2025-26 Season News & Discussion

[Ghost of Kleine]

Dillion Brooks value is sky high right now. I love the guy and want to keep him but this stupid owner put this team in the absolute worst possible situation imaginable. So we have to measure short term versus long term when you should always value both at the same time. But we can’t because of the epically poor decisions by this idiotic owner. I started to think about this because I watched a video of teams that got bamboozled this year via trades. Bane was the worst trade of the year and Orlando regrets it hard while Memphis absolutely banked. Brooks is having a way better year than Bane by 10 fold. I know we can bank a lot of assets for Brooks at this point. And this pains me because I love Brooks and he’s really the main reason this team has turned it all around but im think long term.

Point is, we need to cash in on players with value right now while it’s hot. The asset cupboard is only filled with dust. Desmond Bane is completely garbage but Memphis absolutely cashed in at the right time. We have to do the same right now.

If we can dump trash Oso the better it is for this team long term. Oso is the worst player on this roster by every statistical measure. Shades of Earl Clark. I’ll take a stale ham sandwich for Oso. One good game against the worst team in the NBA that Oso had doesn’t excuse his embarrassment of play the rest of the year.

Long story short, he have to cash in right now for the sake of this team long term. While we are all having fun with this team but none of us are under the delusion this team is a contender. We have to refill the asset cupboard at some point. We are ranked dead last for outlook in the NBA. We have to make some uncomfortable decisions.

The was the video I watched: https://youtu.be/5hzIx8Hb8V8?si=SrqNEmAO3L45-Hm0

I guess the question is are fans happy to be at best a 6-7 seed and an early exit in the playoffs this year with zero assets until 2032 or do you trade Brooks and Grayson and anyone else who is playing well to restock and retool for the future?

7 years is a long time to go without any lottery picks so I would be inclined to trade short term success with an eye for building a contender because we don't have a chance to beat OKC or HOU even if we continue to click on all cylinders the rest of the season.

That's the perpetual cycle of mediocrity many have become too comfortable with though that allows for acceptance of diminished expectations and outcomes.

We're doing alot of really good things (culturally) as a franchise now. But have been mediocre or worse (with horrible ownership) for so long now, that the majority would rather just settle on a low seed early exit outcome.

We do need to remain as competitive as possible though to mitigate pick value we are giving up.

But overall, you're right that we're in a slow burn/ disintegration into the abyss if we don't start adding draft assets (currency) for trades with our remaining assets being at their absolute highest value.

It's a catch 22 situation.

[bigfoot]

Its amazing the panic for not having lottery picks. Really we had a ton of them in Ayton, Jackson, Bender, Chriss, etc. Most were crap. Over the last 25 years only three Suns lottery picks have panned out as star players ... Booker, Amare, and Marion.

BTW Grayson and Royce have two more years after this on their contracts. They can be traded this summer or next if things go south.

Lotto picks/the draft is important in general because it is one of only two ways you can actually increase your asset count with giving up anything. The other being free agency. Lottery picks simply increase the likelihood of 1) finding a worthwhile player 2) that worthwhile player having star potential.

It should also be noted the talent pool that is picked from is much better than it was 10-15-20-25 years ago. While this certainly means that it is more possible to get a worthwhile player in the mid/late 1st and 2nd rounds, it could very well (possibly) mean that lotto picks are slightly more likely to be significant players, too.

The value of picks increases if your FO and scouting is good.

Ok that's all really just a fancy way of saying that lotto picks simply allow you to have a better chance at drafting stars, who are the kinds of players that really change the direction of the franchise. Basically you're trying to build a team having chopped one of your own arms off if you trade off all your picks - it forces you to rely on FA (you can't control where other players want to go), and trading (you have to pull off a masterpiece trade).

It's not a total death sentence to not have lotto picks, but we'd be like, maybe the first team ever to sell their entire future picks and still be competitive if we keep up our current form. We'd be the exception and not the rule.

For our team, this means that 1) Jalen Green, Mark Williams, and Maluachs development are arguably the most important thing in our franchise right now - we need a second star next to Booker 2) the late 1sts and 2nd future picks we do have, we have to really hope they are hits, and 3) keep your eyes peeled for underappreciated players who struggle to get minutes they deserve and trade for them (lol this one is super rare, like how the Blazers got Avdija).

I think your point that the development of Green, Williams, Maluach (plus Fleming, and Brea) is very important. Second to the culture shift. Those are five bodies with a chance to step up with Booker to change the direction of the franchise. Yet the problem is folks think we need three 1st or 2nd round picks next year (e.g., lamenting that fact that OKC has that many) when we have five players that need development and adding three more doesn't really help the situation.

Masterpiece trades are reserved for the Lakers (e.g., Gasol and Doncic). The Suns did well with Brooks, Green, Maluach, and Williams in exchange for an old Durant and two firsts. Maybe not a masterpiece at the moment but certainly a game changer for the team. Isn't it the same thing as Nance for KJ, West, Corbin, and Marjele? Time will tell.

I prefer 1) drafting players with 3-4 years of college, 2) grabbing two-way contracts, 3) combing the g-league, and 4) internal team competition. Culture is way more important than wishing an 18-year old future draft pick is going to turn around the franchise. You don't know if you are going to get an 18-year old mentality like Ayton or like LeBron.

We should be glad that Gillispie (25) and Livers (27) are both contributing significantly to this team. Finding the right two-way players has been a big change under Ishbia when dumb **** Sarver sold the g-league team.

Grabbing older players like Dunn and Oso who are at least acceptable bench players and part-time starters allows the Suns to bring along younger players slowly. The key is we can't have too many young players like during the Booker/Jackson/Bender/Chriss era.

The handwringing about lack of draft capital is just gone overboard and trading away good pieces for players who are currently 14 and 15 year olds seem whacked.

[Puff]

Its amazing the panic for not having lottery picks. Really we had a ton of them in Ayton, Jackson, Bender, Chriss, etc. Most were crap. Over the last 25 years only three Suns lottery picks have panned out as star players ... Booker, Amare, and Marion.

BTW Grayson and Royce have two more years after this on their contracts. They can be traded this summer or next if things go south.

Lotto picks/the draft is important in general because it is one of only two ways you can actually increase your asset count with giving up anything. The other being free agency. Lottery picks simply increase the likelihood of 1) finding a worthwhile player 2) that worthwhile player having star potential.

It should also be noted the talent pool that is picked from is much better than it was 10-15-20-25 years ago. While this certainly means that it is more possible to get a worthwhile player in the mid/late 1st and 2nd rounds, it could very well (possibly) mean that lotto picks are slightly more likely to be significant players, too.

The value of picks increases if your FO and scouting is good.

Ok that's all really just a fancy way of saying that lotto picks simply allow you to have a better chance at drafting stars, who are the kinds of players that really change the direction of the franchise. Basically you're trying to build a team having chopped one of your own arms off if you trade off all your picks - it forces you to rely on FA (you can't control where other players want to go), and trading (you have to pull off a masterpiece trade).

It's not a total death sentence to not have lotto picks, but we'd be like, maybe the first team ever to sell their entire future picks and still be competitive if we keep up our current form. We'd be the exception and not the rule.

For our team, this means that 1) Jalen Green, Mark Williams, and Maluachs development are arguably the most important thing in our franchise right now - we need a second star next to Booker 2) the late 1sts and 2nd future picks we do have, we have to really hope they are hits, and 3) keep your eyes peeled for underappreciated players who struggle to get minutes they deserve and trade for them (lol this one is super rare, like how the Blazers got Avdija).

I think your point that the development of Green, Williams, Maluach (plus Fleming, and Brea) is very important. Second to the culture shift. Those are five bodies with a chance to step up with Booker to change the direction of the franchise. Yet the problem is folks think we need three 1st or 2nd round picks next year (e.g., lamenting that fact that OKC has that many) when we have five players that need development and adding three more doesn't really help the situation.

Masterpiece trades are reserved for the Lakers (e.g., Gasol and Doncic). The Suns did well with Brooks, Green, Maluach, and Williams in exchange for an old Durant and two firsts. Maybe not a masterpiece at the moment but certainly a game changer for the team. Isn't it the same thing as Nance for KJ, West, Corbin, and Marjele? Time will tell.

I prefer 1) drafting players with 3-4 years of college, 2) grabbing two-way contracts, 3) combing the g-league, and 4) internal team competition. Culture is way more important than wishing an 18-year old future draft pick is going to turn around the franchise. You don't know if you are going to get an 18-year old mentality like Ayton or like LeBron.

We should be glad that Gillispie (25) and Livers (27) are both contributing significantly to this team. Finding the right two-way players has been a big change under Ishbia when dumb **** Sarver sold the g-league team.

Grabbing older players like Dunn and Oso who are at least acceptable bench players and part-time starters allows the Suns to bring along younger players slowly. The key is we can't have too many young players like during the Booker/Jackson/Bender/Chriss era.

The handwringing about lack of draft capital is just gone overboard and trading away good pieces for players who are currently 14 and 15 year olds seem whacked.

Great post

It is really depressing reading the negative nellies on this web site. They seem to never have a good word for our team and the direction we are heading which could be a lot of fun. I am not a championship or bust fan. I just like to watch basketball. Hell, 7sol never won a championship but was my favorite team. We have our current star in Booker along with his new sidekick in Jaylen Green who is 23 years old and was the 2nd pick in the draft. Jaylen has only played one game. I can't wait to see more. We appear to have the right GM, the Williams trade and draft day moves look like genius. His pick for head coach looks like his best choice thus far. What is not to like.

[NapoleonII]

Man that knee contusion is going to cost us.

Hope Allen gets back soon and continues pouring in the points.

Atlanta has been really solid this year.

[Qwigglez]

Lotto picks/the draft is important in general because it is one of only two ways you can actually increase your asset count with giving up anything. The other being free agency. Lottery picks simply increase the likelihood of 1) finding a worthwhile player 2) that worthwhile player having star potential.

It should also be noted the talent pool that is picked from is much better than it was 10-15-20-25 years ago. While this certainly means that it is more possible to get a worthwhile player in the mid/late 1st and 2nd rounds, it could very well (possibly) mean that lotto picks are slightly more likely to be significant players, too.

The value of picks increases if your FO and scouting is good.

Ok that's all really just a fancy way of saying that lotto picks simply allow you to have a better chance at drafting stars, who are the kinds of players that really change the direction of the franchise. Basically you're trying to build a team having chopped one of your own arms off if you trade off all your picks - it forces you to rely on FA (you can't control where other players want to go), and trading (you have to pull off a masterpiece trade).

It's not a total death sentence to not have lotto picks, but we'd be like, maybe the first team ever to sell their entire future picks and still be competitive if we keep up our current form. We'd be the exception and not the rule.

For our team, this means that 1) Jalen Green, Mark Williams, and Maluachs development are arguably the most important thing in our franchise right now - we need a second star next to Booker 2) the late 1sts and 2nd future picks we do have, we have to really hope they are hits, and 3) keep your eyes peeled for underappreciated players who struggle to get minutes they deserve and trade for them (lol this one is super rare, like how the Blazers got Avdija).

I think your point that the development of Green, Williams, Maluach (plus Fleming, and Brea) is very important. Second to the culture shift. Those are five bodies with a chance to step up with Booker to change the direction of the franchise. Yet the problem is folks think we need three 1st or 2nd round picks next year (e.g., lamenting that fact that OKC has that many) when we have five players that need development and adding three more doesn't really help the situation.

Masterpiece trades are reserved for the Lakers (e.g., Gasol and Doncic). The Suns did well with Brooks, Green, Maluach, and Williams in exchange for an old Durant and two firsts. Maybe not a masterpiece at the moment but certainly a game changer for the team. Isn't it the same thing as Nance for KJ, West, Corbin, and Marjele? Time will tell.

I prefer 1) drafting players with 3-4 years of college, 2) grabbing two-way contracts, 3) combing the g-league, and 4) internal team competition. Culture is way more important than wishing an 18-year old future draft pick is going to turn around the franchise. You don't know if you are going to get an 18-year old mentality like Ayton or like LeBron.

We should be glad that Gillispie (25) and Livers (27) are both contributing significantly to this team. Finding the right two-way players has been a big change under Ishbia when dumb **** Sarver sold the g-league team.

Grabbing older players like Dunn and Oso who are at least acceptable bench players and part-time starters allows the Suns to bring along younger players slowly. The key is we can't have too many young players like during the Booker/Jackson/Bender/Chriss era.

The handwringing about lack of draft capital is just gone overboard and trading away good pieces for players who are currently 14 and 15 year olds seem whacked.

Great post

It is really depressing reading the negative nellies on this web site. They seem to never have a good word for our team and the direction we are heading which could be a lot of fun. I am not a championship or bust fan. I just like to watch basketball. Hell, 7sol never won a championship but was my favorite team. We have our current star in Booker along with his new sidekick in Jaylen Green who is 23 years old and was the 2nd pick in the draft. Jaylen has only played one game. I can't wait to see more. We appear to have the right GM, the Williams trade and draft day moves look like genius. His pick for head coach looks like his best choice thus far. What is not to like.

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

[Sunsdeuce]

Dillion Brooks value is sky high right now. I love the guy and want to keep him but this stupid owner put this team in the absolute worst possible situation imaginable. So we have to measure short term versus long term when you should always value both at the same time. But we can’t because of the epically poor decisions by this idiotic owner. I started to think about this because I watched a video of teams that got bamboozled this year via trades. Bane was the worst trade of the year and Orlando regrets it hard while Memphis absolutely banked. Brooks is having a way better year than Bane by 10 fold. I know we can bank a lot of assets for Brooks at this point. And this pains me because I love Brooks and he’s really the main reason this team has turned it all around but im think long term.

Point is, we need to cash in on players with value right now while it’s hot. The asset cupboard is only filled with dust. Desmond Bane is completely garbage but Memphis absolutely cashed in at the right time. We have to do the same right now.

If we can dump trash Oso the better it is for this team long term. Oso is the worst player on this roster by every statistical measure. Shades of Earl Clark. I’ll take a stale ham sandwich for Oso. One good game against the worst team in the NBA that Oso had doesn’t excuse his embarrassment of play the rest of the year.

Long story short, he have to cash in right now for the sake of this team long term. While we are all having fun with this team but none of us are under the delusion this team is a contender. We have to refill the asset cupboard at some point. We are ranked dead last for outlook in the NBA. We have to make some uncomfortable decisions.

The was the video I watched: https://youtu.be/5hzIx8Hb8V8?si=SrqNEmAO3L45-Hm0

I guess the question is are fans happy to be at best a 6-7 seed and an early exit in the playoffs this year with zero assets until 2032 or do you trade Brooks and Grayson and anyone else who is playing well to restock and retool for the future?

7 years is a long time to go without any lottery picks so I would be inclined to trade short term success with an eye for building a contender because we don't have a chance to beat OKC or HOU even if we continue to click on all cylinders the rest of the season.

You get it! You get what I’m saying and the uncomfortable truth!

[Sunsdeuce]

I think your point that the development of Green, Williams, Maluach (plus Fleming, and Brea) is very important. Second to the culture shift. Those are five bodies with a chance to step up with Booker to change the direction of the franchise. Yet the problem is folks think we need three 1st or 2nd round picks next year (e.g., lamenting that fact that OKC has that many) when we have five players that need development and adding three more doesn't really help the situation.

Masterpiece trades are reserved for the Lakers (e.g., Gasol and Doncic). The Suns did well with Brooks, Green, Maluach, and Williams in exchange for an old Durant and two firsts. Maybe not a masterpiece at the moment but certainly a game changer for the team. Isn't it the same thing as Nance for KJ, West, Corbin, and Marjele? Time will tell.

I prefer 1) drafting players with 3-4 years of college, 2) grabbing two-way contracts, 3) combing the g-league, and 4) internal team competition. Culture is way more important than wishing an 18-year old future draft pick is going to turn around the franchise. You don't know if you are going to get an 18-year old mentality like Ayton or like LeBron.

We should be glad that Gillispie (25) and Livers (27) are both contributing significantly to this team. Finding the right two-way players has been a big change under Ishbia when dumb **** Sarver sold the g-league team.

Grabbing older players like Dunn and Oso who are at least acceptable bench players and part-time starters allows the Suns to bring along younger players slowly. The key is we can't have too many young players like during the Booker/Jackson/Bender/Chriss era.

The handwringing about lack of draft capital is just gone overboard and trading away good pieces for players who are currently 14 and 15 year olds seem whacked.

Great post

It is really depressing reading the negative nellies on this web site. They seem to never have a good word for our team and the direction we are heading which could be a lot of fun. I am not a championship or bust fan. I just like to watch basketball. Hell, 7sol never won a championship but was my favorite team. We have our current star in Booker along with his new sidekick in Jaylen Green who is 23 years old and was the 2nd pick in the draft. Jaylen has only played one game. I can't wait to see more. We appear to have the right GM, the Williams trade and draft day moves look like genius. His pick for head coach looks like his best choice thus far. What is not to like.

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

[bigfoot]

Great post

It is really depressing reading the negative nellies on this web site. They seem to never have a good word for our team and the direction we are heading which could be a lot of fun. I am not a championship or bust fan. I just like to watch basketball. Hell, 7sol never won a championship but was my favorite team. We have our current star in Booker along with his new sidekick in Jaylen Green who is 23 years old and was the 2nd pick in the draft. Jaylen has only played one game. I can't wait to see more. We appear to have the right GM, the Williams trade and draft day moves look like genius. His pick for head coach looks like his best choice thus far. What is not to like.

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

So your prediction about Suns implies Fleming, Maluach, Brea, and Huntley will all be duds. Not one of them could turn into a Giannas or Jokic or Gobert in the next 3-4 years? It took several years for each of those players careers to take off. So based your thoughts we might as well dump them now for picks so we can draft someone who could be a superstar.

[sunsbg]

It's so much more likely all rooks are duds than any of them comes close to a Jokic/Giannis.

Btw Brea's 3PT shooting has been quite disappointing so far - 0-9 in NBA games and 1-6 in G League. It's safe to say he's nothing like Steph Curry.

[Sunsdeuce]

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

So your prediction about Suns implies Fleming, Maluach, Brea, and Huntley will all be duds. Not one of them could turn into a Giannas or Jokic or Gobert in the next 3-4 years? It took several years for each of those players careers to take off. So based your thoughts we might as well dump them now for picks so we can draft someone who could be a superstar.

Your assumption is Fleming, Maluach, And Brea will be Marion, Hakeem, and Klay Thompson. Well good luck with that.

[Qwigglez]

Great post

It is really depressing reading the negative nellies on this web site. They seem to never have a good word for our team and the direction we are heading which could be a lot of fun. I am not a championship or bust fan. I just like to watch basketball. Hell, 7sol never won a championship but was my favorite team. We have our current star in Booker along with his new sidekick in Jaylen Green who is 23 years old and was the 2nd pick in the draft. Jaylen has only played one game. I can't wait to see more. We appear to have the right GM, the Williams trade and draft day moves look like genius. His pick for head coach looks like his best choice thus far. What is not to like.

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

You've mentioned trading Brooks and getting similar trade value that the Grizzlies got when they traded away Bane. I'm not sure a team is willing to give all of that up for Brooks who is a couple of years older and isn't nearly as consistent of a player as Desmond Bane has been throughout their careers. But even if the Suns were able to trade Brooks and get a couple of firsts, how does that change the Suns trajectory over the next 7 years? If a team is willing to trade future assets for Brooks, it's likely going to be late 1st round picks.

[King4Day]

Dillion Brooks value is sky high right now. I love the guy and want to keep him but this stupid owner put this team in the absolute worst possible situation imaginable. So we have to measure short term versus long term when you should always value both at the same time. But we can’t because of the epically poor decisions by this idiotic owner. I started to think about this because I watched a video of teams that got bamboozled this year via trades. Bane was the worst trade of the year and Orlando regrets it hard while Memphis absolutely banked. Brooks is having a way better year than Bane by 10 fold. I know we can bank a lot of assets for Brooks at this point. And this pains me because I love Brooks and he’s really the main reason this team has turned it all around but im think long term.

Point is, we need to cash in on players with value right now while it’s hot. The asset cupboard is only filled with dust. Desmond Bane is completely garbage but Memphis absolutely cashed in at the right time. We have to do the same right now.

If we can dump trash Oso the better it is for this team long term. Oso is the worst player on this roster by every statistical measure. Shades of Earl Clark. I’ll take a stale ham sandwich for Oso. One good game against the worst team in the NBA that Oso had doesn’t excuse his embarrassment of play the rest of the year.

Long story short, he have to cash in right now for the sake of this team long term. While we are all having fun with this team but none of us are under the delusion this team is a contender. We have to refill the asset cupboard at some point. We are ranked dead last for outlook in the NBA. We have to make some uncomfortable decisions.

The was the video I watched: https://youtu.be/5hzIx8Hb8V8?si=SrqNEmAO3L45-Hm0

I guess the question is are fans happy to be at best a 6-7 seed and an early exit in the playoffs this year with zero assets until 2032 or do you trade Brooks and Grayson and anyone else who is playing well to restock and retool for the future?

7 years is a long time to go without any lottery picks so I would be inclined to trade short term success with an eye for building a contender because we don't have a chance to beat OKC or HOU even if we continue to click on all cylinders the rest of the season.

That's the perpetual cycle of mediocrity many have become too comfortable with though that allows for acceptance of diminished expectations and outcomes.

We're doing alot of really good things (culturally) as a franchise now. But have been mediocre or worse (with horrible ownership) for so long now, that the majority would rather just settle on a low seed early exit outcome.

We do need to remain as competitive as possible though to mitigate pick value we are giving up.

But overall, you're right that we're in a slow burn/ disintegration into the abyss if we don't start adding draft assets (currency) for trades with our remaining assets being at their absolute highest value.

It's a catch 22 situation.

I'll take the good team with no chance to win instead of selling and hoping a random pick pans out. Any pick we get back is a crapshoot and no team will give us a valuable first for anyone outside of Booker. I'll spin the wheel and hope the Suns put together a team that makes me proud for the next 6 years while Booker is here. Then I'll be ready for the dark times again and hope we draft another generational star and do it right next time.

[King4Day]

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

You've mentioned trading Brooks and getting similar trade value that the Grizzlies got when they traded away Bane. I'm not sure a team is willing to give all of that up for Brooks who is a couple of years older and isn't nearly as consistent of a player as Desmond Bane has been throughout their careers. But even if the Suns were able to trade Brooks and get a couple of firsts, how does that change the Suns trajectory over the next 7 years? If a team is willing to trade future assets for Brooks, it's likely going to be late 1st round picks.

Agreed. No team is giving us that for Brooks. If lucky, we get a lottery protected first, some 2nds, and cap filler. If one does offer the Bane trade package, you have to take it and run. Otherwise, stay the course.

[lilfishi22]

No.

Why not , would be an upgrade

He is regressing and I don't like his contract.

$13.5M this year.
$14.5M next year.
$15.5M in 2027-28.

And we aren't trading Royce or Allen for him. Not happening.

He would be a talent upgrade but not a huge one and I'm not sure who we would trade for him. I'd also give Fleming opportunities before even considering a trade of Portis.

[garrick]

I agree about BigFoots post. Suns have a relatively inexperienced team right now. Gillespie has 2 years of NBA experience, Mark Williams with 3 years of experience, Jalen Green with 4. Booker is the Suns most experienced player, and Royce O'Neal is the oldest player on the squad. The Suns are already built for the future. Almost every player seems to be outperforming their pre-season expectations so far. This team has been the most fun team to watch since the 2021-22 Suns. I don't think trading away guys who are performing well for draft picks will solve anything. Gets the Suns more assets sounds great, but what happens when those draft picks turn into duds.

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

So your prediction about Suns implies Fleming, Maluach, Brea, and Huntley will all be duds. Not one of them could turn into a Giannas or Jokic or Gobert in the next 3-4 years? It took several years for each of those players careers to take off. So based your thoughts we might as well dump them now for picks so we can draft someone who could be a superstar.

The hard truth is that all the players playing well right now are not exactly young so they have a limited window in their primes before they start to decline a bit.

Brooks = 29
Royce = 32
Grayson = 30

Realistically though I can't see any team offering a sweet deal for any of them but if a team comes knocking I hope we answer so we can keep stacking our roster with new rookies every year.

[bigfoot]

The hard truth is the ceiling for this team over the next 7 years is 1st or 2nd round exits with the floor being lottery team with nothing to show for it. Sorry but I ain’t got time for mediocracy! If we ain’t (re)building for a championship or contending for a championship, what’s the point? So you can have 3 hours a couple nights a week to watch some basketball that means absolutely nothing is what you want?

That’s not my bag! You can keep that bag! That bag is just Ishbia just banking off of ignorance of fans. Life is too damn short to play the “we ain’t a contender but it’s better than watching KD” lifestyle. Point of sports is to contend for a trophy. Anything else is just grifting!

So your prediction about Suns implies Fleming, Maluach, Brea, and Huntley will all be duds. Not one of them could turn into a Giannas or Jokic or Gobert in the next 3-4 years? It took several years for each of those players careers to take off. So based your thoughts we might as well dump them now for picks so we can draft someone who could be a superstar.

Your assumption is Fleming, Maluach, And Brea will be Marion, Hakeem, and Klay Thompson. Well good luck with that.

Your assumption is we need to have lottery picks to draft generational talent. I'm hoping that ONE of our five current rookies turns into a 2nd/3rd option and/or all-defensve caliber player. We have generational talent in Booker and high level talent in Williams and Green. That would be four major pieces plus a very deep bench. Not certain why you can't see that as a short term play instead of trading acceoptable starters / quality bench players for unknown stuff 3-4 years down the road,

[AtheJ415]

Trading Brooks for whatever you can get should be priority 1

[lilfishi22]

Trading Brooks for whatever you can get should be priority 1

Would you do Brooks for CamJo straight up?

I know Cam misses more games and he's in a big time slump right now but I much prefer his shot profile over Brooks, he's a better rebounder and a better shooter overall.

[AtheJ415]

Trading Brooks for whatever you can get should be priority 1

Would you do Brooks for CamJo straight up?

I know Cam misses more games and he's in a big time slump right now but I much prefer his shot profile over Brooks, he's a better rebounder and a better shooter overall.

Yes. We know what Cam can do here, and shooting is more important than D

[Mr Puddles]

Any news on when Grayson will return? Luckily our schedule isn't as packed this week so I'm hoping that if he doesn't make the trip to Portland, he'll atleast be back in the lineup against the wolves