If we don't sign really good FA PF, do you hope to re-sign Leuer, Telly, both or neither?

[bwgood77]

Lets say we don't get a great PF in FA. We all know that Len can play in a frontcourt with Chandler, but that probably isn't something to count on much, given particular matchups, small ball, the fact that both guys are injury prone, etc.

Would you rather us try to re-sign Leuer or Teletovic? Or both and just rotate them in and out?

[dremill24]

Give me Leuer. Teletovic is a nice little sniper but the fact that he's big enough to be a '4' is kinda negated by the fact that he doesn't guard big guys (or anyone) well, he doesn't rebound, and he can't punish smaller defenders on the block. I mean if we can't get any of the advantages of his size id rather sacrifice some of the pure shooting for a rangy 3 and D wing who can defend and/or handle a bit.

Leuer isn't as proficient a shooter, but is much more versatile in his offensive game. He can attack closeouts take advantage of a smaller defender better. Not as proficient a shooter but he can still knock them down enough to keep defenses honest. He seems to rebound better too. And when you combine all this with the fact that he's probably going to come much cheaper, he's my vote.

I mean ideally you have a PF who is better than both but I like him better for 10mins or so off the bench.

[RaisingArizona]

Neither, probably. I'd rather Telly but as the backup to whoever the starter is.

[bwgood77]

Neither, probably. I'd rather Telly but as the backup to whoever the starter is.

So if we can't bring in anyone better than those guys, you'd be good with Tucker starting at PF?

[saintEscaton]

We should bring Corey Jefferson back.

[blacksun]

Im a huge Telly fanboy, and not even in a basketball standpoint. He's such an entertaining player to watch.

[Jsun947]

How much do you think Leuer will get paid in free agency?

[bwgood77]

How much do you think Leuer will get paid in free agency?

It's hard to estimate with the new cap. I'd say $5 million a year.

[Sunsss]

No mention of Humphries? I think he's gonna get some playing time if he's healthy and has a chance to stay if we don't draft/sign a PF.

[AtheJ415]

Leuer should easily be the priority. Age matters. Tele would truly depend on the price. If it was an absolute bargain I'd do it, but he really has no place on a team so young and that likely isn't competitive for another couple years at the least.

[Christine-In-AZ]

I picked the option "Both", but only because I'm not sure which one fits the Suns going forward. Like Telly. Like Leuer.

I have to believe with all the coming draft picks, a plus value asset PJ, Bogdan's rights, Archie showing some real promise, McDonough has a good chance to obtain a PF via trade if there's not one for the Suns in FA season.The choice between Teletovic or Leuer would be tied to such a trade/FA target.

I copped out

[AtheJ415]

I'd like us to pay Terrence Jones (down year, so market may not be what some expect) and bring Leuer back. That would also free up the draft so we don't have to take a PF with one of our top 2 picks.

[Saberestar]

I think Humphries. He is under contract with a TO next season at 4.6M or something like that.

[nevetsov]

Leuer for sure. He was balling to start the season before the injuries. Still youngish and doesn't seem like the type of guy to cry if he gets benched in favour of a better player.

I love Telly too, but sooner or later we'll have to choose one over the other.

[Damkac]

I would like to keep Leuer as the back up for Simmons

[MathiasPW]

Leuer to start,Telly as bench sniper. Hell no to Humphries.

[No-Man]

Leuer should be the back-up stretch C, with Len starting.
I'd draft two PFs if they are BPA

[saintEscaton]

Leuer should be the back-up stretch C, with Len starting.
I'd draft two PFs if they are BPA

Yeah double dipping is the right strategy

[NavLDO]

I picked "Both". Unless Len is considered the 'future' at PF, which leaves open the Center position (Chandler is not the long-term solution). The good thing with Len, is if he can prove to be an above average Center AND PF, that opens up options in FA and the Draft. But I'm banking on the fact that Len won't ever be considered our future starting PF, so in that case, why not sign both Leuer and Tele?

I think our best option is to look at our team as such (as an example, not gospel), with these players 'viewed' as our future at their given positions:

Bledsoe
Booker
Warren
Leuer
Len

Then, fill-in/prioritize the need at each position in FA ad the Draft. If these are our 'best', young players at these positions, then I would view our "Needs", based upon reverse order of talent at each position, roughly as PF, C, SF, PG, SG. So if we need a PF first and foremost, we look to 'upgrade' Leuer in FA, or via Trade in the summer. This prevents us from "reaching" during the draft by drafting for need vice BPA.

So, with that, we can attempt to target some players at PF via FA, and if that doesn't seem to work, then via trade, and then do our best not to include any of the other 4 position 'future starters'.

If McD takes this approach, then he can consider contract lengths, scheme fit, age, etc. to find the best 'upgrade' option at PF. And with that said, he should potentially target these players, and rank order them how ever he determines which is best. This list is not in MY rank order, just a list of guys that would be an upgrade to Leuer:

Griffin
Love
Horford
Cousins
Millsap
Ibaka
Faried
Porzingis
Parker
Randle
Portis
Noel
Gibson
Gordon

and so on...

Anyway, that's how I would approach it (roughly) if I were McD. It's not often, typically, to have as much flexibility as we'll have this summer in FA, so this is the summer I think McD needs to find at least one, but more likely, two position starter upgrades that are 28 or younger. And if, for example, we happen to trade for Love, let's say, and during the draft, we are fortunate to walkaway with Simmons, then great, we can groom him behind Love for a season, or decide to groom him as a SF instead, with Warren backing up both the 3 and 4, as needed.

So, assuming we won't be able to lure any talent via FA, we'll need to trade for it; and since we are in a rare position to be able to Max out at least one player, we need to take advantage of this, this offseason. We will, at a minimum, have the assets (Cap Room AND Assets [Current/Future picks]) to be able to trade for about any player we want, AND draft a top 5 pick.

So, correct me if I am wrong, but for tradable 'assets' (not counting any player from above list, or our Top 5 pick) we have:

Knight
Chandler
Tucker
Goodwin
Weems
Price
(Humphries or Blair)
Rights to Bogdanovic
2016 - 16ish pick
2016 - 28ish pick
2017 - Late Lotto-to-Early 20s Suns pick (yeah, I'm optimistic, if we play our cards right)
2018 - Suns pick
2018 - Heat Top 7-Protected pick
2019 - Suns pick
2020 - Suns pick
2021 - Suns pick
2021 - Heat Unprotected pick

I think some mixture of those assets could net us any Non-Top 15 NBA player, IMO. Then add in our Top 5 pick and we are looking at one of Simmons/Ingram/Bender/Brown/Dunn:

Bledsoe (Possibly: Dunn)
Booker
Warren / (One of: Simmons/Ingram/Brown)
"PF-Upgrade" / Leuer / (One of: Simmons/Bender)
Len

To me, that's not a bad turn around from this past season and I think that might be good enough to get us into the 8th seed next year, after filling in the players not traded away.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

There's a big difference between Leuer and Teletovic. I voted Telly because he's so much more dangerous both as a shooter and in the post. I also like his toughness. But Leuer, while shooting a solid percentage from 3, needs time and space to get that shot off. Telly has deep range and a super-quick release, and for that reason, defenses need to stick close at all times.

Sign Leuer for $4 mil per, and no one's gonna be calling you trying to get that contract in two years, because he's nothing special. Telly, OTOH, getting $8 mil per, could be highly coveted a year or two down the line if he's not critical to our attack, which he may be. He's just on another level.