Suns thinking about adding a big man

MaryvalesFinest · Post #1 » by **MaryvalesFinest** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:18 am

Looks like the Suns are thinking about signing another big instead of a pg, surprised the Dragician isn't getting any playing time with Kerr saying how great he is.

Suns could add big man, not guard
by Paul Coro - Jan. 18, 2009 05:29 PM
The Arizona Republic
The Suns are not longer focused on filling their 13th roster spot with a point guard.

They could go big with candidates like Courtney Sims, a power forward for NBA Development League affiliate Iowa, and Richard Hendrix, a rookie playing on Dakota in the D League.

"Goran (Dragic) has played well in practice and he's earned the right to be the backup point guard," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said.
The Suns must sign a player Tuesday and will use a 10-day deal to get to the 13-man minimum.

Sims leads the D League with 11.6 rebounds per game and 60.5 percent shooting. He is third in points per game (22.9) and blocks per game (2.4). Sims, 6 feet 11 and 230 pounds, is a former Michigan star with a shooting touch. He played briefly for Indiana last season.

Hendrix is a 6-9, 255-pound rookie from Alabama who had a 25-rebound game three weeks ago.

Post #2 » by **rsavaj** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 7:42 am

I love Sims, but please, don't let Tragic take away from Barbosa's minutes. That's a travesty.

pickIBL · Post #3 » by **pickIBL** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:55 am

Courtney Sims is playing well. He'd be a good callup. There are some nbdl pgs that should be playing over Dragic at this point. One of them being Curtis Stinson who has finally gotten the opportunity to play point guard which is his natural position... same team as Sims by the way.

garrick · Post #4 » by **garrick** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:01 am

Until Goran starts playing great in regular games and not just in practice he should not be getting a lot of minutes.
So far he has shown hardly any consistency in his playing. Practice doesnn't count because Sean Marks was a great practice player but when it came to real games he wasn't that spectacular.

Post #5 » by **lilfishi22** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:29 am

I don't really take in anything Kerr says. He's all talk and all hype. Dragic may be MJ in the practice court but when it counts he's playing like . . . Dragic, so that's about all that matters.

Courtney Sim would be a very nice pickup, since Lopez has been sucking pretty much all season and is currently in the doghouse.

Mr. Sun · Post #6 » by **Mr. Sun** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:43 am

Like I keep saying, Suns do not need a PG, unless he is a slasher like LB.

nba_addict · Post #7 » by **nba_addict** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 10:50 am

Courtney Sims

Defensively, Sims still has plenty of room for improvement, as he gave up position far too easily in the paint and also did a poor job for the most part rotating to meet slashers in the paint. He has the length to contest shots, but does not have very good awareness on this end of the floor, probably lacking some toughness as well as strength. Considering what his role would be in the NBA, this is definitely an issue if he’s to see quality minutes as a rotation player. He seems to lose his focus quite easily, especially when a bad call goes against him—leading him to completely lose his composure.

Isnt this the exact definition of Amare in defense?

Richard Hendrix

Strengths: Hendrix possesses a great frame and strength for PF position ... Has an NBA body minus an inch or so ... He is very difficult to defend with his back to the basket;due his tremendous core strength ... Uses his body very well to establish good position on the low-post and seal off his defender ... Most of his game is based on the low-post and around the rim (nice touch inside the paint and good hands) ... Hendrix is a very good finisher around the basket (60 % FG) and gets many put-backs and tip-ins ... He is an aggressive player offensively and not afraid of attacking the basket ... High basketball IQ and fundamentally sound ... Recently improved his post moves and his body has shown improvement ... Has an effective right hand hook-shot; very patient with the ball in his hands ... His rebounding ability is what makes him even better (good timing and technique boxing out). Great anticipation on missed shots ... Unselfish player with solid instincts and passing ability on the low-post (makes smart decisions)... Solid defensively, Hendrix is using his strength to keep his opponents away from the basket ... Has a huge 7'3 wingspan allowing him to play bigger than his 6'8 height, and huge hands.

Weaknesses: Defensively he struggles with the quickness of other power forwards and his lack of height could give him some problems ... Standing at just 6-8, he doesnt possess great athleticism to make up for it ... Hendrix doesnt feel comfortable stepping out on the perimeter and guarding quicker and more athletic players, his lateral speed is not good ... Needs to improve face-up the basket game and find his go-to move inside ... Cant pick-and-pop because of his shooting ability is still inconsistent ... Lacks a great form on his shot, he brings the ball back behind his head which causes him to have a slow release ... Hendrix must work on developing his mid-range jump shot. Lack of explosiveness, mobility and lateral quickness limits him on both ends ... Has to improve his first step while driving to the rim ... Free-throw percentage is only 53%, far below where it needs to be ... Has to work on finishing better with his left hand ...

Based in available internet stuff I prefer Hendrix. We dont need a scoring big anymore. We just need a guy who can who does a little bit of everything other than scoring. I also have some bias for former draftees of Golden State.

Post #8 » by **lilfishi22** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 1:27 pm

Hendrix seems to be the better fit for us I think. A solid defensive player despite height sounds good. a 7'3 wingspan sounds good too, but we know too well wingspan sometime doesn't make you a good defensive player (cough Barbosa cough.)

I prefer someone with a high basketball IQ who understands the game and where they need to be compared to someone who's all raw talent. Considering the big we're likely to sign is going to be playing little minutes, I still prefer Hendrix over Sims in this case since outside of defense, he's not a liability offensively, meaning players won't collapse on Shaq when the ball is fed to him.

Mr. Sun · Post #9 » by **Mr. Sun** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 2:57 pm

I say go with Sims because we have Lou.

ClosAZ · Post #10 » by **ClosAZ** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 3:06 pm

I hope we pick up Hendrix based on their descriptions above. He's got more bulk, the Milsap type of build, and 3 years younger. Have him, Lou, and Lopez battle it out in practice for the backup 4/5 minutes.

BTW, Kerr is gonna put the positive PR spin on Dragic as long as he can that move was all him and Griffin. Let's give the kid another year or two though, alot of us here are burying the kid a bit too early. That being said I too don't think he should get very much court time right now.

BringinDaRuckus · Post #11 » by **BringinDaRuckus** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:15 pm

Whatever big man we end up with, I don't want Lou to lose minutes. The guy flat out earned his minutes. And he needs to remain a key player off the bench.

Post #12 » by **lilfishi22** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 4:31 pm

BringinDaRuckus wrote:Whatever big man we end up with, I don't want Lou to lose minutes. The guy flat out earned his minutes. And he needs to remain a key player off the bench.

Amen to that

pidi · Post #13 » by **pidi** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:09 pm

were going in the right direction in adding a big. a pg would see no minutes. a big caqn see minutes when shaq sits down. i would love to see another true center. who rebounds and plays defense.

pidi · Post #14 » by **pidi** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:11 pm

alonzo mourning anyone??

Post #15 » by **rsavaj** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 6:22 pm

pidi wrote:alonzo mourning anyone??

I think his loyalties lie with Miami

TrueTaiwanese · Post #16 » by **TrueTaiwanese** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:09 pm

you know, if you don't develop a rookie this way by putting he on the court with others..., you are not going to see the kinda progress u thought u were gonna see outta this kid. Just by practicing and improving his game during off-season is not gonna cut it....there's no magic to this trick....

garrick wrote:Until Goran starts playing great in regular games and not just in practice he should not be getting a lot of minutes.
So far he has shown hardly any consistency in his playing. Practice doesnn't count because Sean Marks was a great practice player but when it came to real games he wasn't that spectacular.

eastsidecrossover · Post #17 » by **eastsidecrossover** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 11:27 pm

Kerr so far is a horrible evaluator of talent draft wise. of course he is going to be behind tragic. We all know porter does not want to give him any mins because he sucks.

I would love zo, but simis will do for now. Its only a 10 day contract.

nba_addict · Post #18 » by **nba_addict** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:51 am

I hope Shaq can persuate Zo to join the Suns. Zo is the perfect stop gap at center position for a year or two while RoLo is learning the game at this level.

Regarding Kerr draftee's... Good thing he didnt draft Brandon Rush. I remember reading something like Rush is matured and ready to contribute... blah. blah. blah.