2014 Official FA Thread

[In2ition]

Yeah, guess I'm clueless.

Yeah, me too. We're certainly not as learned in this basketball thingy as any Laker fan.

[Sunsdeuce]

How many clueless sunsholes do we have on this board?


Full speed ahead clueless sunsholes!!!!!

[sunsbum]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here a little bit. I think signing bledsoe to a max would be a giant mistake. Not only that but if the suns are truely interested in Hayward I believe he is a much lower injury risk that would easily be able to replace EBs production next year.

The suns took a little dive when Eric went out but have recovered nicely. That kind of fed my eyeball test theory all along which is EB is more of a luxury than a necessity to phx.

[bwgood77]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here a little bit. I think signing bledsoe to a max would be a giant mistake. Not only that but if the suns are truely interested in Hayward I believe he is a much lower injury risk that would easily be able to replace EBs production next year.

The suns took a little dive when Eric went out but have recovered nicely. That kind of fed my eyeball test theory all along which is EB is more of a luxury than a necessity to phx.

But do you let him walk for nothing? What if Utah matches any Hayward offer? They really have no reason not to because their cap situation has ZERO bad contracts on it. Would you trade Bledsoe for Afflalo?

[MrMiyagi]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here a little bit. I think signing bledsoe to a max would be a giant mistake. Not only that but if the suns are truely interested in Hayward I believe he is a much lower injury risk that would easily be able to replace EBs production next year.

The suns took a little dive when Eric went out but have recovered nicely. That kind of fed my eyeball test theory all along which is EB is more of a luxury than a necessity to phx.

That's not an unreasonable assessment. I'd like to keep Bledsoe, he and Dragic running the floor together is pretty hard for opposing defenses, so is having the ability to have one of them on the floor at all times. However, seeing how well we've done without him, I think that Hayward would slot in nicely with how we currently run things.

Perfect case scenario for me is to somehow get Hayward, Bledsoe and Dragic all on the same team. If one of those guys has to go, I'd try to find a reliable low post scorer.

[sunsbum]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here a little bit. I think signing bledsoe to a max would be a giant mistake. Not only that but if the suns are truely interested in Hayward I believe he is a much lower injury risk that would easily be able to replace EBs production next year.

The suns took a little dive when Eric went out but have recovered nicely. That kind of fed my eyeball test theory all along which is EB is more of a luxury than a necessity to phx.

But do you let him walk for nothing? What if Utah matches any Hayward offer? They really have no reason not to because their cap situation has ZERO bad contracts on it. Would you trade Bledsoe for Afflalo?

We are definitely at a strange little crossroad aren't we? I haven't watched Aaron play at all through his career so I can't say much on him. I'm glad McD will be making these next few decisions and not me!

[bwgood77]

I'm gonna stick my neck out here a little bit. I think signing bledsoe to a max would be a giant mistake. Not only that but if the suns are truely interested in Hayward I believe he is a much lower injury risk that would easily be able to replace EBs production next year.

The suns took a little dive when Eric went out but have recovered nicely. That kind of fed my eyeball test theory all along which is EB is more of a luxury than a necessity to phx.

But do you let him walk for nothing? What if Utah matches any Hayward offer? They really have no reason not to because their cap situation has ZERO bad contracts on it. Would you trade Bledsoe for Afflalo?

We are definitely at a strange little crossroad aren't we? I haven't watched Aaron play at all through his career so I can't say much on him. I'm glad McD will be making these next few decisions and not me!

I haven't watched Afflalo enough either to know, but know he has been putting up great numbers. I posted a question on the player comparison board to see what non biased people might think of such a deal.

[Frank Lee]

When you publicly say, and say it early that you will match all offers and do whatever it takes to retain a player.... well, that is what you do. Bledsoe was going to cost 10-12 mill likely. If you are going to over pay someone, you might as well overpay a difference maker. So he costs an extra 3 mill... just restructure Frye to a 3/4/4/4

[DirtyDez]

Afflalo has taken his game to another level this year. The drafting of Oladipo was probably the best thing for him in terms of motivation. He's shooting the 3-ball well and setting others up but his D has dropped off a bit which is fine given his increased responsibility on offense

[carey]

When you publicly say, and say it early that you will match all offers and do whatever it takes to retain a player.... well, that is what you do. Bledsoe was going to cost 10-12 mill likely. If you are going to over pay someone, you might as well overpay a difference maker. So he costs an extra 3 mill... just restructure Frye to a 3/4/4/4

Frye's not doing that. And an "extra $3Mil" a year is a big deal.

[Cutter]

C'mon guys this is a $14million chess match going on. Suns announce publicaly many times over that they will match any offer ( max or otherwise) for Bledsoe to discourage other teams form making an offer. Other teams like Lakers could make a max offer trying to force the Suns to tie up major cap space for someone who is really worth about $10 million per year. Suns countermove the Lakers and don't match the max off for Bledsoe. Lakers now have a PG who is very good but not worth anywhere near the max.

[SunsFanSSOL]

Suns should and will do anything to retain Bledsoe. All this Lakers being interested in Bledsoe is nonsense and speculation from Ford and Broussard based on the fact the Lakers are weak at the point. Sarver said he is going to do everything to keep Bledsoe and he's already got good chemistry with the team. I also don't understand the infatuation with Hayward. This is his year to take control of the Jazz and light it up and he's been inefficient and his scoring numbers aren't very impressive. I'd focus our attention on a big man down low rather than a wing. With Bledsoe and Dragic being the ball handler's and scorers all we really need from a SF is to play defense and hit the 3. In the low post we get abused a lot on the glass and by other big men.

[INFORMER-93]

I think we need more than a 3&D guy at the 3 spot.

And I wouldn't rule out the Lakers pursuing Bledsoe. In fact, I think them and the Magic will be the main suitors for him. And I think Bledsoe would love to play for the purple and gold (and a big market team in general).

Hayward has not had a good year shooting the ball and scoring, but some columnist claims it's because he gets doubled and tripled all the time. I've always felt he was overrated, but he is very skilled and would be a good fit here.

[SunsFanSSOL]

I think we need more than a 3&D guy at the 3 spot.

And I wouldn't rule out the Lakers pursuing Bledsoe. In fact, I think them and the Magic will be the main suitors for him. And I think Bledsoe would love to play for the purple and gold (and a big market team in general).

Hayward has not had a good year shooting the ball and scoring, but some columnist claims it's because he gets doubled and tripled all the time. I've always felt he was overrated, but he is very skilled and would be a good fit here.

Every player in the league would love to play for the Lakers and in LA, but Bledsoe has already played for the Clippers, he already knows what a big market and LA is all about. He strikes me as a reserved guy who doesn't need the spotlight. He tweeted that the chemistry on this team is great so I think he likes it here. We're going to get to negotiate with him first and are probably already having discussions with his agent about this off-season, but even if he doesn't want to stay, which I highly doubt, it's not his choice. There is no benefit to letting Bledsoe go for nothing, and we're not going to S&T unless it's an outstanding offer, not for a guy like Afflalo who is turning 30 soon. McDonough has stated over and over and Sarver has stated over and over that they will keep Bledsoe no matter what. McDonough also said he wants to get guys who are under 25 so I don't see him leaving.

As for Hayward, I haven't watched him much but his stats are unimpressive. Looking at them it looks like he does nothing at an elite level. If he is as good as some claim, then I don't see why Utah would let him go. The only thing he has going for him is he has a good BBIQ, he's young and he can have big games. I do think it would be a mistake to offer such an inconsistent player the max. Especially an unproven one like Hayward. Greg Monroe is my top priority outside of Bledsoe for FA. Plumlee just isn't a very skilled offensive player, and outside of Plumlee none of our big men can rebound at a high level. If we were to give Hayward an offer, I'd give no more than $8-9m range.

A 3 and D guy would work fine at the 3 spot. Our best teams with Amare/Marion/Nash were so good scoring wise we only needed Bell at the 2, not some big time scorer. Same thing with the Spurs with Danny Green, Lakers with MWP and Ariza, Miami with Battier, Portland with Matthews, and OKC with Sefolosha. Obviously we're not at the talent level of these teams yet, but we've already got 2 very good guards who can handle the scoring and ball handling, so I would focus our attention on getting some help down low and improving the depth instead of blowing our money on a guy like Hayward.

[TOO]

I'm a Monroe fan, but I'm not sure he fits well in Hornys system. I think he fits better in a grind it out offense. He's also a mediocre defender. I see him getting more than what Al Jefferson got in terms of money and I'm noy sure I'd Monroe that much.

[RunDogGun]

It all depends on Bledsoe, which is probably good for him. But if he is talking to another big name player about signing together, he could take less to get a better team around him. The dumb players are ones that go for all the money for themselves. But that all depends on whether a player wants a championship or just an ok season. One player clearly doesn't make a team.

So, we need to get to him as soon as he hits FA, and beat all the other teams to the punch. Sell him on the team, and a decent contract, as long as our med staff signs off on it. If not, you see which offers are made, and work out a sign and trade with Bledsoe before he signs the offer sheet.

[DirtyDez]

I think we need more than a 3&D guy at the 3 spot.

And I wouldn't rule out the Lakers pursuing Bledsoe. In fact, I think them and the Magic will be the main suitors for him. And I think Bledsoe would love to play for the purple and gold (and a big market team in general).

Hayward has not had a good year shooting the ball and scoring, but some columnist claims it's because he gets doubled and tripled all the time. I've always felt he was overrated, but he is very skilled and would be a good fit here.

"He’s getting double-teams, triple-teams, but he’s still playing great. Gordon to me is a very, very top-of-the-line player. I think he’s just trying to prove himself to Utah that he’s worthy of having a bigger deal," said Carroll

"Our scouting report, we’re talking about Gordon Hayward, Gordon Hayward, Gordon Hayward," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. "To be able to take that kind of defensive focus and attention and still produce for himself and his teammates is something that’s a big adjustment''.

http://www.chatsports.com/utah-jazz/a/U ... -0-9042699

I would still prefer Lance cause he' more physical and plays D. I think we need that in the playoffs and if we're giving a guy near-max dollars i want the full package...

[Ring_Wanted]

Right now we are totally in the dark. We need to see how healthy Bledsoe comes back and above all we need to see what he can do in the playoffs, and a lot can happen at the draft.

If Bledsoe struggles in the postseason I fully entertain sign and trades, but considering his kind of game I have faith in a good playoff performance, assuming he is healthy of course.

To us he is easily worth 10-12M per even with Dragic, unless somehow you can get Smart or Exum. Otherwise the difference from having him making 3M more than he should against losing him for nothing, is just too wide to let him go.

This team is playing extremely well, fierce and getting big wins, but I am of the opinion that they don't have an extra gear for the playoffs, unlike the top teams, and Bledsoe is the closest thing we have to lift us.

Stephenson just netted a triple double against us, but he is clearly too volatile. I'd entertain signing him but I believe the concerns about his head are more than legit and as Informer has been pointed, a change of scenario might only lead to buyer's remorse.

Hayward is the way to go if you want improvement from the wing, but we'd need to blow away the player with an offer and then probably pay something relevant in a sign and trade. His game screams Phoenix but the contract has a good chance to become an albatross if the efficiency is not there.

[Frank Lee]

Stephenson just netted a triple double against us, but he is clearly too volatile. I'd entertain signing him but I believe the concerns about his head are more than legit and as Informer has been pointed, a change of scenario might only lead to buyer's remorse.

A trip dub ? I didn't even notice, and Al Mc sure didn't tell me hahaha.

I'd shy away from this cat. He just has that punk feel about him. I find it odd too, that his folks are getting into the discussion about him signing w/indiana. Probably just a story starved pseudo reporter though.

[nevetsov]

Stephenson instead of Bledsoe means that Goran would have to guard the PG, which is precisely what we don't want. Plus, we would also need a capable backup, which in total would end up costing us about what Bled will anyway. At least we know that the dragon-blade works.