What's Your Ideal, Realistic Offseason, vol. 3: Rosterbation

[darealjuice]

I've posted this over the last 2 years to get an overall gage on the direction we want to see the team go, and figured I'd post it a little earlier to ride the wave of the getting the #1 pick. Last year most people wanted Jackson/Tatum/Isaac or Ball at #4, some wanted to trade Bledsoe (albeit for a likely better return), and hope for a Knight trade died when he tore his ACL the next month. For the most part our expectations were similar to what happened though.

I think this year's offseason should be more interesting. Dudley/McDonough said toward the end of the season that they expect a different roster with more contributing veterans, Devin Booker and Josh Jackson have said they want to compete for a playoff spot next year, we have a controversial #1 pick to be made, and we have multiple draft picks to draft with/trade.

The offseason has started off pretty well for the forum's hopes with the Suns hiring Kokoskov and landing the #1 pick. Is Booker signing that max extension on July 1st? Who's your #1 pick? What are you doing with #16, #31, and any other Suns draft capital? Are our future draft picks in play for trades? Who are your trade trade targets, and what do we have to give up for them? What free agents would you chase? What does our roster look like going into training camp/pre-season?

[jcsunsfan]

Lets see. We win the lottery and get the #1 pick. Start with that.

[DirtyDez]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

[bwgood77]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

If you're MEM, do you go Jackson or Young at 4?

I could see MEM being down for a Conley-for-expirings plus Chriss and a future first, if they go Young. If they go Jackson, we may not have the right assets to make a good deal.

[Villalobos]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

If you're MEM, do you go Jackson or Young at 4?

I could see MEM being down for a Conley-for-expirings plus Chriss and a future first, if they go Young. If they go Jackson, we may not have the right assets to make a good deal.

good chance JJJr ends up a center in today's NBA. Chriss + Miami pick or Miami + Bucks picks is good value. They will lose their 1st rounder in the next year or two so they could really use some picks.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

If you're MEM, do you go Jackson or Young at 4?

I could see MEM being down for a Conley-for-expirings plus Chriss and a future first, if they go Young. If they go Jackson, we may not have the right assets to make a good deal.

good chance JJJr ends up a center in today's NBA. Chriss + Miami pick or Miami + Bucks picks is good value. They will lose their 1st rounder in the next year or two so they could really use some picks.

I'm just not willing to throw two picks at MEM for Conley, considering his contract and recent injury history.

[Waylay13]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

why when we have stated that we are focusing on players under 28, would we suddenly throw that to the wind by bring in a 30 year old player who has a injury history and not be in the NBA in another 3 or 4 years due to that history?

[bwgood77]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

why when we have stated that we are focusing on players under 28, would we suddenly throw that to the wind by bring in a 30 year old player who has a injury history and not be in the NBA in another 3 or 4 years due to that history?

I don't think we will. I wouldn't really trade a ton for him. I just like him. I don't think Memphis would want to trade him either. I just think if we are going to use all the cap space this summer anyway and not have any for a while, I think he'd fill a big hole and only has a couple years left on contract plus a player option I think. I'd prefer him than giving a max to Gordon or Parker or something like that. Good vet, solid defense and shooting. Plays hard and I think it's kind of contagious.

[LukasBMW]

PG: TRADE/Payton/Ulis
SG: Booker/Daniels
SF: JJ/TJ
PF FA or TRADE /
C Ayton/ Sauce

-Booker/JJ/Ayton is the core

-TJ and Bender or Chriss are bookends.

-Ulis and Sauce are cheap

Trade assets:
-Chandler (expiring)
-Dudley (expiring)
-#16 pick
-Bucks pick
-Unprotected Miami pick
-Our own future picks
-One of Bender/Chriss

Can we use the above assets and our cap space to get two "all star" caliber players at the PG and PF positions?

If so, that is the way to go.

I'd try to sell PG hard at coming here and maybe make a "godfather" offer for Lillard or a "bargain" offer for Kemba. Kevlin Love could also be an option.

[Desertfox]

Convince Davic that quantity > quality. Take both Ayton and Doncic. Sign Gordon. Convince Dragic he is the next Ginobili, trade Knight for Dragic, resign Len to team friendly deal.

Or

Draft Ayton, trade up for Mikal Bridges, trade for young PG (TJ Mcconell/Rozier/Dinwiddle) sign Gordon, resign Len to team friendly deal

[collidingNeurons]

Pick Ayton,keep the team intact as much as possible, sans a couple of the lesser picks possibly, add a couple vets.. like Marcus Smart, Ed Davis, Favors or Dedmon

[Walt_Uoob]

My stick-with-the-youth-movement idea is posted in the offseason thread and pasted here:

Spoiler:

I like these ideas of moving up in two steps via NYK and another team. My version:

Step 1: Chandler/Daniels/#16/#31 for Noah/#9. This keeps the money close to even in the first year while saving the Knicks the whole last year of Noah's $18m deal, opening up a ton of cap space for them in summer 2019. Since we're not saving them significant short-term cash, we might have to up the draft-pick offer, say by adding the MIL pick or a heavily protected first instead of #31. It's helpful for us to include Daniels so we can still open up cap space for...

Step 2: #9/Dudley/Williams/Reed for Parsons/#4. This would be my starting point for step 2 but if we have to give up Warren instead of Dudley, or add another future pick, I still probably do it. Grizzlies save a ton of money and only have to move back 5 spots, where they should still be able to get Mikal or Bamba or whoever else slides there.

We end up capped out the next two years but we could still open up max cap room to add a free agent to put us over the top the summer of 2020 when Knight/Parsons/Noah all expire, right when all our young talent is hopefully coalescing and we are a highly desirable team to join, which is also the summer we have to make our decisions to extend Bender and Chriss or not.

So for the next two years we could have a core of Doncic/Booker/Jackson/Bender/JJJ (or Bamba or Carter, depending on your preference), or Young/Booker/Jackson/Bender/Ayton, with Knight and hopefully Warren still on the team too. We'd be young and would not make the playoffs next year, but would be exciting and would have the league's attention, and I think we'd be able to keep most of our future draft assets to use or trade as well. Hopefully in 19/20 we make or almost make the playoffs just as we go into free agency with max cap space, then extend Bender and/or Chriss after bringing in our FA, and then really make some noise.

Maybe I should move this to the 'ideal offseason' thread.

My actually-push-for-immediate-improvement version is less ambitious:

--Draft Doncic (strong preference) or Ayton (fine).
--If Doncic, sign a big in FA. Would rather get Favors at $10m than Capela or DAJ at twice that, but not adamantly opposed to any of them (or Randle or Nurkic) at a good price.
--If Ayton, maybe sign or trade for a vet PG but might as well save our money and give Knight another chance as our starter, maybe along with a re-signed Payton. Open to trading for someone like Rozier but not really convinced either.
--Roll with that!

I think Doncic/Booker/Jackson/Bender/FA with Warren/Chriss/Knight is unlikely to crack the playoffs but should be a big improvement over this year and could surprise. Knight/Booker/Jackson/Bender/Ayton with Warren/Chriss/etc. is even less likely to make the playoffs but keeps our cap sheet cleaner.

[Barkley6]

Draft Ayton.

Sign Aaron Gordon (possibly offer draft picks to sweeten the deal for a S&T)



Lineup:

Knight/Payton/Ulis
Booker/Daniels
Jackson/Warren
Gordon/Chriss
Ayton/Bender

Thats a young, talented and deep team that can grow together.

[dalton749]

I’m not sure how much cap space you guys can come up with but based on the realistic options my Strategy would be to make Boston decide between rozier and smart. Basically go to them and say either you trade us rozier for a package based around 16, bender and something else, or we offer smart 12-14 mil per year and put him out of their realistic range.

Im then looking at a competitive offer for Julius randle as early into free agency as possible to make lakers have to make a quick decision while they’re trying to lure in a star player. 16 mil per year ish would probably make it hard on them.

If that fails I look at Thad young as a vet leader in the line up. Basically just trying to put some gritty guys at the 1 and 4 beside the core of booker Jackson ayton.

Rozier or smart
Booker
Jackson
Randle or young
Ayton

From there I’m using everything else to fill in some vet role players that fit better. Nothing is off the table, this team is trying to win from day one with ayton, no more bottom dwelling.

[bondom34]

I'm gonna keep posting it til it comes true, Doncic and Capela.

[BobbieL]

Doncic today is preferable but if the pick is Ayton - don't mind it

Free agency
if the pick is Doncic - I like FAvors

if the pick is Ayton - see what Danny wants for Rozier and if not, get Marcus Smart. He just is one tough dude and sometimes - need tough dudes.

Depending on how much is left over - I am still seeing if I can maximize the 27m of Daniels, Chandler and Dudley in a better way even if that means a draft pick or two.

Dougie McDermott on the cheap; maybe Belinelli or Ilyasova - need a shooter
and even though he has been bad against GSW - I still see value in a guy like Luc Mbah a Moute

I know its a long list but when 21-61 - the list is long

[JDJ26]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

I like Conley but his contract is a problem. Especially once the Suns give Booker the max.

[JDJ26]

I'm gonna keep posting it til it comes true, Doncic and Capela.

I can't see the Rockets letting Capela go. They will match every offer.

[bwgood77]

Ayton and Conley. The Suns still need a floor general with a complete game. Conley is expensive and injury prone but I like the fit.

I think Conley would be perfect to get if we draft Ayton.

I like Conley but his contract is a problem. Especially once the Suns give Booker the max.

If we assume we won't have cap space in the foreseeable future because of who we add this summer anyway, that's why I wouldn't mind the contract. Just because someone is cheaper, if we will be out of cap space anyway, how much we go over wouldn't concern me much. I'd rather take on an overpaid solid player than a fairly paid average player.

But I don't think Memphis will move him. Apparently they want to try and get back into the playoffs and are not ready to rebuild, especially since they may not have their draft pick next year.