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Is it safe to say the Suns have one of, if not, the brightest future in the NBA?

Could Phoenix lure the right star to play in their system through free agency now that they have shown that they have all these good players, draft picks, coach, and money for free agency? I mean, also the famous training staff and weather probably doesn't hurt the situation either.

While we have lots going for us, we will never have the appeal of LA, Chicago, NY. The big stars will always love the Lakers, Bulls, and Knicks.

That said, with our recent success, it's safe to say we are now a desirable destination again.

IMHO, I think players know which teams give them the best chance of success, which teams get the nod from the league, and which teams will pay them the most money. Unfortunately, we have only shown the best chance for making one's stats look great, and regular season success. The last two (nod and money) we don't have, so I feel any guys would just use us as a stepping stone to get those two, or one of those two.

LukasBMW wrote:While we have lots going for us, we will never have the appeal of LA, Chicago, NY. The big stars will always love the Lakers, Bulls, and Knicks.

That said, with our recent success, it's safe to say we are now a desirable destination again.

In the 90's the Suns were the premiere FA destination in the league. There is no particular reason why that cannot happen again. Its all about ownership and management.

I could really see the Suns targeting Bosh.

Championship pedigree, he's a solid locker room guy and he might thrive as a #1 option again, especially now that he's really developed his 3pt shot.

And that Lebron guy, he'd be nice too.

Bosh would be ideal, better than Love, for this team. I just do not think he will opt out.

I don't like bosh. No thanks.

Suns become contenders with Bosh imo. Imagine trading Frye + a first or two for Asik also.

Bledsoe
Dragic
Tucker
Bosh
Asik

Along with the best bench in the NBA featuring Green, Morris twins and Plumlee.

That's a contender. We belong in the same conversation as LAC, Houston, OKC etc with that lineup.

SF88 wrote:Suns become contenders with Bosh imo. Imagine trading Frye + a first or two for Asik also.

Bledsoe
Dragic
Tucker
Bosh
Asik

Along with the best bench in the NBA featuring Green, Morris twins and Plumlee.

That's a contender. We belong in the same conversation as LAC, Houston, OKC etc with that lineup.

Hey, man that was my idea

You bastards have really sold me on Bosh..... Good job!

NTB wrote:

SF88 wrote:Suns become contenders with Bosh imo. Imagine trading Frye + a first or two for Asik also.

Bledsoe
Dragic
Tucker
Bosh
Asik

Along with the best bench in the NBA featuring Green, Morris twins and Plumlee.

That's a contender. We belong in the same conversation as LAC, Houston, OKC etc with that lineup.

Hey, man that was my idea

Ha my bad didn't see that til now

IDK if I could stand watching Chris Bosh for 82 games. For me, he has one of the most punchable faces I've ever seen.

snowthedirtbub wrote:IDK if I could stand watching Chris Bosh for 82 games. For me, he has one of the most punchable faces I've ever seen.

If he gets us back to an elite playoff contender you'd be given him slobbery kisses instead.

Bledsoe / ??? / Rookie
Dragic / Green / Goodwin
Tucker / Marcus / Rookie
Frye / Markieff / Rookie
Bosh / Plumlee / Len

Then we just need good backup point guard. One that plays really great defense. I'm not convinced Ish Smith is it.

Dare I make this comparison? :-/ I hated this team as much as the next Suns fan once...but you can't argue with success....

We have our Tony Parker (Bledsoe-solid defender and ability to create in the half court; improving jump shot; quickness that can match any in the league when healthy), our Manu (Dragic, and not just because he's a lefty. The kid goes hard and he's crafty and scrappy...all the things we hate in Ginobili) and our Bruce Bowen (Tucker. Amazingly, despite the occasional stupid TO in transition, Tucker's offensive game is much more developed than Bowen's was. He's also a much better rebounder at his size.)

Now for the hard part: we need our Duncan. Who in the league is/could develop into that kind of anchor in the post? I know no one's him...goes without saying. But could Bosh serve that role? Could Love?

Aside from that, we have some great talent to develop off the bench.

If we could go find us a go-to player in the post who could serve that role for the foreseeable future, we'd be built much like the Spurs of the early 2000's--not a surprise considering the pedigree of some of our front office/staff.

Thoughts?

We were -the- top free agency destination in the late 1990s because we had the most respected owner in basketball who was super creative, spent top dollar, kept his word, and bent free agency rules. We also had a brand new arena. Not to mention we had Charles Barkley and were championship favorites.

We were -a- top free agency from 2005-2009 because Steve Nash inflated stats with his absurd passing skills and our coach was a pushover who didn't make players work on defense. We also had a shot to compete for the championship.

Now our strength is our general manager, our training staff, and the weather. Sarver is no longer the laughing stock of owners and we have potential to advance in the playoffs, but we are not yet a contender. It's an improvement over last summer, but we still have a ways to go.

Interesting comparison, and I might dare to say we might also have our "Pop"

Now Duncan....the only person in the league with that potential is Anthony Davis. Realistic players that could even replicate that is a healthy Andrew Bynum or Embiid.

But I don't think we need that huge post-presence. The 1999-2007 Spurs were from a different era. It's pretty obvious the game is changing, getting faster, more spaced out, more predicated on passing and pace and smart team defense.

I think our GM is going to turn a lot of heads in the next 2-3 years.

Agree, I think I remeber Hornacek saying at the beginning of the year how much he admires the Spurs and said that they are a blue print for what the Suns are trying to build..

But yes, finding that inside presence will be the hard bit.

Jdiddy701 wrote:I don't like bosh. No thanks.

Are you serious? He would be perfect here.

Fantastic pick and roll defender, probably the best in the league.
Solid post defender, Solid rebounder, hits the three ball, elite mid range shooter, decent back to basket game.

Bosh would make our team deadly.

Sounds like many people have forgotten how damn good he (Bosh) is.

The biggest strength of the current Suns team in my opinion is exactly the lack of a designated "superstar" which leads to a team playing team game (real basketball actually). The "star in Phoenix" could only work with a substantial reff support, and i don't think Bosh will get many of that without LeClown, while he will for sure try to succumb the rest of the squad to play for his personal statsheet (or as you say it - to take over the team). I think the potential end result of such a move from the Suns is clear enough (see Bosh's Raptors). I'm not underestimating his skills, but at the same time don't think sacrificing the team game for one guy will bring the trophy to the desert.
I really want to see this team untouched for a few years. These guys have the potential to make the Suns the most fun team to watch once again and to give hell in the playoffs to every league-cradled bunch of clowns.