The Phoenix "Suns" Horizon

[mrorng]

What are the plans moving forward for the Suns organization? Many people are interested to see what the front office plans to do in the coming years. Lon Babby stated that
he and his team have spent time “clearing off the books” since they have arrived and
stated that they have “a tremendous amount of cap space going into the summer.” Babby
continued to outline his plan moving forward stating, “We will swing for the fences, if
that is available. That is not to say that we are likely to get a max player, but we could if
we wanted to and ownership will support us in every aspect of that.” Babby did offer
caution when he said, “We may not spend our money this summer, because the most
important thing is to be discipline. I do not want to create any expectations about this
July. We must be discipline, because we only get one crack at it and as you can see, it
takes a long time to unwind and we have to get the right players at the right price.” For
many Suns fans that have been critical of Robert Sarver and the perception that he does
not want to spend money to build a winning franchise, Babby said this, “We have full
and complete authority to spend what we need to make this a winning franchise and if I
did not feel this way, I would not be here.”

What Babby’s message focused on was that the Phoenix Suns are in transition.
He stated that he has set the franchise up going into this off-season in a position to make the right moves when they become available. He can and will spend what is needed to land
the right players moving forward. Though this season there will not be many great free
agents available as many of them are signing extensions with their current teams, Babby
stated that just because they have freed up a tremendous amount of cap space going into
this off-season doesn’t mean they will spend it. He has continually delivered the same
message in my conversations with him since his arrival in Phoenix. A message of
discipline and him wanting Suns fans to hold him accountable to that.

My question to Suns fans is this. Do you believe in the front office? Do you believe in Lon Babby and that he and his team actually will have the authority to spend what they need to in order to build a championship team and the support from the ownership group? Only time will tell, but from all of my conversations with Babby, he has delivered a very consistent message and if we do remain discipline and wait for the right players, I think the Suns franchise truly is in one of the best positions financially moving forward to make great improvements and would want to wait for the right players at the right price and not just spend to get a few names here that are not the right ones for the future of the franchise.

[Cutter]

Overall I am ok with this FO. I like this recent off season where they signed guys to 1-year contracts in order to preserve capspace for 2012 Free Agency. When Babby talks about "swinging for the fences" this summer I think he is talking about making a play for Dwight Howard and Deron Williams. It is not very likely to happen, but if it did it would certaintly change this franchise!

[RaisingArizona]

Under the Sarver regime, for every good thing the FO does, they do 2 stupid things as well. I'm not overly confident in our direction FO wise but Phoenix is known to attract pretty good Free Agents. We'll see, but I'm not holding my breath.

[mrorng]

Totally agree. If he could land them both he definitely would. I did not mention it in here, but he did state that he would sign 2 max deals players if that was the right move, so expect them to have the ability to really become aggressive if the right deals present themselves throughout the next few years.

[Azsports77]

Considering that Lon Babby and Lance Blanks where not here when a lot of the dumb moves where made I am willing to give them a chance but as far as Sarver goes I think his reputation is damaged and I don't believe he will just let Lon Babby and Blanks do what they want if he believes strongly in something he will overrule them just like in the past and that's led to some dumb decisions being made. But as far as the rest of the FO I will judge them after the next two seasons have played out. Sarver is willing to spend that has never been the problem its the dumb decisions he has made from running the team like his bank to trading Kurt Thomas for two first round draft picks as long as he owns the Suns the perception is that he will continue to make stupid mistakes like saying I want the MLE back so I can buy my wife a diamond studded purse.The best thing for the Suns that Sarver can do is sell them because he doesn't understand how to run a team and it shows in how the front office is structured that's great for a bank not so much for a sports team.

[_Nashoholic_]

We can't afford both Howard and Deron, can we? There is no way we have that much $, even if you amnesty Warrick or Chilly

[mybloodisorange]

The good news is that Phoenix is now clearing space to sign some big time free agents. The bad news is the top tier FA's arent going to sign here. Rather than overpaying for second tier stars they need to stand strong and keep flxibility for the next years FA class.

I miss the days when Phoenix was a free agent magnet. There is no way Dwight is coming here.

[mrorng]

He actually said they could afford two big names. When asked specifics names, he obviously said he could not discuss individual players names, but did say he has room for two max players, if they are the right ones and he so chooses.

[DRK]

He actually said they could afford two big names. When asked specifics names, he obviously said he could not discuss individual players names, but did say he has room for two max players, if they are the right ones and he so chooses.

Lets just hope he doesnt do a "Joe Dumars" and destroys our future flexibility signing mediocre players.

(See Ben Gordon, Charlie V)

[wordsenuff]

The good news is that Phoenix is now clearing space to sign some big time free agents. The bad news is the top tier FA's arent going to sign here. Rather than overpaying for second tier stars they need to stand strong and keep flxibility for the next years FA class.

I miss the days when Phoenix was a free agent magnet. There is no way Dwight is coming here.

this, pretty much

we aren't the only team clearing cap space. so we're going to have to be real persuasive but
i dont think we'll get much talent this off season.

[JasonDaPsycho]

Please don't tell me we''ll be signing people for the sake of doing so (we all know neither Dwight nor Deron are coming over, and they are the only players who worth anything remotely close to a max).

On an unrelated note, tank for Drummond / Barnes.

[eastsidecrossover]

Please don't tell me we''ll be signing people for the sake of doing so (we all know neither Dwight nor Deron are coming over, and they are the only players who worth anything remotely close to a max).

On an unrelated note, tank for Drummond / Barnes.

They need too, but they wont do it.

[eastsidecrossover]

Mr Orng, you are telling us the obvious here. It has been well reported with most papers and news organizations associated in covering the suns what their plans are going forward and how they plan on executing that. However, with past actions and how the nba works, I will not be surprised they reach for a 2nd tier player and overpay. Reason why I say that is because they think they can make the playoffs with this team as is constructed and fans will get pissed they are not doing anything to improve. IMO, If the suns want to be a market for big time FA, they need to build a structure of young talent like we did back in the 03-04 season. The way we landing FA's is not what most really remember. we never really landed top tier FA in our history. We only traded for them because we had the pieces in doing so. The FA's most of the time are ones that are on the decline and come here because of the opportunity to win. Nash at the time was not a top tier FA, but we got lucky with that and many said we overpaid for him. Most of the time, that does not happen. But we have to face reality and realize that is no more and we have to suck it up, hit rock bottom and build up our foundation to attract top tier FA's again if possible.

Besides that, we are not on Dwills or D12's list. Why would we be? Just because we have the money? If that is true, why not stay with their current teams who can give them more money? Most of the top young FA's have re-upped with their current teams. Plus, both players can pick up their player options if they wanted too. We are not a big time city that attracts stars like LA, NY, Miami, or Chicago. I rather take our lumps this and next year and accumulate top talent in the draft and build from there. Now to me, that is a business plan of building up your base and moving on with the future of this organization. You have to look at what other destinations like Portland and OKC did in building their teams. You hold on too long to your greats, you get burned like the Celtics did for years. Thats why the great professional organizations know when its time to part ways with their aging stars and move forward and build with younger talent. Its a business, and Im not sure Babby and Sarver get that.

[King Of Wang]

please tell that criminal thief, mister $arver, to sell the team immediately. he has destroyed our beloved franchise and turned it into a plate of steamed dog **** that isnt even bad enough to get a good draft pick and draft a young STUD to build around. he is a monster and as usual he is putting his pocketbook ahead of the team and the fans by keeping nash to sell more tickets, and giving us more bull excuses to justify his mastermind thief actions. you are not loyal, you lying S.O.B. if you were loyal you wouldnt argue and let joe johnson sign with atlanta over 2 million, you wouldnt trade our beloved matrix for snaquille fat'neal, and you wouldnt let our other beloved stud amare sign with new york because you are too cheap. yes sir , keep spewing your bull lies, you think the fans are stupid mister sarver???? get lost punk. have fun keeping this mediocre garbage team and watch the ticket sales plummet REGARDLESS. fans care about the TEAM more than mvsteve, just FYI, creep

[Cutter]

please tell that criminal thief, mister $arver, to sell the team immediately. he has destroyed our beloved franchise and turned it into a plate of steamed dog **** that isnt even bad enough to get a good draft pick and draft a young STUD to build around. he is a monster and as usual he is putting his pocketbook ahead of the team and the fans by keeping nash to sell more tickets, and giving us more bull excuses to justify his mastermind thief actions. you are not loyal, you lying S.O.B. if you were loyal you wouldnt argue and let joe johnson sign with atlanta over 2 million, you wouldnt trade our beloved matrix for snaquille fat'neal, and you wouldnt let our other beloved stud amare sign with new york because you are too cheap. yes sir , keep spewing your bull lies, you think the fans are stupid mister sarver???? get lost punk. have fun keeping this mediocre garbage team and watch the ticket sales plummet REGARDLESS. fans care about the TEAM more than mvsteve, just FYI, creep

You know there's medication out there that will make the world seem not so jumbled

[HootieRules]

Let's look at the 3 ways you can build a team in this league.

Free agency - Hard to believe this front office doesn't have the intelligence to look at the landscape of the league and realize these marquee free agents just aren't available. The new CBA is geared towards keeping your own players. Understandable the front office can't talk specifics but I've not seen one person offer a reasonable way to build this team through free agency without just selling unfounded, hypothetical hope and no substance.

Trades - They're the 3rd oldest team in the league. They have 3 guys who are amnesty-worthy on long-term bad contracts who are playing less than 22 minutes a game. They have TWO desireable assets on this team right now. One, Gortat, enough said. The other, Nash, a guy who is not going to sell out his teammates and demand a trade. Re-signing Nash out of loyalty as an ode to future free agents is the biggest pile of crap I've ever heard. Nash is their meal ticket to a non-empty arena and that's the only explanation I have, as miserably shortsighted as it is.

Draft - Are they really ignoring 40+ years of history of the league that you build a foundation through the draft? Dan Bickley put it perfectly: the Suns must trade him soon, before he can turn a flawed, talent-deprived team into something mediocre. Mediocre is the last place you want to be in this league. Bad enough to not give the paying-fans anything to be excited about, good enough to have little hope of landing a franchise player in a draft. The problem is, do we even trust this franchise to draft well if they do wise-up and tank?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/draft.html

So the plan right now is to sign Nash because we can pay him more than anyone else and we're loyal, continue to draft in less-than-desirable positions, and prep for a free agency that is setting up to be weaker by the week in a CBA that is geared towards keeping your own players?

My question to Suns fans is this. Do you believe in the front office?

Nope.

[DRK]

My question to Suns fans is this. Do you believe in the front office? Do you believe in Lon Babby and that he and his team actually will have the authority to spend what they need to in order to build a championship team and the support from the ownership group? Only time will tell, but from all of my conversations with Babby, he has delivered a very consistent message and if we do remain discipline and wait for the right players, I think the Suns franchise truly is in one of the best positions financially moving forward to make great improvements and would want to wait for the right players at the right price and not just spend to get a few names here that are not the right ones for the future of the franchise.

Right now, I'm 50-50. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt with the Warrick/Chilly signings, and consider the Dragic trade the only "bad" move. The Gortat trade however was superb, getting rid of Hedo's large contract. But you must ask why the F did we trade for him in the first place, and who on earth thought that planning to play Hedo at PF was a good idea???

We've had one draft from this F.O. And it landed us Markieff Morris. Small sample size, but I am very happy with the pick so far.

[bwgood77]

I am very glad to hear the front office's approach with our cap space. I feared that because we had a ton of cap space, we might end up spending it on mediocre players. I love that if they cannot get a max type player, they might just retain the cap space.

We have long spent money on the wrong people when our cap space was available. Whether it be when McDyess bolted and we spent a ton on Googs and Longley, or when it was Warrick, Childress and Frye when Amare bolted.

I would rather wait until the time is right (ala OKC and Memphis) and build the right way.

At this point I also don't mind hanging onto Nash since he doesn't have much value and there really isn't a young pg to groom. I think trying to plug in Price, Telfair, or whoever else, when it isn't our projected pg of the future is a mistake and might stunt the growth and development of guys like Morris and Gortat.

Even if we end up with the 9th or 10th pick, we still have a chance at a top 3 pick, but if not, we likely will end up with a solid prospect like Beal or Lamb who could be our starting 2 of the future. If our rookie gets major minutes, having Nash around (if he stays beyond this year) will only enable the rookie to develop faster.

[RunSunRun]

We're the new Clippers of the Pacific Division, of course I'm just thrilled with the direction of our front office and franchise.

/green font

Seriously though, this is the worst I have seen the franchise in decades. At least in the past when we struggled, we had promising young stars that gave us hope of better days ahead. There is no player like that on the current Suns and $arver is more likely to win the Powerball than to attract a major FA signing.

We basically have to bank on the draft and getting lucky with a franchise player, awesome plan.

[eastsidecrossover]

Let's look at the 3 ways you can build a team in this league.

Free agency - Hard to believe this front office doesn't have the intelligence to look at the landscape of the league and realize these marquee free agents just aren't available. The new CBA is geared towards keeping your own players. Understandable the front office can't talk specifics but I've not seen one person offer a reasonable way to build this team through free agency without just selling unfounded, hypothetical hope and no substance.

Trades - They're the 3rd oldest team in the league. They have 3 guys who are amnesty-worthy on long-term bad contracts who are playing less than 22 minutes a game. They have TWO desireable assets on this team right now. One, Gortat, enough said. The other, Nash, a guy who is not going to sell out his teammates and demand a trade. Re-signing Nash out of loyalty as an ode to future free agents is the biggest pile of crap I've ever heard. Nash is their meal ticket to a non-empty arena and that's the only explanation I have, as miserably shortsighted as it is.

Draft - Are they really ignoring 40+ years of history of the league that you build a foundation through the draft? Dan Bickley put it perfectly: the Suns must trade him soon, before he can turn a flawed, talent-deprived team into something mediocre. Mediocre is the last place you want to be in this league. Bad enough to not give the paying-fans anything to be excited about, good enough to have little hope of landing a franchise player in a draft. The problem is, do we even trust this franchise to draft well if they do wise-up and tank?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHO/draft.html

So the plan right now is to sign Nash because we can pay him more than anyone else and we're loyal, continue to draft in less-than-desirable positions, and prep for a free agency that is setting up to be weaker by the week in a CBA that is geared towards keeping your own players?

My question to Suns fans is this. Do you believe in the front office?

Nope.

could not say it any better. Its actually what I said before. Build the foundation of this organization going forward through the draft and you have hope. You stick with a 38 pg, role players/back of the bench type of players, your are going to be a failure for a long time. Cant hold on to things too long in this business or you are going to get burned like the Celtics did with Bird, McC and so forth. Took them two decades to get back on top due to this and the suns are heading in the same direction (- the championships)