The Official 2024 Offseason Thread Part 2

[mkot]

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[Mulhollanddrive]

We really didn't need Roddy and Little in those deals.

That's $50m for Ishbia

[lilfishi22]

Klay has ultimate control though. Warriors had 3 options, resign him (they don't want to), let him walk for nothing or S&T him and get something back. They don't get to choose who he goes to and at most, they can veto a trade there but that'll just piss Klay off even more than he's already pissed off and they get nothing.

At the end of the day, they did right by a Warriors legend and despite the way things ended, I think Klay appreciated the Warriors for facilitating a trade to the team he wanted to go to

Good points man!
Amazing the total.package that they ended up getting back for him under those specific circumstances. That 2031 1st and the 25' pick could both be premium assets possibly too.

I don't think the 2031 is a FRP - I think it is Dallas second round pick

Aren't they both 2nds?

[sunsfan1o1]

Having Monte Morris is like not having a point guard but having one just to say we have one so the analysts stop saying we need one

[lilfishi22]

I'd try Goodwin again, I promise there's something there like Carter or Melton who we discarded

I really liked him but his lack of shooting really hurt his overall offense. His raw numbers on that garbage Memphis team looked decent but dig even just one layer down and it gets ugly

[thamadkant]

The team still looks defensively poor.

To be a contender you need both offense and defense. Beal needs to come off the bench, start Allen, then either Booker or Durant need to sacrifice shot volume and focus on defense to really balance it out.
Forget the misleading stats, but Nurkic is still a Drummond like center defensively, his defensive stats look less worse because his replacement player is even much worse than him.

Really need to trade Nurkic for someone who will fortify the paint and contest jump shooters.

Fans think Nurkic's passing makes up for his bad defense but the team doesn't benefit with him making plays, the system doesn't rely on his passing... and now with a PG, Suns need more defense from their center. Nurkic is unplayable in the playoffs when teams play small ball... heck he's unplayable against big athletic centers also.

[bigfoot]

Two remaining spots left to sign Covington and Theiss for added size, defensive versatility, and positional switchability, and to add more physicality and rugged play/depth for the postseason. Ishbia and Jones have done a very impressive job so far! Let's finish very strong!!!! sign these two players (Covington) for starting small forward and (Theiss) for backup Power Forward. Theiss is strong, athletic, mobile, and physical. He shot 36% from three AND has familiarity playing with Plumlee from his time with the paper clips.

Covington blows.

Maybe, but I really think he could be good in our lineup playing with our big three, and also not sure there are any better options remaining in free agency for the vet minimum man. I mean our options are obviously pretty severely limited. And under those conditions, and considering what's realistically available to us (outside of trades), Cington in a simplified type of PJ Tucker role could still be very solid if even on a 1 yr deal. We'v done a very good job so far. But at this point it'll mostly be about adding quality vet depth for our last two spots

I think the Suns should save those roster spots for younger guys. As as it stands right now, the roster has 10 players with 5+ seasons of experience. Covington and Theis as third stringers aren't as interesting as developing potential players from the summer league team, G-league team, two-way players, and our two rookies.

[Mulhollanddrive]

I wouldn't mind Jordan McLaughlin as 3rd string PG eat some minutes during regular season

-----

Beal, Booker, O'Neale, Durant, Nurkic
Morris, Allen, F*, Bol, Plumlee
PG*, Roddy, Dunn, Little, C*

Possibles - Lee, Okogie, Ighodaro

[dremill24]

Having Monte Morris is like not having a point guard but having one just to say we have one so the analysts stop saying we need one

Only if you're acting like Morris is some major solution to the real big picture problems.

Hes not swinging the big picture, but if healthy/effective, having a good backup PG for 10-20mins per game is better than not having one.

[lilfishi22]

Beal, Booker, O'Neale, Durant, Nurkic
Morris, Allen, Bol, Plumlee

Cautiously ok with it

vs last year

Beal, Booker, Okogie, Durant, Nurkic
Goodwin, Allen, Watanabe, Bates-Diop, Eubanks

FWIW outside of Eric Gordon, everyone we got this offseason is significantly more proven than the Yuta's, Metu's, Eubanks and KBD's. In my books, bringing Bol back might be the biggest move this free agency so far

[lilfishi22]

I'll take Monte Morris. He has an incredibly low turnovers per game stat while also yielding a decent number of assists, particularly in his 2021-22 season and 2022-23 season. His FG% was great too. This is definitely a low-risk high-reward type of play IMO.

PG: Beal / Morris / Gillespie
SG: Booker / Little / Bridges
SF: Allen / Royce / Roddy
PF: Durant / Bol / Dunn
C: Nurkic / Plumlee / Ighodaro

Does the above look correct so far?

Jalen Bridges is a 6-9 power forward, not a guard. But don't matter both he and Gillespie won't be playing much. Will spend a lot of time in the new Suns G league. Wouldn't put them on the depth chart this early.

That said, terrible roster. I was really hoping the dismantle that Beal/Book backcourt. Either bench or trade but fully understand the latter can't happen.

At the moment, I'd speculate the depth chart as follows:

G - Beal Morris SIGN*
G - Booker Allen LEE*
F - O'Neal Dunn Little
F - Durant SIGN* Bol
C - Nurkic Plumlee Ighodaro

*SIGN yet another point guard. Third string veteran such as Pat Bev

*LEE bring back Damion as your third string shooting guard

*SIGN another power forward such as Covington. You'll need to waive Roddy in order to make this work since no more room in roster but doubt that will be an issue. You need length.

Pretty sure Jalen Bridges is a 3&D wing

[Mulhollanddrive]

Is Ighodaro guaranteed or could he be two way?

[lilfishi22]

Sitting at 13 rostered players

1. Book (G)
2. Beal (G)
3. Grayson (G)
4. Morris (G)
5. Dunn (G)
6. Durant (F)
7. O'Neale (F)
8. Bol (F)
9. Little (F)
10. Roddy (F)
11. Ighodaro (F)
12. Nurk (C)
13. Plumlee (C)

Plus two-ways

1. Gillespie (G)
2. Bridges (F)

Still some room to grow

I think you can pretty safely label Dunn as a forward and Ighodaro as a C.

Might go as far as PF/C with his skillset

[Mr Puddles]

Having Monte Morris is like not having a point guard but having one just to say we have one so the analysts stop saying we need one

Only if you're acting like Morris is some major solution to the real big picture problems.

Hes not swinging the big picture, but if healthy/effective, having a good backup PG for 10-20mins per game is better than not having one.

Few players in the league take care of the ball as well as Monte. That's a huge need for us. He's a stabilizing force who can hit threes, and he's definitely better than any PG we've had on our roster since CP3 was traded.

Even if Monte doesn't regain his form from a season or two ago, he'll still be a solid back-up who contributes in an area of need. If he can get back to level he played at in his last season in Denver, the Suns have themselves a bonified steal.

Not sure how anyone can object to this signing.

[mkot]

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[mkot]

Few players in the league take care of the ball as well as Monte. That's a huge need for us. He's a stabilizing force who can hit threes, and he's definitely better than any PG we've had on our roster since CP3 was traded.

Even if Monte doesn't regain his form from a season or two ago, he'll still be a solid back-up who contributes in an area of need. If he can get back to level he played at in his last season in Denver, the Suns have themselves a bonified steal.

Not sure how anyone can object to this signing.

Exactly. I've been rooting for him since his days in Denver, always love his game, his steadiness and demeanour on the court and off the court. He can handle the ball, see the court, run the offense and make spot up 3s. Not a player you want to start on a contender but at vet min that's as good as you could get.

He looked better in Denver than he actually is because of Jokic but he played his role pretty well too alongside Beal during his short stint in DC. He gained some weight in Detroit when nursing his injuries so if he could get back in shape and stay injury free, I don't see why he can't be at least that.

[Frank Lee]

Crazy how ragtag scrapheapers and late picked/non drafters cause such a stir of optimism.

Place is starved for giddiness. Keep yer shades on, but its going to be dark by december.

[mkot]

Crazy how ragtag scrapheapers and late picked/non drafters cause such a stir of optimism.

Because he is the only true PG on the roster? And we finally got one since CP3 left

[Mr Puddles]

Crazy how ragtag scrapheapers and late picked/non drafters cause such a stir of optimism.

Place is starved for giddiness. Keep yer shades on, but its going to be dark by december.

I don't think it's exclusive to this year, we always get overly excited about shiny new players.

What contributes to it as well are the Suns Podcaster and 'insiders' who claim that every move we make is amazing value or the steal of the draft.

In reality chances are most of these guys will no longer be with the team by the season's end, and a year or two from now they'll fall into the Gani Lawal category of players who were labeled as "we got a first round prospect in the second round" to "oh yeah, I forgot about that guy".

I still prefer the overly jubilant crowd over its polar opposite, the 'everything we do is terrible' crowd, claiming our team is beyond salvation for the rest of the decade because we had one disappointing playoff series.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Covington blows.

Maybe, but I really think he could be good in our lineup playing with our big three, and also not sure there are any better options remaining in free agency for the vet minimum man. I mean our options are obviously pretty severely limited. And under those conditions, and considering what's realistically available to us (outside of trades), Cington in a simplified type of PJ Tucker role could still be very solid if even on a 1 yr deal. We'v done a very good job so far. But at this point it'll mostly be about adding quality vet depth for our last two spots

I think the Suns should save those roster spots for younger guys. As as it stands right now, the roster has 10 players with 5+ seasons of experience. Covington and Theis as third stringers aren't as interesting as developing potential players from the summer league team, G-league team, two-way players, and our two rookies.

I don't want Covington and Theiss to be 3rd stringers man. My plan would be to have Covington be our starting SF, so we could move O'neale to the bench to further strengthen our bench. Also, Theiss would be our backup 4 playing alongside Plumlee. Basically, our lineup would look like this heading into the season.

Starters (1-5)
Beal/ Booker/ Covington/ Durant/ Nurkic.

Bench (2nd rotation- 6-10)
Morris/ Allen/ O'neale/ Theiss/ Plumlee.

Bench (3rd rotation) **reserved for young players to develop with the team under limited pressure
Gillespie/ D Lee/ Dunn/ Bol Bol/ Ighodaro.

Covington is still a pretty good defender, versatile, and shot 35% from three with a 108 defensive rating last season. Theiss is a solid physical, athletic versatile defender who's switchable, AND he shot 36% from three and has experience playing with Plumlee from their time on the Clippers. I like the athleticism and mobility/rim protection both would bring while Theiss can still spread the floor if necessary. It would give us a more athletic and switchable/physically dominant frontcourt that matches the NBA's trending physical culture. AND force defenses to collapse into the paint more allowing all of Morris, Allen, and O'neale to have more open looks to help boost our 3-point shooting off the bench. Also, both Covington and Theiss are multipositional players that gives us additional insurance for situations in which some of our frontcourt players miss time with injuries.

Finally, as they build value from this premise, they can become more desirable trade pieces around the trade deadline if we look for changes or upgrades at a specific position. But most importantly, BOTH would be upgrades to anything we had at those same positions last season. And in bringing both Allen and O'neeale off the bench, our bench lineup of Monte Morris, Grayson Allen, Royce O'neale, and Mason Plumlee is very deep and potent both offensively and defensively. AND we can also still run lineups wherein we mix some young players at times with the 2nd rotation on blowout nights or nights wherein the gams' outcome is of no consequence too.