossoming, Noel blocking everything in site in Summer League. It's starting to look like we drafted the wrong guy. I've advocated wait & see, give the guy a chance, bigs take 4 years to develop.... but I'm getting impatient.

That's entirely possible. But yeah, when you see guys like Noel's and Adams balling out there, it's disheartening.

[NavLDO]

Adams in Oklahoma putting 22 points in 21 minutes...I do not see Len putting that stats even in a preseason game for the next 2-3 years.

We will know today if he is healthy and can play tomorrow against the Spurs. Hopefully he comes back and makes a good impression, we need him badly.

Gobert blossoming, Noel blocking everything in site in Summer League. It's starting to look like we drafted the wrong guy. I've advocated wait & see, give the guy a chance, bigs take 4 years to develop.... but I'm getting impatient.

That's entirely possible. But yeah, when you see guys like Noel's and Adams balling out there, it's disheartening.

And don't forget Olynyk, who has also looked pretty good so far...so yeah, it is disheartening knowing we took Len 5th overall, over everyone of these other bigs...and they are looking a lot better than Len.

It takes time to develop bigs, or so they say, yet all the other bigs look to be developing just fine! Why did we have to get the "slow learner"!!!

[Big NBA Fan]

Noel also has the potential to be the best pick-and-roll defender in the NBA if he stays healthy thanks to his incredible quickness.

You HAVE to guard the pick-and-roll in today's league given how the game has changed in recent years.

Len moves well for a big-man, but he's nowhere near as athletic as Nerlens.

I wonder if McDonough still would have drafted Len over Noel if he knew Noel would make a full recovery (As he seems to have done) and that Len would be such a non-factor as a rookie.

I think Len has the potential to be really good, but never as good defensively as Noel.

If the Suns wanted offense, Len was the right pick. If it was defense and they were scared off by Noel's injury, I think they made a mistake.

Suns have the best medical staff in the NBA and Noel looks like he's back healthy.

[lilfishi22]

Len doesn't have the defensive instincts of Noel but he does seem a lot more in tune offensively. He has some moves, he's work on range and his shooting form looks decent for a big man.

[JDLAW]

Noel also has the potential to be the best pick-and-roll defender in the NBA if he stays healthy thanks to his incredible quickness.

You HAVE to guard the pick-and-roll in today's league given how the game has changed in recent years.

Len moves well for a big-man, but he's nowhere near as athletic as Nerlens.

I wonder if McDonough still would have drafted Len over Noel if he knew Noel would make a full recovery (As he seems to have done) and that Len would be such a non-factor as a rookie.

I think Len has the potential to be really good, but never as good defensively as Noel.

If the Suns wanted offense, Len was the right pick. If it was defense and they were scared off by Noel's injury, I think they made a mistake.

Suns have the best medical staff in the NBA and Noel looks like he's back healthy.

I watched a Sixers preseason game and was shocked at how abysmal Noel's offensive ability was. I was also not impressed by his ability to protect the rim and block shots when he is one on one with a defender. Even mediocre - good offensive players were able to get into his body move him back and negate his ability to defend shots. He is an excellent weak side shot blocker and I thought a decent perimeter defender. He has a long way to go before you shower him with the kind o praise you are giving him.

And no i do not think the Suns have any regrets about taking Len over him.

[fuzzy1]

I'm a Hawks fan, caught wind of some Horford rumors. I'll say I don't think we're great trade partners to begin with, mostly because we're both playoff teams in the "stockpile-assets-for-a-trade" mode.

Dragic, the Lakers pick and perhaps Bledsoe are the only things that would REALLY interest us, we've already got plenty of depth. We'd rather trade for Dragic and add him to our core (or sign him, I suppose), not give up Horford for what is probably a lateral move.

[wordsenuff]

i know this is off topic, but has anyone played nba2k15? just got it yesterday and i'm pretty sure alex len was left out of the game. when i go for substitutions he is not listed. ive played with the suns every time iv'e played, even in mycareer (cuz suns drafted me ) and no sign of our injury prone friend.

[lilfishi22]

i know this is off topic, but has anyone played nba2k15? just got it yesterday and i'm pretty sure alex len was left out of the game. when i go for substitutions he is not listed. ive played with the suns every time iv'e played, even in mycareer (cuz suns drafted me ) and no sign of our injury prone friend.

I play it and he's definitely in there. When you are in MyCareer mode, you start in the middle of the season so it's possible he's traded or injured when you join the team.

[wordsenuff]

i know this is off topic, but has anyone played nba2k15? just got it yesterday and i'm pretty sure alex len was left out of the game. when i go for substitutions he is not listed. ive played with the suns every time iv'e played, even in mycareer (cuz suns drafted me ) and no sign of our injury prone friend.

I play it and he's definitely in there. When you are in MyCareer mode, you start in the middle of the season so it's possible he's traded or injured when you join the team.

thanks lilfishi. im gonna play more tonight . i just got a lil pissed when i didn't see him after playing a few games

[Kerrsed]

i know this is off topic, but has anyone played nba2k15? just got it yesterday and i'm pretty sure alex len was left out of the game. when i go for substitutions he is not listed. ive played with the suns every time iv'e played, even in mycareer (cuz suns drafted me ) and no sign of our injury prone friend.

I play it and he's definitely in there. When you are in MyCareer mode, you start in the middle of the season so it's possible he's traded or injured when you join the team.

thanks lilfishi. im gonna play more tonight . i just got a lil pissed when i didn't see him after playing a few games

He was probably injured!

[aIvin adams]

I'm a Hawks fan, caught wind of some Horford rumors. I'll say I don't think we're great trade partners to begin with, mostly because we're both playoff teams in the "stockpile-assets-for-a-trade" mode.

Dragic, the Lakers pick and perhaps Bledsoe are the only things that would REALLY interest us, we've already got plenty of depth. We'd rather trade for Dragic and add him to our core (or sign him, I suppose), not give up Horford for what is probably a lateral move.

yah i got the impression from other suns fans that we were all fantasizing about a horford trade in the event there was some disfunction over there; no bad vibes intended. maybe if a new owner came in and wanted to clean house against yer team's own best interest.

we are similarly hoping that the Kings finally implode and Boogie demands a trade