Please forgive if this didn't need its own topic.
Two players on the road trip caught my eye, both in terms of their current abilities and their ceilings: J.J. Hickson and Nick Young. As I see it, the most consistently successful teams over the last two decades have been those that have 1) a dominant, scoring/rebounding center (or PF, in Duncan's case) and 2) a dominant wing player (Jordan, Wade, James, Durant, Bryant, etc.).
The Suns have good potential at C, though the argument about how much potential continues to rage.
We have a promising talent at the PG position, and he's training under the best in the game. We have good young role players in Duds, Frye, and Childress. So, here's what I see. We've got an obvious hole to fill at PF. If we're looking for a Duncan or Amare, we may wait a very, very long time--and we all saw how far we got with Amare: close, but not close enough. So, we need a serviceable young talent at that position. Hickson has size, and in some cases plays bigger than his listed height. He has a jumper that can be developed, athleticism, and some raw rebounding ability. Barring injury, I see him as a future starter and consistent contributor.
Nick Young has the ability to become a 20/5/5/2 kind of player. He has the athletic ability, energy, and shooting touch that allow him to be a scorer. He's also got good (and improving) court-vision, a nose for the ball, and the desire to play defense. I don't like to make comparisons, but I think he could develop into a quicker Brandon Roy type with time and refinement, and I see "future go-to scorer" written all over him.
I'm trying to think realistically, in terms of guys we have a shot at acquiring and building around.
What do you guys think of these players, and what do you think we'd have to give up to get them? We've gotta fill those two needs and get younger.
Thanks for reading. Discuss!
