Looks like the signing of Chandler backfired

[WV-Sun]

I understand what the reasoning was for bringing Chandler to the Suns and even though they didn't get Aldridge I still expected Chandler to contribute. Now they are stuck with a veteran center whom they can't move and is averaging career lows in blocks. These are the type of decisions that make me indifferent towards McD. Guy can evaluate young talent and draft very well but he has yet to sign a free agent who has been an impact player

[saintEscaton]

He hedged his bets and put all his marbles into one basket. Of course when you're swinging for the fences you're bound to strike out. Maybe he'll try to overpay Batum this offseason

[kennydorglas]

Yeah, this signing sucks right now but we almost landed LMA singlehandly because of him.
I blame Pat Riley for changing his mind in that stupid meeting.

[Fan from Dade]

Chandler will be fine, its just a really ugly year that started off poorly after his hamstring pull. For a big like him that lingers. Add in chemistry issues and questionable coaching and you get inconsistent results. Also I'd call the guy averaging 20,5,4 an impact player. You guys are so quick to dismiss the start he and Bledsoe had when folks were calling them one of the best backcourts in the league. I think they are still that. He played for a month with a sports hernia; not sure many players would've done that. And coming off a ankle surgery already. Tyson will give you great games and some poor games but Len is the future so I think the averages will work out; this year is just ugly.

[saintEscaton]

Chandler will be fine, its just a really ugly year that started off poorly after his hamstring pull. For a big like him that lingers. Add in chemistry issues and questionable coaching and you get inconsistent results. Also I'd call the guy averaging 20,5,4 an impact player. You guys are so quick to dismiss the start he and Bledsoe had when folks were calling them one of the best backcourts in the league. I think they are still that. He played for a month with a sports hernia; not sure many players would've done that. And coming off a ankle surgery already. Tyson will give you great games and some poor games but Len is the future so I think the averages will work out; this year is just ugly.

Knight was acquired via trade, IT/Telly are the closest things to an "impact" FA signing although they never were part of the long term plans. I used to keep telling myself these things to help me sleep at night before accepting the grim reality

[Fan from Dade]

Chandler will be fine, its just a really ugly year that started off poorly after his hamstring pull. For a big like him that lingers. Add in chemistry issues and questionable coaching and you get inconsistent results. Also I'd call the guy averaging 20,5,4 an impact player. You guys are so quick to dismiss the start he and Bledsoe had when folks were calling them one of the best backcourts in the league. I think they are still that. He played for a month with a sports hernia; not sure many players would've done that. And coming off a ankle surgery already. Tyson will give you great games and some poor games but Len is the future so I think the averages will work out; this year is just ugly.

Knight was acquired via trade, IT/Telly arethe closest thing to an "impact" FA signings although they never were part of the long term plans. I used to keep telling myself these things to help me sleep at night before accepting the grim reality

You're right. My fault. With that, I believe it. This team isn't newly as bad as their record when they are whole. Chemistry and losses can drastically affect confidence and drive. Not believing in your coach; etc... The year is lost no doubt. But the talent is there.

[Jdiddy701]

Chandler is the man. I don't regret Suns getting him one bit.


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[MrMiyagi]

Well, when the rookie 2 guard is the only one who knows how to throw a decent lob, he's gonna struggle on the offensive end. His rebounding is as good as it's ever been. Yes, his shot blocking took a dip, which is to be expected from a 33 year old 7 Footer, but he's not been bad. People make it seem like he's turned into Hasheem Thabeet.

[Frank Lee]

Chandler is the 5th or 6th 'worst thing' to happen to this team this year.... which almost makes him a positive.

We have three guys making 14 mill for the next 3 yrs... he may end up being the best value of the bunch.

[WeekapaugGroove]

It was a dumb move the minute they made it. You just don't sign an old center to a big deal on a rebuilding team. Especially when you had a young guy in len who needed minutes. They pitched this "leadership" angle which is also dumb. You want leaders that's fine but you can get guys like Zaza or perk for far less money and years.

[m1chal]

It was a dumb move the minute they made it. You just don't sign an old center to a big deal on a rebuilding team. Especially when you had a young guy in len who needed minutes. They pitched this "leadership" angle which is also dumb. You want leaders that's fine but you can get guys like Zaza or perk for far less money and years.

I couldn't agree more. It was a strange compete-now move, undoubtedly influenced by Sarver. Given Chandler's declining production, age and years left on the deal it's already widely considered to be one of the worst contracts in the league. I really hope some contending team in a dire need for a center takes him from us. Grizzlies?

[NTB]

Chandler is the man. I don't regret Suns getting him one bit.


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Definitely.

[Qwigglez]

Still a better contract than Goran Dragic has though...

[lilfishi22]

It was a dumb move the minute they made it. You just don't sign an old center to a big deal on a rebuilding team. Especially when you had a young guy in len who needed minutes. They pitched this "leadership" angle which is also dumb. You want leaders that's fine but you can get guys like Zaza or perk for far less money and years.

It's a dumb move if you don't consider why he was signed in the first place. It put us right at the top of the list of teams Aldridge was considering and we ended up being a very close runners up. You can say, well we didn't end up getting Aldridge so my point is valid. Well no, because if we didn't have a shot at Aldridge, we were never going to sign Chandler. The leadership pitch/spin was after we lost out on Aldridge.

Knowing how things played out, it was a bad move but hindsight is 20/20. Had we signed Aldridge, we would've had a competitive team.

[bigfoot]

I'm sorry but it is never a bad idea to sign a all-star level, ex-DYOP, big man free agent unless he is at the very, very tail-end of his career. Remember that last year Chandler led the league in offensive ratings and was fifth in rebounds at 11.5. He is only 33 ... Duncan is 39, Kareem was 41, Hakeem was 36 before he started to decline. I'm not saying Chandler is an elite scoring big but defensively we still see how Duncan helps the Spurs this year. The point is elite big men historically have longer careers because they know how to organize and play team defense and rebound and alter shots.

[Damkac]

Honestly I was 100% sure LA will sign with Spurs. Can't imagine him wasting the perfect opportunity. But the fact that he considered Suns to the last moment was surprising.
Could Chandler lure other star to come to Phoenix? I doubt it after this nightmare season. But I wish at least he will start playing good agains so his contract don't look so terrible like it looks now.

[Gorilla Warfare]

The title of this thread makes it sound like nobody else had this thought the day Aldridge signed with the Spurs....

That's how long I've been thinking this.

[GMATCallahan]

Chandler will be fine, its just a really ugly year that started off poorly after his hamstring pull. For a big like him that lingers. Add in chemistry issues and questionable coaching and you get inconsistent results. Also I'd call the guy averaging 20,5,4 an impact player. You guys are so quick to dismiss the start he and Bledsoe had when folks were calling them one of the best backcourts in the league. I think they are still that.

Both of their assists-to-turnover ratios are substandard for a playmaker, something that the media ignored. (But then, the NBA media is largely defined by ignorance.)

(By the way, hamstring injuries can linger for any player, regardless of size.)

Knight's "counting stats" averages in the three major categories look nice, but the question of "impact" is relative. Value largely derives from the ability to combine volume with efficiency, and Knight is an inefficient field goal shooter, an inefficient scorer, and an inefficient playmaker. He is not worthless, but he is not necessarily valuable, either. Frankly, there is a case to be made that Knight is essentially a "zero sum" player right now. The good news is that having just turned twenty-four, he remains young, maintaining a greater window for the future.

He played for a month with a sports hernia; not sure many players would've done that.

I am not negating your point, but Kevin Johnson played four years with a [undiagnosed] sports hernia, including two sports hernias by the end of that time. And his hernias required surgery to heal properly, not just rest. Just saying ...

Knight's willingness to play through an injury is commendable enough, but it does not say anything about whether the Suns' roster is properly structured moving forward.

Tyson will give you great games and some poor games but Len is the future so I think the averages will work out; this year is just ugly.

I do not have a problem with Chandler, but given his age and mileage (he is in his fifteenth season), where is he going to be two or three years from now? The issue was always the length of the deal.

[GMATCallahan]

The title of this thread makes it sound like nobody else had this thought the day Aldridge signed with the Spurs....

That's how long I've been thinking this.

To be honest, I believe that I was thinking it before Aldridge signed with San Antonio. And, yes, the Suns came 'close" to inking him, but 'close' is irrelevant in free agency. You either sign someone or you do not, and Phoenix was always a major underdog to sign him.

The signing represented a classic mistake of a young general manager. You 'throw down' and overpay for one free agent in hopes of attracting an even bigger free agent. When Player A fails to produce Player B, you are then left holding the bag.

To be sure, Chandler brought some attributes that the Suns could have used regardless of Aldridge, but on a four-year contract, Phoenix overpaid substantially.

Of course, we do not know what kind of pressure Sarver may have been placing on McDonough, further complicating the matter.

[GMATCallahan]

I'm sorry but it is never a bad idea to sign a all-star level, ex-DYOP, big man free agent unless he is at the very, very tail-end of his career. Remember that last year Chandler led the league in offensive ratings and was fifth in rebounds at 11.5. He is only 33 ... Duncan is 39, Kareem was 41, Hakeem was 36 before he started to decline. I'm not saying Chandler is an elite scoring big but defensively we still see how Duncan helps the Spurs this year. The point is elite big men historically have longer careers because they know how to organize and play team defense and rebound and alter shots.

Olajuwon was thirty-four when he started to decline, really. By the time that he was thirty-five, he was virtually a shell of what he had been two years earlier.

Regardless, there are two important differences with Chandler. Firstly, whereas Olajuwon spent three years in college and Duncan and Abdul-Jabbar each spent four years at the collegiate level, Chandler entered the NBA directly from high school. Thus his age thirty-three carries more mileage than their ages thirty-three. Secondly, those guys possessed major offensive skill to fall back on as their athleticism declined. Chandler, conversely, has historically offered an offensive game of rolling to the rim and leaping to slam alley-oop passes. Once he can no longer function dynamically in that regard, he becomes virtually useless offensively.