RealGM

Figured we need a new thread with a little over two weeks left before the trade deadline.

(The thread title is based off PG's that have been talked about on here, not necessarily who is readily available).


Newest guys on the roster:








Link to last thread.
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1779470&p=72020665#p72020665

Grizzlies are absolute trash and may actually be worse than us. Their HC JB Bickerstaff is a complete idiot that has been awful pretty much everywhere he’s been.

Can’t think of a better time to “buy low” on Conley. Could most likely dump the Ryan Anderson contract in most scenarios as well as it’s not like the Grizzlies will be needing the cap space when they seem headed for a complete rebuild.

Revived wrote:Grizzlies are absolute trash and may actually be worse than us. Their HC JB Bickerstaff is a complete idiot that has been awful pretty much everywhere he’s been.

Can’t think of a better time to “buy low” on Conley. Could most likely dump the Ryan Anderson contract in most scenarios as well as it’s not like the Grizzlies will be needing the cap space when they seem headed for a complete rebuild.

Top 5 protected
Anderson
Bender
Daniels
Suns 2nd round pick

Revived wrote:Grizzlies are absolute trash and may actually be worse than us. Their HC JB Bickerstaff is a complete idiot that has been awful pretty much everywhere he’s been.

Can’t think of a better time to “buy low” on Conley. Could most likely dump the Ryan Anderson contract in most scenarios as well as it’s not like the Grizzlies will be needing the cap space when they seem headed for a complete rebuild.

I would love to get Conley, but not sure about his price.

Hopefully James Jones/Sarver are working the phones because Conley is better than any FA PG in the market next summer (Not counting Kyrie and Kemba who wouldn't sign with us).

trade deadline is already here, time is flying

Saberestar wrote:

Revived wrote:Grizzlies are absolute trash and may actually be worse than us. Their HC JB Bickerstaff is a complete idiot that has been awful pretty much everywhere he’s been.

Can’t think of a better time to “buy low” on Conley. Could most likely dump the Ryan Anderson contract in most scenarios as well as it’s not like the Grizzlies will be needing the cap space when they seem headed for a complete rebuild.

I would love to get Conley, but not sure about his price.

Hopefully James Jones/Sarver are working the phones because Conley is better than any FA PG in the market next summer (Not counting Kyrie and Kemba who wouldn't sign with us).

The call should be made. Warren, Okobo Melton, Jackson, Anderson, Daniels, Bender (not all what combo with Anderson) and draft pick like the 2019 1st with protections. Bucks pick for sure. 2nd round pick - for sure. Outside of the top 2 plays - Zion and whomever moves up - Conley for two years is probably more of what this team needs. I get its a top 2 pick but look at Kyrie IRving or Josh Jackson. I also understand Kyrie is much younger. But dammit - tired of losing. Need to start winning games

bigfoot wrote:

Read on Twitter

Really showcasing Bender hard it seems. Would have been nice to actually just play him from the start of the season. Seems to me, the minutes Igor thought Anderson should have gotten should have at least been distributed to Bender early on. See what he could do with Ayton and Booker at the very least.
Anyway that’s my take on Ayton and Holmes being out

Qwigglez wrote:

bigfoot wrote:

Read on Twitter

Really showcasing Bender hard it seems. Would have been nice to actually just play him from the start of the season. Seems to me, the minutes Igor thought Anderson should have gotten should have at least been distributed to Bender early on. See what he could do with Ayton and Booker at the very least.
Anyway that’s my take on Ayton and Holmes being out

Yeah I think the thought of Igor bring a good coach has quietly died down around here, and I have a feeling nobody will be copping to this whole "offensive genius" routine I was hearing very soon.

I'd like to get at least a competent pg, something halfway decent, even if just a stop gap for the season. I'd just like to get the proper players playing in the best lineup available. We really haven't had much of that all year, especially with the starters.

As far as starters, I would keep Melton and Booker, start Jackson, Warren and Ayton. I know its not popular but my reasons are (multiple), it reduces the usage on Josh potentially, I like him especially if he shoots less, and with Book and Warren that happens naturally all while he is best at setting up Ayton, so again naturally he shoots less. Makes Oubre more of a focal point in the second unit as a go to scorer (again limits Josh coming in and gunning), and maybe we run the offense more through Kelly while Mikal is still his non aggressive complimentary self playing great defense but complimentary to Kelly instead of Book, Warren, and Ayton, maybe making him actually be more aggressive in shooting and driving instead of deferring to all three to start the game and just falling into the routine of not being aggressive. Bring in both a strong scorer in Kelly and strong defender in Bridges off the bench helps more to CHANGE the flow of a game if things are going wrong than bringing in two people who are both gunning in both Josh and Kelly. Just my science experiment, no way of knowing what if anything would actually help.

hollywood6964 wrote:

Qwigglez wrote:

bigfoot wrote:

Read on Twitter

Really showcasing Bender hard it seems. Would have been nice to actually just play him from the start of the season. Seems to me, the minutes Igor thought Anderson should have gotten should have at least been distributed to Bender early on. See what he could do with Ayton and Booker at the very least.
Anyway that’s my take on Ayton and Holmes being out

Yeah I think the thought of Igor bring a good coach has quietly died down around here, and I have a feeling nobody will be copping to this whole "offensive genius" routine I was hearing very soon.

I'd like to get at least a competent pg, something halfway decent, even if just a stop gap for the season. I'd just like to get the proper players playing in the best lineup available. We really haven't had much of that all year, especially with the starters.

I think Igor is an excellent coach and was the right hire. He needs better talent but I just think he has said the right things, holding players accountable, no excuses, and is honest about how they play and what not

The team does need a PG - getting Conley now - I know probably a long shot - would help players learn to play better basketball.
This team cannot finish games and I think it would help with a better PG to get them into their offense at critical moments and not just Booker dribbling and making a bad decision or taking a bad shot.

BobbieL wrote:

hollywood6964 wrote:

Qwigglez wrote:Really showcasing Bender hard it seems. Would have been nice to actually just play him from the start of the season. Seems to me, the minutes Igor thought Anderson should have gotten should have at least been distributed to Bender early on. See what he could do with Ayton and Booker at the very least.
Anyway that’s my take on Ayton and Holmes being out

Yeah I think the thought of Igor bring a good coach has quietly died down around here, and I have a feeling nobody will be copping to this whole "offensive genius" routine I was hearing very soon.

I'd like to get at least a competent pg, something halfway decent, even if just a stop gap for the season. I'd just like to get the proper players playing in the best lineup available. We really haven't had much of that all year, especially with the starters.

I think Igor is an excellent coach and was the right hire. He needs better talent but I just think he has said the right things, holding players accountable, no excuses, and is honest about how they play and what not

The team does need a PG - getting Conley now - I know probably a long shot - would help players learn to play better basketball.
This team cannot finish games and I think it would help with a better PG to get them into their offense at critical moments and not just Booker dribbling and making a bad decision or taking a bad shot.

Better players, obviously means winning more games. But from what I've seen this season, I'd give igor a D.

His rotations are bad,
His starting lineup is bad, and refuses to change it after 20 point deficits after 1 on a seemingly nightly basis.
He didn't give minutes to jackson for a while and none to bender (I've been saying Bender should at least be getting 10 a night since nov)
He never takes up for his players on the court n get on the refs, get a tech, nothing. Young teams need that, not do it themselves.
Has Booker come back from injury to early
Has Booker play iso down the stretch for 2 months before finally just starting to pull that plug, and even then he's still allowing it.

I could go on n on. The mark of a good coach is adjustments in a reasonable time frame, and he seems incapable. I'm not trying to get on you, but I don't know how you've assessed that he's an "excellent coach". I think that moniker is only reserved for top flight coaches, which I can't possibly agree with him being in that conversation. Even "good" would be an extreme compliment.

Memphis is in a tough spot. I think their preference would be to try to win some more and have their pick fall outside the top 8 so it conveys to Boston this year and gets that monkey off their back so they can then look to rebuild without the possibility of losing a better pick in a better draft. BUT if they lose more over the next couple of weeks the hope of doing that will start to really fade and at that point they might have to change course and look to move both Conley and Gasol now and try to move up in this draft. Gasol might be kind of tricky to move with his high cap number and the possibility that he opts in next year. There's just not a big market for C's and some of the teams like the Lakers who could potentially use him will be scared away because they can't afford their cap space eaten up next summer.

Now Conley is a different story, his cap number is high but I think they would have multiple teams interested including potentially the Suns. Now I'm curious what type of deal Memphis looks for. Do they target picks? Maybe but that's a little dangerous since that probably means completely bottoming out and giving up a really good pick to Boston in 2020 or 2021 (when it's completely unprotected). Or do they look for young but further along pieces in hope of a quicker turn around? I would guess they call Denver to see if they could snag someone like Harris or Orlando and see if they could get Gordon. They suns for a protected 1st makes some sense too but again that's where it gets dangerous from a rebuild standpoint.


Side note: I've seen Holiday mentioned I just don't think NO blows it up this deadline. And actually for the Suns this summer would be a better time to deal for Holiday anyway since they would know where their pick is landing and also they wouldn't have to include Anderson in the deal and could use cap space instead to absorb a part of his contract so that gives them more options in that trade.

Trading our pick for 32 year old post-Achilles surgery Mike Conley making $30M+ would most likely cause me to have a brain aneurysm. I liked his game, but he solves our problem for a year or two before he's another member of the Suns City elderly care center.

Memphis is at an impasse. There's no climbing back up this season from where they are, especially with injuries and the potential for Gasol/Conley to be gone. A last playoff run was in their best interests because they'd be able to end their era on a positive note and give Boston a mid-lottery pick, but it's looking more like a rebuild is coming to Memphis and Boston will likely get another high lottery pick in 2020 or 2021. It'll be interesting to see if they make a last push after the deadline or accept their fate and start collecting draft picks.

darealjuice wrote:Trading our pick for 32 year old post-Achilles surgery Mike Conley making $30M+ would most likely cause me to have a brain aneurysm. I liked his game, but he solves our problem for a year or two before he's another member of the Suns City elderly care center.

Memphis is at an impasse. There's no climbing back up this season from where they are, especially with injuries and the potential for Gasol/Conley to be gone. A last playoff run was in their best interests because they'd be able to end their era on a positive note and give Boston a mid-lottery pick, but it's looking more like a rebuild is coming to Memphis and Boston will likely get another high lottery pick in 2020 or 2021. It'll be interesting to see if they make a last push after the deadline or accept their fate and start collecting draft picks.

Yeah I'm with you on being very leery of trading next years pick for Conley. As a Jayhawks guy you probably like Jackson more than me but if it was something like Anderson, Jackson and the bucks pick I'd have to seriously consider it.

Memphis is really in a tough spot with that pick owed and being a small market where I don't really see them rebuilding through FA. I mentioned this last week but I actually think they are a team that should consider rolling the dice on a Wall trade.

hollywood6964 wrote:

BobbieL wrote:

hollywood6964 wrote:Yeah I think the thought of Igor bring a good coach has quietly died down around here, and I have a feeling nobody will be copping to this whole "offensive genius" routine I was hearing very soon.

I'd like to get at least a competent pg, something halfway decent, even if just a stop gap for the season. I'd just like to get the proper players playing in the best lineup available. We really haven't had much of that all year, especially with the starters.

I think Igor is an excellent coach and was the right hire. He needs better talent but I just think he has said the right things, holding players accountable, no excuses, and is honest about how they play and what not

The team does need a PG - getting Conley now - I know probably a long shot - would help players learn to play better basketball.
This team cannot finish games and I think it would help with a better PG to get them into their offense at critical moments and not just Booker dribbling and making a bad decision or taking a bad shot.

Better players, obviously means winning more games. But from what I've seen this season, I'd give igor a D.

His rotations are bad,
His starting lineup is bad, and refuses to change it after 20 point deficits after 1 on a seemingly nightly basis.
He didn't give minutes to jackson for a while and none to bender (I've been saying Bender should at least be getting 10 a night since nov)
He never takes up for his players on the court n get on the refs, get a tech, nothing. Young teams need that, not do it themselves.
Has Booker come back from injury to early
Has Booker play iso down the stretch for 2 months before finally just starting to pull that plug, and even then he's still allowing it.

I could go on n on. The mark of a good coach is adjustments in a reasonable time frame, and he seems incapable. I'm not trying to get on you, but I don't know how you've assessed that he's an "excellent coach". I think that moniker is only reserved for top flight coaches, which I can't possibly agree with him being in that conversation. Even "good" would be an extreme compliment.

Maybe I am giving him a better grade as comparing to the previous guys. Triano was decent. the others not so much

I agree Bender should have gotten more minutes and yes Booker and the hero ball.

Maybe excellent was the wrong word but I do think he will be a lot like Brett Brown. Over the course of time, as the team improves - he will be part of the reason

The tech thing - thats BS to me. I think its good he is making the players learn the hard lessons. As the team gets better, he can than work the officials and all that stuff.

WeekapaugGroove wrote:

darealjuice wrote:Trading our pick for 32 year old post-Achilles surgery Mike Conley making $30M+ would most likely cause me to have a brain aneurysm. I liked his game, but he solves our problem for a year or two before he's another member of the Suns City elderly care center.

Memphis is at an impasse. There's no climbing back up this season from where they are, especially with injuries and the potential for Gasol/Conley to be gone. A last playoff run was in their best interests because they'd be able to end their era on a positive note and give Boston a mid-lottery pick, but it's looking more like a rebuild is coming to Memphis and Boston will likely get another high lottery pick in 2020 or 2021. It'll be interesting to see if they make a last push after the deadline or accept their fate and start collecting draft picks.

Yeah I'm with you on being very leery of trading next years pick for Conley. As a Jayhawks guy you probably like Jackson more than me but if it was something like Anderson, Jackson and the bucks pick I'd have to seriously consider it.

Memphis is really in a tough spot with that pick owed and being a small market where I don't really see them rebuilding through FA. I mentioned this last week but I actually think they are a team that should consider rolling the dice on a Wall trade.

Maybe putting the draft pick out there with limited protection for Conley is risky based on his age and injury history. That being said, the Suns are probably going to have to do something - whether its being aggressive in FA (e.g overspending for a guy) or trading and taking a flier on like Rozier. They are not in a position where Free Agents - unless over paid (hello Ariza and Chandler) will want to come play

I honestly do not see a reason for another damn rookie on this roster. Williamson is one thing. Another 19 year project who needs to still grow, put on weight and learn to shoot is another player. Suns have those already.

The Bucks pick
Warren
Jackson
Okobo
Melton
The Suns 2019 Second rounder
The Suns 2019 1st with limited protection

For me - any combo of the above for the right player at the 1 or 4 is workable for me.

Was on board with Conley before the season but as others have alluded to he’s 31 with reoccurring achilles issues. Even if you steal him his salary eliminates acquiring a better PG for 2+ years should the situation present itself. Go all in for Jrue this summer. AD will have resfused an extension by then and probably be dealt to Boston/LA. I’d take him over anyone not named Zion (still not completely sold on Ja).

DirtyDez wrote:Was on board with Conley before the season but as others have alluded to he’s 31 with reoccurring achilles issues. Even if you steal him his salary eliminates acquiring a better PG for 2+ years should the situation present itself. Go all in for Jrue this summer. AD will have resfused an extension by then and probably be dealt to Boston/LA. I’d take him over anyone not named Zion (still not completely sold on Ja).

For Jrue I would give up the 2019 first rounder (protected to 1) and probably take back Solomon Hill (maybe)

WeekapaugGroove wrote:Yeah I'm with you on being very leery of trading next years pick for Conley. As a Jayhawks guy you probably like Jackson more than me but if it was something like Anderson, Jackson and the bucks pick I'd have to seriously consider it.

Memphis is really in a tough spot with that pick owed and being a small market where I don't really see them rebuilding through FA. I mentioned this last week but I actually think they are a team that should consider rolling the dice on a Wall trade.

I think I'd consider it too, but I also think Jackson's going to be fine. It takes time to correct a jump shot and we're seeing some progress in his form. He has a solid package of skill, athleticism, and competitiveness/aggression/confidence to build his game around, but he has some holes to fill. He needs to spend this offseason locked in a basketball court/gym/high-protein buffet combo with a dedicated staff to get his problems ironed out though lol. Offense gets a lot easier when players actually guard you at the 3-point line and you have the weight/strength to not get knocked off your path on drives.

I'd definitely have him on the block if it was getting us a legit long-term point guard though.