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Assuming a season of course.

Who do you see stepping up? Who might be stepping down? Anyone look to be ready to bust out?

I'm hoping that Chidress will get more PT. He didn't look bad last year when he did play, just too much kept him of the court. I also think Frye will improve. The Gortat will be interesting to see over the course of a full season.

I think Markieff will surprise everybody with his toughness and shooting ability. I really hope he can be given good playing time as the Suns are in desperate need of good young developing talent.

I think Gortat can make 15p, 10r, 2b per night and be a "near" All-Star player, but no one else in the current roster seems to have the tools to succed at that level ( except Nash, of course).

I agree JChill has a shot at really stepping up and becoming integral to the team this year. Really hope he's been working hard on his outside shot

Gortat, yes. If he can keep building on what he did last year ....

From the sound sof it, Lawal is killing them in Poland. Still week form midrange and just plain bad from the line, but averaging 17 and 12 and apparently stronger and more athletic than before the injury. He and Markieff should be a good tag team at the 4. Cuts into Frye's time there but I like him at center in the second unit.

Dark Horse: Lopez - what are the chances he's rehabbed and back to where he was? Hard to remember but he looked pretty damn good for a while there, before his back went

Pick: Duds - I think if Duds gets starter minutes, he'll blossom. Never be a star but he's a very, very good supporting cast member and a great work ethic. Always trying to improve and bring something the team needs.

i really like to see Gani get some lou minutes... he can be our chocolate lou

If Duds is at SG, I'm definitely looking for Childress to step up over Pietrus. Hopefully he's a key guy for our second unit and doesn't get buried on the bench. He's got some good athleticism and a long wingspan. His attitude already fits in well with our team too.

Then of course I think the guy we all want to see is Gortat. A full season with Nash will do wonders for his stat line. He also runs the floor like a gazelle so he's a good Pick n' Roll partner for Nash, as we saw last year.

And I also am looking forward to Carter's departure and the cap space that will bring.

Yeah, the league is saturated at PG and PF right now but seems to be lacking in the SG department. I think Dudley has the opportunity to really step up and solidify himself as a next gen SG. He's already proven he can defend the best at that that spot, and if he can consistently average around 15-20ppg he'll be right up there.

But he'll probably regress over the course of a whole season so my money's on Childress as well.

Hak will drop out of the rotation I reckon and Lopez too I hope.

Dudley will be the Suns surprise. He's earned a starting spot. I expect we will see 16pts 6rbs and 4asts per game plus good defense. A backup will need to be signed (Redd for 1 year would be fine). Vince will be gone. Should ship out Pietrus.

I think our PF spot will step up too, either Markief or Gani. Might as well play your young guys significant minutes. For a combined 48 minutes I would expect to see 20+ pts and 12+ rebounds out of the PF position. Warrick will be dumped under the amnesty clause. Why keep someone who can't rebound or play defense.

Gortat will get the lions share of minutes at C with Frye as his backup. Siler will be the third stringer. Lopez will sit or more than likely be traded. He's not motivated enough to be in the league. Let him draw cartoons on the bench or dream about Disneyland princesses.

Front office will resign Grant. He will start and Chilly will be the backup. I'd expect they will equally share the 48 minutes.

I think Nash's numbers will decline but only a small amount. Still will have 10+ assists but will average 13 points. Backup PG is still a big question. I like Dowdell's defense and hope he has worked on his offense over the summer. I know the Suns made a qualifying offer to Brooks. Question is can Brooks return to his pre-injury state.

Nash/Brooks
Dudley/Redd
Hill/Chilly
Morris/Lawal
Gortat/Frye

Honestly other than Nash the defense should be good on the starting unit. The offense on the second unit could be stellar.

Should be an interesting season for the Suns.

(total aside, Doc MJ and I could use some help schooling Nash-haters on the PC board... just sayin')

I don't really think there's much to see from Brooks, and I don't know how much extra Dudley will bring (which is not to diminish the value of his hustle and perimeter shooting), but it would be cool if he could help hold down the rotation a little more with some short starts, etc. Childress being a poor-man's Marion would be nice. Gortat will be interesting; the Suns didn't really do any better with him starting, but he certainly performed very well and figures to continue to do so.

Warrick will be keel-hauled, as appropriate.

I wish they'd never traded for Hedo/Vince, because they were much better of with Richardson. Hopefully, Morris and Gani will add some more rebounding, because this team needs it desperately.

Any way it breaks down, though, it'll still be fun to see the last gasps of Nash's talent taking this team to offensive significance.

I don't even care, really. I hope that someone on the team will be better, but I just don't see it. Hill and Nash will be the exact same, per usual, as will Dudley - Gortat will be the Polish Plower (porn name, lol) and improve. Markieff is will be better then expected.

Well if you get enough cap space this season, or we use our MLE, I dont see why we cant bring back J-Rich. Certainly be better than bringing over Michael Redd.

With J-Rich back, and Warrick dumped (somehow), we become an instant playoff threat.

Nash/Brooks/Dowdell
J-Rich/Dudley
Hill/Chilly/Pietrus
Frye/Morris/Lawal
Gortat/Lopez/Siler

tsherkin wrote:Should be an interesting season for the Suns.

(total aside, Doc MJ and I could use some help schooling Nash-haters on the PC board... just sayin')

I don't really think there's much to see from Brooks, and I don't know how much extra Dudley will bring (which is not to diminish the value of his hustle and perimeter shooting), but it would be cool if he could help hold down the rotation a little more with some short starts, etc. Childress being a poor-man's Marion would be nice. Gortat will be interesting; the Suns didn't really do any better with him starting, but he certainly performed very well and figures to continue to do so.

Warrick will be keel-hauled, as appropriate.

I wish they'd never traded for Hedo/Vince, because they were much better of with Richardson. Hopefully, Morris and Gani will add some more rebounding, because this team needs it desperately.

Any way it breaks down, though, it'll still be fun to see the last gasps of Nash's talent taking this team to offensive significance.

PC Board? give me a link and I'm there

JohnVancouver wrote:
PC Board? give me a link and I'm there

Just go to the Player Comparison board... there are so many Nash threads, just pick one. There's one where Doc MJ and TASTIC (yay, TASTIC!) are doing their thing right now on the first page.

tsherkin wrote:

JohnVancouver wrote:
PC Board? give me a link and I'm there

Just go to the Player Comparison board... there are so many Nash threads, just pick one. There's one where Doc MJ and TASTIC (yay, TASTIC!) are doing their thing right now on the first page.

I had neve heard of the player comparison board - thanks

We will be bad. I do not think anyone will surprise really but someone has to get numbers, we have room for players to step up statistically despite not being better.
Candidates are Gortat, Dudley and Frye, Morris is a wild card but opportunities should be there.

MarJJMar wrote:We will be bad. I do not think anyone will surprise really but someone has to get numbers, we have room for players to step up statistically despite not being better.
Candidates are Gortat, Dudley and Frye, Morris is a wild card but opportunities should be there.

You're quite the pessimist, aren't you?

People can project how good/bad we'll be w/o Nash... or even with Nash. But, having a core of theGORTAT, Duds, Chilly, and Frye is a solid foundation.

Why some do not acknowledge that, or assume we will not be adding any significant talent when projecting the future is very shortsighted.

Frank Lee wrote:People can project how good/bad we'll be w/o Nash... or even with Nash. But, having a core of theGORTAT, Duds, Chilly, and Frye is a solid foundation.

Why some do not acknowledge that, or assume we will not be adding any significant talent when projecting the future is very shortsighted.

The naysayers are rampant these days. Best to take the frankly approach and crack a coldy...

Well, from an outsiders perspective a core of Gortat, Duds, Chilly, and Frye isn't solid at all. Other than Gortat I wouldn't even call that a core.