2022-23 Season Discussion and Speculation 5 - The KD era begins

Crives · Post #1141 » by **Crives** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:04 am

Good news!

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Ghost of Kleine · Post #1142 » by **Ghost of Kleine** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:05 am

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grumpysaddle · Post #1143 » by **grumpysaddle** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:09 am

Grab Will Barton and Reggie Jackson using the taxpayer's MLE split in half and call it a day. Maybe grab another PF if one becomes available and cut the appropriate players. (Sorry Ish and Saben, you guys are great, but yeahhhhhhh...)

Ghost of Kleine · Post #1144 » by **Ghost of Kleine** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:10 am

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Ghost of Kleine · Post #1145 » by **Ghost of Kleine** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:10 am

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Ghost of Kleine · Post #1146 » by **Ghost of Kleine** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:11 am

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BobbieL · Post #1147 » by **BobbieL** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:11 am

grumpysaddle wrote:Grab Will Barton and Reggie Jackson using the taxpayer's MLE split in half and call it a day. Maybe grab another PF if one becomes available and cut the appropriate players. (Sorry Ish and Saben, you guys are great, but yeahhhhhhh...)

Good thing about Ish and Lee - they are on two ways so the Suns can keep them but not play them

matt131 · Post #1148 » by **matt131** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:13 am

I can't wait until we can actually see all these guys on the floor. Being able to have one of Booker or KD on the floor at ALL TIMES is going to be amazing for our offense. I know we said that about Paul and Booker the past two years, but we now have Booker and someone better than Booker able to run the offense for the entire game. I get that depth is important, don't get me wrong. But the combinations are endless when you have Paul/Book/KD who can all run the offense with almost any other combination of guys out there.

BobbieL · Post #1149 » by **BobbieL** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:25 am

matt131 wrote:I can't wait until we can actually see all these guys on the floor. Being able to have one of Booker or KD on the floor at ALL TIMES is going to be amazing for our offense. I know we said that about Paul and Booker the past two years, but we now have Booker and someone better than Booker able to run the offense for the entire game. I get that depth is important, don't get me wrong. But the combinations are endless when you have Paul/Book/KD who can all run the offense with almost any other combination of guys out there.

Barkley on TNT talking about depth. Same depth as before. Granted they need Payne or Landry back - would be nice.
Warren might be the buckets guy they need
Craig will be your starter - has played well

Chris Haynes said again Reggie Jackson and the suns might have interest

Fo-Real · Post #1150 » by **Fo-Real** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:26 am

A no brainer yes to Reggie Jackson!!

BurningHeart · Post #1151 » by **BurningHeart** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:27 am

Qwigglez wrote:
Saberestar wrote:
BurningHeart wrote:Someone refresh my memory, did Vince Carter's time here end tumultuously? Or he had bad words to say about us or something? I can't remember.

Anyway, bro said he was the only one in the ESPN (who watches those losers still) panel that picked us to win. Found it interesting because I thought about his departure but I could be confusing him for someone else

IIRC Carter didn't have any problem with the Suns.

Yeah I don't recall. I just remember him not giving any effort in the triple OT loss to the Lakers. That game got me mad.

Yeah maybe I'm trippin'.... it's been a while.

Ghost of Kleine · Post #1152 » by **Ghost of Kleine** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:28 am

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grumpysaddle · Post #1153 » by **grumpysaddle** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:30 am

BurningHeart wrote:
Qwigglez wrote:
Saberestar wrote:IIRC Carter didn't have any problem with the Suns.

Yeah I don't recall. I just remember him not giving any effort in the triple OT loss to the Lakers. That game got me mad.

Yeah maybe I'm trippin'.... it's been a while.

VC was just **** way old. Way way way past being super useful. I think he found a bit of youth the season after on another team IIRC for a handful of games anyway and people got mad because he looked better elsewhere, but he was still toast at that point.

Post #1154 » by **lilfishi22** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:32 am

In the middle of the Timeline Pod and they mentioned DA needing to be locked in more than ever because the defense will fall on him more without Mikal on the perimeter. He's going to have to be that guy who showed up in the 2021 playoffs that's just locked in, does what's necessary and just playing winning basketball. With CP3/Booker/KD on the team, there's no crying or whinging about touches this and touches that. Know your role because you're getting $30m+ and play it well and you'll be seen as one of the big contributors to a title winning team.

Post #1155 » by **Qwigglez** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:36 am

BurningHeart wrote:
Qwigglez wrote:
Saberestar wrote:IIRC Carter didn't have any problem with the Suns.

Yeah I don't recall. I just remember him not giving any effort in the triple OT loss to the Lakers. That game got me mad.

Yeah maybe I'm trippin'.... it's been a while.

He pissed me off after this game...

Watch on YouTube

;feature=youtu.be
And I was excited to bring him on.

sunskerr · Post #1156 » by **sunskerr** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:37 am

We should be like a vacuum cleaner on these bought out players in their early 30s. A lot of them are still rotation level players. Might be 8th/9th/10th rotation guys but that doesnt matter with KD. Just need live bodies who can hold the fort down while Book and KD rest. Just have to be better than the shamets and sarics of the roster.

lonea · Post #1157 » by **lonea** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:40 am

lilfishi22 wrote:
matt131 wrote:according to windhorst:
"There were tears this morning when [the Suns] got together this morning in the hotel. They canceled their morning walkthrough and got together and had a good cry. Nobody was ready for this."

God damn you Ishbia. Damn you!!!!

Clearly tears of joy :lol:

sunsfan1o1 · Post #1158 » by **sunsfan1o1** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:41 am

lonea wrote:
lilfishi22 wrote:
matt131 wrote:according to windhorst:
"There were tears this morning when [the Suns] got together this morning in the hotel. They canceled their morning walkthrough and got together and had a good cry. Nobody was ready for this."

God damn you Ishbia. Damn you!!!!

Clearly tears of joy

Let me guess. Monty Williams was crying and nobody else

Post #1159 » by **lilfishi22** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:45 am

Did a quick survey looking at how different sites graded the KD trade and the lowest grade I've seen given to the Suns was A- except for one from Foxsports which was the only one that reversed the grade and gave the Suns a C- and gave the Nets an A+. I've seen mostly C's for Nets. I think in general, this was a very good trade for the Suns.

Commentary on Suns

So why not an "A" or an "A+?" Well, this team is hardly flawless, and the Suns don't have much leftover draft capital or young talent to use for another upgrade. Who's the fifth best Sun right now? Torrey Craig? Landry Shamet? Phoenix just lost its best defensive player in Bridges. Craig can take that assignment, and Durant is a strong team defender, but the Suns took an undeniable step back on that end of the floor. The Suns rank 24th in paint points and 29th in fast-break points. Durant doesn't get to the rim too often and while he's a strong transition player when he wants to be, he's not known for pushing the pace at this stage of his career. This is very much a jump-shooting team. Sometimes the jump shots don't fall. The Suns no longer have elite defense or depth to fall back on. These are not the 2017 Warriors. This roster is imperfect.

But every roster is imperfect this season. Less than two years ago we watched Durant come an inch or two away from beating the same Bucks team that ended Phoenix's title hopes with a one-legged James Harden and no Kyrie Irving by his side. He doesn't need much, and he still has an All-NBA sidekick, a Hall of Fame point guard and a max contract center to work with. Don't overthink this. The Suns are going to be awesome.

This is a win-now move in a wide-open Western Conference, and it’s a home run. Phoenix almost certainly becomes the favorite in the West, with an improving Chris Paul, an All-Star level Devin Booker and Durant forming a formidable trio. Those are three of the deadliest halfcourt scorers in the NBA, and they will be hellish to defeat in a playoff series. And after years of the postseason burden seemingly catching up to Paul, he now has two ultra-elite perimeter scorers to make his life much easier.

Adding one of the league's best scorers to a core of Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton immediately puts them back in the conversation of the Western Conference's elite teams. (It also means Phoenix fans will be seeing even more midrange jumpers.)

From a financial perspective, this trade is a win for the Suns, who not only raise their championship ceiling with Durant, but also move on from the disgruntled Crowder. They no longer have to worry about paying Johnson, who will become a restricted free agent this summer.

Sure, they lose depth and two young players who fit perfectly in their system, but... it's Kevin Durant!

The Phoenix Suns are the clear cut winners of this trade. A dwindling championship window has now been creaked wide open with the acquisition of Kevin Durant. Durant, one of the best players in league history, is going to provide all-time level scoring and shooting, high level creation and connective passing which alongside Devin Booker and Chris Paul can elevate the Suns offense to historic heights as the big three will now face more single coverage when guarded than they had prior to the trade. There are always concerns when trading an obscene amount of unprotected first round draft capital, particularly for a relatively injury prone and older player like Kevin Durant.

There’s also concerns with how none of the Suns’ offensive stars generate rim pressure at an elite level and how their defense might regress heavily with the losses of Bridges and Johnson. However, the all-time shotmaking prowess combined with the offensive dominance can overcome the deficiencies on defense. Durant is also under contract until the summer of 2026, which makes the price tag it took to acquire his services all the more worth it.

The Suns have two superstars in Durant and Booker, one aging Hall of Fame point guard in Chris Paul, and a talented if sometimes underwhelming young center in Deandre Ayton. What does the rest of this team look like? Well, there’s Dario Saric in the front court, Damion Lee in the backcourt, and Torrey Craig to defend big wings. Landry Shamet’s shooting becomes critical now on the wing but he’s been out lately with injury. Will the Suns swing another move to add to their depth?

It feels like Phoenix still has more work to do to optimize this roster around Durant and Booker, but what a pairing that should be. The Suns have never had a player of Durant’s caliber in franchise history. Surrendering that much draft compensation could be painful in the future, but who cares. The Suns have never won a championship before, and that is now their mission with KD and Booker. They should be applauded for pulling this off.

BurningHeart · Post #1160 » by **BurningHeart** » Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:53 am

Qwigglez wrote:
BurningHeart wrote:
Qwigglez wrote:
Yeah I don't recall. I just remember him not giving any effort in the triple OT loss to the Lakers. That game got me mad.

Yeah maybe I'm trippin'.... it's been a while.

He pissed me off after this game...

Watch on YouTube
;feature=youtu.be
And I was excited to bring him on.

****, I remember that.

What do you think our chances are of winning the West and the Championship if we win the West?