RealGM

With their D-League affiliate arrangement, the Suns have taken control of basketball operations to make for seamless shifting of young roster players who are outside the regular rotation. This weekend's Bakersfield home games worked out ideally with Warren and Ennis able to rejoin the Suns on the team's Sunday flight from Los Angeles, where the Suns play Saturday night.

Unlike Archie Goodwin's trips to Bakersfield last season, when five teams shared the affiliate, everything that Warren and Ennis have learned with the Suns since training camp now ties in to what they will do for the Jam. Bakersfield coach Nate Bjorkgren spent time with the Suns staff at summer league, training camp and part of the preseason.

"Nate's got great ideas too," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "I told him anytime he comes up with something for one of the guys, if he wants to run something and says this plays runs really well with this guy, we'll take a look at it and may use it here."

Warren and Ennis are arrived on the eve of the Jam's opener but the transition is also smoothed by familiar faces. Suns preseason players Earl Barron, Joe Jackson, Casey Prather and Jamil Wilson are on the Bakersfield roster. The Jam also has Ricardo Barbosa, the nephew of Leandro Barbosa, and Elijah Millsap, the younger brother of Paul Millsap.

"It's not like they're just going down there to play," Hornacek said. "They're going to learn stuff we do. When we bring them back and they're playing for us, they'll have the experience of actually running it a bunch of times.

SF88 wrote:I don't understand why Warren can't play right now.

We aren't competing for a title, we aren't even gonna make playoffs. ALL other non playoff teams develop their lottery picks, the Suns glue them to the bench or send them to Bakersfield.

jcsunsfan wrote:

SF88 wrote:I don't understand why Warren can't play right now.

We aren't competing for a title, we aren't even gonna make playoffs. ALL other non playoff teams develop their lottery picks, the Suns glue them to the bench or send them to Bakersfield.

Too many players with similar abilities. As weird as it sounds, an injury to someone right now would probably ease up the logjam.

SF88 wrote:

jcsunsfan wrote:

SF88 wrote:I don't understand why Warren can't play right now.

We aren't competing for a title, we aren't even gonna make playoffs. ALL other non playoff teams develop their lottery picks, the Suns glue them to the bench or send them to Bakersfield.

Too many players with similar abilities. As weird as it sounds, an injury to someone right now would probably ease up the logjam.

Yea but that seems unlikely to happen.

I'd rather us find a way to trade Tolliver and maybe Tucker.

I like PJ's defense but I think developing Warren is more important.

And I think a Warren has different ability than our 3pt chucking forwards. He's more mid range-inside scorer.

jcsunsfan wrote:

SF88 wrote:

jcsunsfan wrote:
Too many players with similar abilities. As weird as it sounds, an injury to someone right now would probably ease up the logjam.

Yea but that seems unlikely to happen.

I'd rather us find a way to trade Tolliver and maybe Tucker.

I like PJ's defense but I think developing Warren is more important.

And I think a Warren has different ability than our 3pt chucking forwards. He's more mid range-inside scorer.

We can't trade Tolliver until Dec. I think. We could cut him, or just let him sit on the end of the bench. We could let Tucker sit. I think we need to send Len to D-league. Now that that team is running the Suns system purely for the point of preparing Suns players, it would be good for him to get a little more familiar with the flow of the offense on that level. Funny, I don't think they send him there because they are afraid to be without him on the regular roster. But, to me, developing Len is more important than winning games.

SF88 wrote:

jcsunsfan wrote:

SF88 wrote:Yea but that seems unlikely to happen.

I'd rather us find a way to trade Tolliver and maybe Tucker.

I like PJ's defense but I think developing Warren is more important.

And I think a Warren has different ability than our 3pt chucking forwards. He's more mid range-inside scorer.

We can't trade Tolliver until Dec. I think. We could cut him, or just let him sit on the end of the bench. We could let Tucker sit. I think we need to send Len to D-league. Now that that team is running the Suns system purely for the point of preparing Suns players, it would be good for him to get a little more familiar with the flow of the offense on that level. Funny, I don't think they send him there because they are afraid to be without him on the regular roster. But, to me, developing Len is more important than winning games.

I agree with your last sentence but I'm confused at to why you want to send Len to the D league then.

Imo Len may have the potential to be more than just a defense and some rebounding guy. Plumlee's ceiling is to become a some defense and some rebounding guy.

I'd like us to play Len more than Plumlee to see what we truly have in Len.

jcsunsfan wrote:

SF88 wrote:

jcsunsfan wrote:
Too many players with similar abilities. As weird as it sounds, an injury to someone right now would probably ease up the logjam.

Yea but that seems unlikely to happen.

I'd rather us find a way to trade Tolliver and maybe Tucker.

I like PJ's defense but I think developing Warren is more important.

And I think a Warren has different ability than our 3pt chucking forwards. He's more mid range-inside scorer.

We can't trade Tolliver until Dec. I think. We could cut him, or just let him sit on the end of the bench. We could let Tucker sit. I think we need to send Len to D-league. Now that that team is running the Suns system purely for the point of preparing Suns players, it would be good for him to get a little more familiar with the flow of the offense on that level. Funny, I don't think they send him there because they are afraid to be without him on the regular roster. But, to me, developing Len is more important than winning games.

Maystack wrote:

SF88 wrote:

jcsunsfan wrote: We can't trade Tolliver until Dec. I think. We could cut him, or just let him sit on the end of the bench. We could let Tucker sit. I think we need to send Len to D-league. Now that that team is running the Suns system purely for the point of preparing Suns players, it would be good for him to get a little more familiar with the flow of the offense on that level. Funny, I don't think they send him there because they are afraid to be without him on the regular roster. But, to me, developing Len is more important than winning games.

I agree with your last sentence but I'm confused at to why you want to send Len to the D league then.

Imo Len may have the potential to be more than just a defense and some rebounding guy. Plumlee's ceiling is to become a some defense and some rebounding guy.

I'd like us to play Len more than Plumlee to see what we truly have in Len.

The D-League is for developing players, hence the name. You seem to have a really negative opinion of it, but if it gives our rookies minutes to develop, then I'm all for it.

SF88 wrote:

Maystack wrote:

SF88 wrote:I agree with your last sentence but I'm confused at to why you want to send Len to the D league then.

Imo Len may have the potential to be more than just a defense and some rebounding guy. Plumlee's ceiling is to become a some defense and some rebounding guy.

I'd like us to play Len more than Plumlee to see what we truly have in Len.

The D-League is for developing players, hence the name. You seem to have a really negative opinion of it, but if it gives our rookies minutes to develop, then I'm all for it.

Very, very few players, if any, have went to do the D league and came back as even a borderline star player.

Maybe I have too high of expectations for Warren but I think he's well capable of being a star player or close to it eventually in his career.