Suns Pre-Draft Summit

[APerna]

I apologize for the fact that the Suns are no longer playing, but there is one bright side to the "unofficial" start of the offseason. It's time for the annual Pre-Draft Summit, led by myself (Andrew Perna). The pieces will be turned into articles, and will be part of a three-pronged attack of draft coverage on RealGM.

Thanks in advance for the answers, and please remember to try keeping the answers as tight and concise as possible.


1. What could the team have done different to make the playoffs?

2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?

3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?

4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?

5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?

6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?

7. Who would you like your team to select with the 14th pick?


Thanks for taking the time, and contributing answers. We appreciate that you all help make RealGM what it is today!

[TASTIC]

Boy this is going to be depressing...haha

Will think about it and get back to it...

[amitg]

1. fire terry porter, don't do the trade with the bobcats

2. the medical staff. when was the last time you've seen Shaq or Grant Hill play like they did?

3. Dudley, Shaq, Lou

4. J-Rich, Nash, Amare (mainly because of porter's game plan)

5. as confident as i'm in a blind taxi driver in Manhattan rush hour

6. Defensive, Atheltic SG

7. no clue

[Sun Scorched]

1. What could the team have done different to make the playoffs?

Although the coaching drama did not help, the injury to Amare Stoudemire ultimately left the Suns short of the playoffs by a small margin. When a team loses their leading scorer they can only do so much.

2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?

Scoring. After Alvin Gentry took the reins it was clear that Steve Nash could still run his team on all cylinders. Seven Seconds or Less became Seven Seconds or Shaq.

3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?

The nod has to go to the Big Cactus. An all-star appearance with a dominating game against Dwight Howard along with an all NBA 3rd team nod and PER of over 20 showed that the Big Expiring still has more value than that. Cap it off with a FG% of over 60% and one of the most entertaining, seat-filling, jersey-selling players of all time and you have one of the more impressive stories of the regular season.

4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?

The blame can’t fall wholly on one players shoulders, though Robin Lopez can’t stay on the floor and out of foul trouble to save his life. With an aging O’Neal and a maddeningly ineffective Lopez, the Phoenix FO has to be concerned about the 5 going forward.

5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?

Not very. I will remain optimistic, but the last few offseasons have not gone well at all.

6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?

This is tough, but because Phoenix must have learned it’s lesson by now... they need to draft the best player available. Drafting for need rarely works out anymore, or at least it seems that way, and Phoenix’s up-tempo system will allow athletic players to play out of position so that a potential positional log-jam won’t seem as glaring.

7. Who would you like your team to select with the 14th pick?

If someone starts to slip, regardless of position, we need to seriously consider taking them. To get specific, I think someone like Earl Clark or Terrence Williams, if they’re available, would be great fits.

[TASTIC]

ha...Scorched you sum it all up perfectly for me....totally agree with every point

I'd also add in the "don't do the trade with the Bobcats" though...Put Gentry in charge of the pre-trade team and we're in the playoffs WITH depth

[NashtyNas]

1. fire terry porter, don't do the trade with the bobcats

2. the medical staff. when was the last time you've seen Shaq or Grant Hill play like they did?

3. Dudley, Shaq, Lou

4. J-Rich, Nash, Amare (mainly because of porter's game plan)

5. as confident as i'm in a blind taxi driver in Manhattan rush hour

6. Defensive, Atheltic SG

7. no clue

Everything you said. Except, I don't get how you say we need a defensive, athletic shooting guard, yet don't think we should pick up T-Will.

[MaryvalesFinest]

1. Nothing really since Amare got injured

2. Offense

3. Matt Barnes, he put up some of the best averaged in his career

4. Steve Nash, numbers dropped off, caused Porter to get fired and has been acting like a cancer lately.

5. I'm going to wait and see what Sarver/Kerr do this off season before I pass judgement

6. The Suns need to take the BPA whether it's a center, forward or guard.

7. Anyone except Budinger, Mullens, Hansbrough or Blair and I'll be happy.

[TASTIC]

I'll be pissed if we take Budinger...and Hansborough...Blair I wouldn't mind so much

And I disagree with Barnes - I expected more from him. Granted, Hill played his way into the starting spot, but Barnes' inconsistency was ridiculous. I would love for them to re-sign him, even for another 1 year deal, just to see how he goes a full season under Gentry

[MaryvalesFinest]

I'll be pissed if we take Budinger...and Hansborough...Blair I wouldn't mind so much

And I disagree with Barnes - I expected more from him. Granted, Hill played his way into the starting spot, but Barnes' inconsistency was ridiculous. I would love for them to re-sign him, even for another 1 year deal, just to see how he goes a full season under Gentry

Blair could turn out to be a Milsap type of player but on the otherhand he could turn out to be Robert Traylor 2.0. I'm not really sold on him, if he was maybe 6'9 or 6'10 that would be different but he's pretty undersized at 6'6 or 6'7 for a pf. Barnes on the otherhand did have some bad shooting nights but he was one of the Suns best defenders.

[b-ball forever]

OoOoO, this is gonna be nasty...

1. What could the team have done different to make the playoffs?

Suns woulda made the playoffs as it is if Amare didn't go down, but if the team wanted to make noise once they reached the playoffs, all they had to do was actually run executive moves that make sense in real life basketball instead of running the team video game style!
2 possible options to do that woulda made sense @ the season start :

- Option A - Change the team's playing style to halfcourt ball, trade Nash/Barbosa/Amare for players who are meant to play halfcourt ball (Sheed/Billups/Hinrich/Sefolosha in a 3 way with Chicago and Detroit for example), hire a coach who runs half court sets and has a brain (which obviously excludes Terry Porter), and draft best player available.

-Option B (the smarter option)- Keep D'Antoni or put Gentry in charge from the start, keep the open court play from the start, move Shaq for a younger/more mobile defensive minded bigman to pair up with Amare, and draft best player available.

Instead of doing one of those, they hired a coach who made everybody besides Shaq play to their weaknesses, traded the last defensive players left on the team for an offense only guy, stupidly made Shaq the primary post option over Amare, and screwed up the draft by living the moment too much instead of evaluating overall draftee season performance.


2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?

The Suns' biggest strength is the Amare/Nash pick n roll, but we were only able to use it for a couple games in between the Porter era (Porter cut off the PnRs) and the Amare injury, so I guess it doesn't count.
Shaq low post isos was what worked best in Porter's system, and Nash's offensive creativity was the the biggest strength under Alvin Gentry (who took Porter's brakes off of Nash).


3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
Gotta be Shaq and Lou. Shaq did what was asked of him and was the only player who fit well in Porter's system, then he was able to adjust to Gentry's run n gun well for a guy his age. Lou's hustle off the bench was very usefull. Dudley also had a nice run under Gentry.


4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
The J-Rich and Lopez acquisitions didn't work out well, but that wasn't really "suprising" to me since I wasn't expecting them to be good fits for the team's needs at the time they happened anyways.


5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
More confident then I was last season actually (not like it could get worse from there, lol). I was sure Kerr was gonna screw over the team this past season, and that's exactly what he did, but he might be learning from his mistakes.
He showed signs of improvement by firing Porter while still into the season and returning to run n gun, and apparantly he's finally realized that basketball teams need defensive minded players too...


6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?

Team needs defensive minded players, but shouldn't pass up on superior talent just to get good fits. Draft Best Player Available, then trade him if need be.


7. Who would you like your team to select with the 14th pick?

TERRENCE FRICKIN WILLIAMS, hopefully he'll be available, if not then Lawson.
Would be cool if opponent teams' scouts get fooled by Jennings' mediocre performances in Europe and let him slip to us, but doubt that happens.

[amitg]

Everything you said. Except, I don't get how you say we need a defensive, athletic shooting guard, yet don't think we should pick up T-Will.

i'm not living in the U.S, so i don't really know these NCAA players...
i can tell you that Rubio will be amazing, but can't say much about the projected 1st rounders...

[RaisingArizona]

1. What could the team have done different to make the playoffs?
Keep Mr Pringles ; make STAT wear his goggles; draft impact players in the draft instead of garbage time fillers.

2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?

The offense was consistent throughout the year.

3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?

Grant Hill. He played a lot better than I thought he would. Honorable mentions go to Lou, Shaq and Dudley.

4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
Dragic, Lopez, Stoudemire, Barnes( Shooting %, TO's, Way too streaky) , Barbosa( 1st half of season)

5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
I think Kerr knows he messed up so he needs to fix it somehow. With that being said, I'm not confident at all that we wont be a lottery team next year as well.

6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
Athleticism, Defense, High basketball IQ, Backup pg, Toughness, 3 point specialist... A lot of needs.

7. Who would you like your team to select with the 14th pick?
Flynn, or Williams.

[eastsidecrossover]

Sun Scorched said it best, but I will add to it.

1. What could the team have done different to make the playoffs?
Coaching, fire Steve Kerr and of course, not losing Amare.

2. Where were the team’s biggest strengths?
Scoring and P-n-R

3. Who had a surprisingly effective season?
Shaq of course. Nash at the end of the season showed no slowing down after the coaching change.

4. Who had a surprisingly ineffective season?
Lopez and Tragic. Both suck and Kerr loves to overhype them. Barbs like always was inconsistent

5. How confident are you in the front office heading into the offseason?
Look at our history in drafting and a limited budget.

6. What are the team’s biggest needs in the draft?
BPA. We have old guys and whatever the suns evaluated as the highest and best player, suns need to take him no matter what.

7. Who would you like your team to select with the 14th pick?

BPA

[rag-time4]

1. The Suns picked up Stromile Swift but didn't really use him, instead choosing to start Matt Barnes at PF. As a direct result of this decision, the Suns defense in the paint was terrible, and a long losing streak late in the season around the time of Swift's acquisition is what did the Suns in. Shaq needed help in the frontcourt but the coaching staff refused to give it to him.

2.Despite starting Barnes, the Suns maintained the ability to catch fire and beat anyone. However the lack of a consistently effective PF in the starting lineup (though Swift was available) made the Suns an inconsistent team, particularly because with Amaré the PF is such a key position.

3. Shaq had a great season with some very nice performances, and was consistently healthy and available. His defense was not great though, and he needed more defensive players getting minutes around him, especially with Nash at pg.

4. Nash was perhaps surprisingly ineffective late in the season (perhaps it's surprising, no doubt he was ineffective). His defense was terrible, and he had some poor performances at key times, in particular a key game against Portland where every pass he threw seemed to get deflected or stolen by Portland. The team did well when he missed a few games late in the season, then had a colossal losing streak upon his return. His poor defense means that he's not a good defensive complement for Shaq, and his lack of awareness of Stromile Swift's finishing ability in pick and roll situations was most disappointing of all. Amundson threw a couple alley oops to Swift, I don't think Nash even attempted one. Swift could have helped the Suns make the playoffs but Nash wasn't effective at making Swift better and getting him involved.

5. The Suns are in a bit of disarray right now. The chemistry of the organization as a whole seems shaky. It seems they want to run and gun again, but I don't believe the front office really wants to play that way. The coaching staff needs to do a much better job of addressing defensive woes, rather than pointing them out every game and repeatedly starting the same lineup with Barnes at PF every game. I'm not really confident in the front office but the personnel on the roster is not terrible.

6. The team needs defense. Wouldn't mind seeing them trade their choices for a good defensive player if available.

7. It's moot for next season if the Suns don't make a commitment to playing guys with Shaq and Nash who are good defensive players. If T Mac is healthy and available the Suns should go after him. The Suns aren't good enough to draft players who can't contribute and still win a championship, so I would rather see them get someone who can make an immedeate impact.

[Sun Scorched]

His poor defense means that he's not a good defensive complement for Shaq

His defense was not great though, and he needed more defensive players getting minutes around him.

I get that O'Neal isn't great at covering the PNR on defense, I do.

Still, not that many teams even have the ability to run an effective PNR.

Even then, O'Neal's man-on defense is pretty damn good for his age. He's still 7'1" and 360lbs. I don't know if I've seen many people block Yao Ming, but Shaq has.

Frankly, I don't know why everyone always says "We need a defensive presence in the paint" like O'Neal doesn't exist.

To revisit, O'Neal has done SO MUCH MORE than we could have ever expected. We needed rebounding (specifically offensive rebounding), he gave us that and 60% from the field, a PER of over 20 and was our only player on the All-Star team. Let's get off his jock about his ability to jump-out on the PNR.

[rag-time4]

His poor defense means that he's not a good defensive complement for Shaq

His defense was not great though, and he needed more defensive players getting minutes around him.

I get that O'Neal isn't great at covering the PNR on defense, I do.

Still, not that many teams even have the ability to run an effective PNR.

Even then, O'Neal's man-on defense is pretty damn good for his age. He's still 7'1" and 360lbs. I don't know if I've seen many people block Yao Ming, but Shaq has.

Frankly, I don't know why everyone always says "We need a defensive presence in the paint" like O'Neal doesn't exist.

To revisit, O'Neal has done SO MUCH MORE than we could have ever expected. We needed rebounding (specifically offensive rebounding), he gave us that and 60% from the field, a PER of over 20 and was our only player on the All-Star team. Let's get off his jock about his ability to jump-out on the PNR.

Shaq was repeatedly exposed defensively at the end of the season, time after time giving up last second shots to opposing guards. My point is that the coaching staff and management need to take this into account and address it if the team is going to get better. In my responses to the questions, I listed Shaq as having a great season. What I said was that he needed better defenders around him.

If you're going to play Nash and Shaq together, you need better defenders out there than Barnes and Richardson.

[JohnVancouver]

Nash's defensie shortcomings were never much of a topic until we lost Marion and Bell and added JRich

[dantian]

Nash's defensie shortcomings were never much of a topic until we lost Marion and Bell and added JRich

1. because we never cared about standard defense under DA!

2. under porter, his defense became instant problem with Bell without JRich!

3. conclusion from your claim can only be, send Nash to where the Marions and Bells are

[JohnVancouver]

Nash's defensie shortcomings were never much of a topic until we lost Marion and Bell and added JRich

1. because we never cared about standard defense under DA!

2. under porter, his defense became instant problem with Bell without JRich!

3. conclusion from your claim can only be, send Nash to where the Marions and Bells are

--- No, my conclusion is that blaming Nash's defense for the teams problems is an easy and foolish conclusion. The team's defense does no live or die solely with Nash; adding Richardson and Shaq, with his deficiencies in defensive movement combined with Nash's defensive shortcomings, Amare's lack of interest in defending, rebounding etc (despite his claims last year that he wanted to be Ron Artest) and the loss of Bell ... disaster.

So the conclusion would be: add some players who can alleviate the problem, not add to it. Whether we keep Nash or not.

As to the D'Antoni era, look up the stats - we were middle of the pack defensively and led the league offensively. Now look at last year's defensive rankings.

[dantian]

Nash's defensie shortcomings were never much of a topic until we lost Marion and Bell and added JRich

1. because we never cared about standard defense under DA!

2. under porter, his defense became instant problem with Bell without JRich!

3. conclusion from your claim can only be, send Nash to where the Marions and Bells are

--- No, my conclusion is that blaming Nash's defense for the teams problems is an easy and foolish conclusion. The team's defense does no live or die solely with Nash; adding Richardson and Shaq, with his deficiencies in defensive movement combined with Nash's defensive shortcomings, Amare's lack of interest in defending, rebounding etc (despite his claims last year that he wanted to be Ron Artest) and the loss of Bell ... disaster.

So the conclusion would be: add some players who can alleviate the problem, not add to it. Whether we keep Nash or not.

As to the D'Antoni era, look up the stats - we were middle of the pack defensively and led the league offensively. Now look at last year's defensive rankings.

That's exactly what I was referring to, with non-standard defense. We cover Nash's def. deficiency best with fast pace that makes everybody tired, and with a lot of gambling for steals and off. charges. The problem was, that was not good enough. Our offense was too reliant on Nash. That's why I don't like going back to that kind of game where Nash's def. problem is less exposed. One and done at most! What for?