Sarver says this is the right core

[Christine-In-AZ]

No trades will happen involving the core, says Sarver. I'm assuming he means the starting 5 and Barbosa.

Ok, that's not a bad decision. It is a safe decision and safe is not bad...it might be best. Just Sarver's public announcement is medicine for this core. They now know they're all in it for the long haul. It's up to them. I'm just not sure if it's the best route to the championship, but it'll make watching the rest of the games up to the trade deadline simpler to watch. I just wish Mr. Sarver hadn't said- "If we're in the top eight of the league, we're doing a pretty good job. If we're in the top four, we're doing a great job" That's not exactly voicing a killer mentality, but hey this is Phoenix Arizona and we're here to relax and enjoy anyway.

It's hard for me to imagine this team winning a championship with such weak interior defense/defensive rebounding. I don't know how that is going to improve to significant degree as the playoffs approach. I don't think it'll happen. I'll put my hopes for this team and a title, back onto the offensive end. I think if the Suns can recapture the unbelievable offensive magic they had for most of '06-'07 they might be able to overcome their giant defensive liabilities and capture the title. Read this article by Bill Simmons written exactly one year ago. The Suns were approaching epic greatness on the offensive end

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... ons/070117

snippets from the article-

Bill Simmons 1/17/07:
[color=indigo]

[Seattlesun]

Its good that sarver has finally put all this to bed. it really is starting to get ridiculous. yes, it feels as though the team is not firing on all cylinders, and yet they are #1 in the west. Common sense says - lets give them a chance to get to where they are firing on all cylinders and see what that looks like. As Matrix said yesterday "tell me again whats better than 1st place?"


as for cassell vs damon - i dont see the paperclips buying out cassell so it is a moot point.

[Biff]

Its good that sarver has finally put all this to bed. it really is starting to get ridiculous. yes, it feels as though the team is not firing on all cylinders, and yet they are #1 in the west. Common sense says - lets give them a chance to get to where they are firing on all cylinders and see what that looks like. As Matrix said yesterday "tell me again whats better than 1st place?"


as for cassell vs damon - i dont see the paperclips buying out cassell so it is a moot point.

You didn't read his post. The moron wants to trade the Atlanta pick for the 40 year old point guard who has major injury problems and 1 good game every 10 games.

[Black Jesus 1]

Thank you SARVER!

[Seattlesun]

-= original quote snipped =-



You didn't read his post. The moron wants to trade the Atlanta pick for the 40 year old point guard who has major injury problems and 1 good game every 10 games.

definately not in the realm of possibility as you then pay his salary. so yeah, not one of your best ideas ChrisAz...

[ChaseUA]

I still say we need to get rid of Diaw.....man I hate the guy


Mike Miller please

[Christine-In-AZ]

You didn't read his post. The moron wants to trade the Atlanta pick for the 40 year old point guard who has major injury problems and 1 good game every 10 games.

Hey thanks alot Biff. Nice.

The straight TE idea was somewhat tongue in cheek ...the passing the plate (fan and players) for money cover.

Not an idea for you Biff, because Cassell is just trash to you, but to others who see him as a value on the court and off....

Maybe the Clips would like Banks and Tucker. That would only put 2 mil more on the books. Trade would work capwise.

( 38.3 year old Cassell: Season-
mins:25
pts:12.8
ast:4.5

last 3 games-
pts- 32,16,22
ast- 7,6,6
FG pct- 60% )

[mkot]

Well, Sarver's pretty much a straight talker, so I guess nothing will happen.

What are we going to talk about now?

[impulsenine]

Well, Sarver's pretty much a straight talker, so I guess nothing will happen.

What are we going to talk about now?

Well theoretically we don't have to worry about as many trade threads.




YEAH RIGHT.

[Seattlesun]

i could still see something happening with banks, the TE, and the pick. even if all it is is a $$ cutting trade. banks has to go, especially if mighty mouse comes.

[thamadkant]

As much as Cassel will do wonders for the Suns during playoffs..

Trading the ATL pick is not a good move.. as the Suns do not have any picks at all. They need some young blood, preferrably a big man to develop.


Get Cassel for Banks... somehow.

[-SDU-]

^ cassell and tim thomas for banks tucker and our first rounder

i would do it

[eastsidecrossover]

Cassell is decent, but no way are we going to give up anything for a old guy that is offten hurt and can't run. I rather have banks for his D than mighty mouse. I would love to have Tim back in a suns uni, but that is not going to happen. I think we need him, but now that Diaw has stepped up his game, and play with Amare, he is staying put.

Yes, we have a large TE, but Sarver is saving that to run out. He won't pay additional $$$$.

Suns will try hard to add one more guy. That is PJ Brown! They will only go after a cheap FA big man and that is it.

Mike Miller would be great, but we will not give up a core guy.

Last, I really think we need to hold onto the ATL pick. Yeah, it is not a top 5 pick, but we need a decent enought pick and there will be enought talent in this draft, more than last year and more big men. We need another young guy on this team, and it might pay off in the long run.

[walkingart]

i know letting the TE run out without using it is the smart thing to do, however, i am not sold on how the Suns are going to lose money this season because of the tax. or how they only broke even last year. according to forbes, they were the 3rd most profitable team in the league, at $37.3 million, which is an increase from $35 million in 2006. i know Starver still owes $180 million for the team, so maybe he is paying off his debt with his profits, but come on; he has to realize how hard it is to win a championship. Sarver has won at everything he has attempted, why should this be any different. if he owns the team 10 years from now, and the Suns still don't have a championship, he is going to hate himself for not spending the money now, when they are so close.

if they can get someone who can help the team, they should do it.

[Cash]

1. I'm glad to hear this announcement from Sarver. I take him at his word here, because if the Suns turn around and make a major trade in the next month, he'll look like a complete fool. And with all the made-up rumors swirling around, it's good for the guys on the team to publicly hear from the guy up top that they're not going anywhere. And I personally don't see this team making a trade to do anything but cut payroll anytime soon, so I'd prefer no trade to a trade.

2. Sarver's quote about top 8 = good, top 4 = great is indicative of what I've been saying all along. Sarver's idea of going after a championship is to get a team that MIGHT be able to do it, then focus on making as much money with that team as possible. So if we're the #3 team in the league, we've got a shot at winning it all, and Sarver doesn't think we need to get better. This is why we've been selling draft picks and dumping useful role players: all of those moves kept the team from getting better, but didn't make the team so much worse that it had no chance at a championship. Even if Sarver only cared about money, this would be a smart strategy, because he's basically maximized revenues. Now, I personally am not very happy with this attitude in my team's owner (I want a guy who's not satisfied with the #3 team if there's any way to get better), but I don't want to villify him for it, either. It's a reasonable stance for a businessman to take.

3. I still don't see this team as able to win it all without a lot of good breaks, but I also don't see a "core" trade to give us a better chance of winning it all. If Detroit wasn't doing so well, a Sheed+a little (for Marion) or Sheed+a lot (for Amare) trade might make us better, but I think we'd have to grossly overpay for anyone on Detroit's roster right now. If someone is inspired by Diaw's recent strong play to give us decent value for him (tough b/c he's BYC), that could make us better, but I don't think Boris is really part of the core. Sarver's comments seemed directed at the rumors that Marion or Amare would be traded, and I think the core is actually just the 3 all-stars. Bell, Barbosa, Hill, Diaw, and Skinner are complementary pieces.

[BurningHeart]

No team wins it all without a lot of good breaks.

[Cash]

^^^^^Disagree.