Bucks looking at Bledsoe, probably.

[Relentless88]

Bledsoe makes sense because he is a young star PG. Lin makes sense because he expires, and you'd get along assets in a rebuilding year. But Vasquez doesn't make much sense. He's RFA which means you'd be getting him on a long term contract (at least 3 years, I'm guessing). He's a decent player, but I don't think he's that much of an upgrade over Wolters. He's a better 3 point shooter, but his defense is pathetic; one of the worst defenders in the league at the PG spot. I thought Calderon had that title, until Vasquez came to Toronto.

[tedbrogen]

I think they max out Bledsoe and end up dealing Dragic

Well then let's put the 4-year/$64 million dollar deal on the table and make the Suns spend it all like the Bulls and Heat did with us and Tim Thomas or the Cav's did with Michael Redd or the Heat did it to us with Mo Williams and Charlie Bell. No harm in screwing up the salary structure of other teams you compete with. We've had it done enough to us.

Exactly. If the new owners and Kidd (honestly, I could care less what Hammond's vision is) think Bledsoe is the third star to pair with Jabari and The Greek, you go all-in and throw the max offer at him that you can. If Phoenix matches it, so be it. At the very least, you just made them choose between matching Bledsoe and chasing LeBron.

No teams have offered Bledsoe anything yet and he knows Phoenix is going to wait it out and ideally wants to pay him as little as possible. So, immediately throwing $64M at him and having Kidd get in his ear, very likely gets him to sign the offer sheet.

[Thunder Muscle]

I think they max out Bledsoe and end up dealing Dragic

Well then let's put the 4-year/$64 million dollar deal on the table and make the Suns spend it all like the Bulls and Heat did with us and Tim Thomas or the Cav's did with Michael Redd or the Heat did it to us with Mo Williams and Charlie Bell. No harm in screwing up the salary structure of other teams you compete with. We've had it done enough to us.

Exactly. If the new owners and Kidd (honestly, I could care less what Hammond's vision is) think Bledsoe is the third star to pair with Jabari and The Greek, you go all-in and throw the max offer at him that you can. If Phoenix matches it, so be it. At the very least, you just made them choose between matching Bledsoe and chasing LeBron.

No teams have offered Bledsoe anything yet and he knows Phoenix is going to wait it out and ideally wants to pay him as little as possible. So, immediately throwing $64M at him and having Kidd get in his ear, very likely gets him to sign the offer sheet.

And if they choose to chase LeBron (and get him), you've ultimately made the Eastern Conference much weaker in the process. If LeBron jumps ship, this conference is WIDE open.

[fearthebucks2]

Yeah, lets look at the things that are different than last year:

1. New ownership. Now, we may still tank for draft position again, but it's something to consider that we have changed owners. We don't really know yet how hands on they will be.

2. New coach. Drew was inept and also may or may not have been tanking in addition to that. I see Kidd being pretty hard nosed about competing personally.

3. Sanders. The biggest one. He played 23 games last year and was only a positive factor in about 5-6 of those. The chances of him not being much more impactful on wins for a total season is slim to none.

4. Giannis. Year 2. Usually when players make their biggest leap.

5. Parker. Will add a lot to our offense even as a rookie. He's ready to play big minutes now.

6. Ersan (if kept). No chance he's near as bad as last year.

Every factor was in our favor for tanking last year. I have a hard time with people saying, "well, we were a 15 win team last year" when talking about X wins for 2014-15. Everything is different. New owners, new coach, star rookie added, Ersan/Sanders. Everything.

I think we're a very good team next year if we don't find a taker for Ersan
Even without a new PG
Wolters
Knight/Middleton
Giannis/Middleton
Parker/Ersan
Sanders/Henson
I'd say 40 wins in the East if we add Bledsoe
30-35 with roster as is
Trading Knight and Ersan is essential if we're looking for 20-25 wins next year

[msiris]

Just say no to Bledsoe. We do not know if the Greek or Parker will be any good. Its about future stars.

[tedbrogen]

Just say no to Bledsoe. We do not know if the Greek or Parker will be any good. Its about future stars.

What if some of us are convinced Bledsoe IS a future star? 24 year old PGs who are elite defenders and get in the lane at will don't grow on trees.

[msiris]

Just say no to Bledsoe. We do not know if the Greek or Parker will be any good. Its about future stars.

What if some of us are convinced Bledsoe IS a future star? 24 year old PGs who are elite defenders and get in the lane at will don't grow on trees.

An injury prone PG who's outside shot is suspect does not deserve a max contract. Some else posted that PGs like him do not last that long. He has average vision at best. I like him ,but I would pass.

[ampd]

Just say no to Bledsoe. We do not know if the Greek or Parker will be any good. Its about future stars.

What if some of us are convinced Bledsoe IS a future star? 24 year old PGs who are elite defenders and get in the lane at will don't grow on trees.

Exactly. The injury and the superstar free agents are the only reasons it might be possible. This situation isn't just going to pop up all the time we need to take advantage while we can.

[Godgers]

Redd got more than the regular max. He got the super max.

And people may have been fine with the deal if not for the injuries and if he was surrounded by a supporting cast who could win a lot of games, like this one may w/ Parker, Giannis, and Sanders. In their prime that core may win 50 games by itself and with solid role players.

So it's an apples and oranges situation.

Sanders is a turd and Giannis has done nothing and shown nothing. Good prospect that is it. He is unknown on what he will do in the NBA. Giannis is Bucks fans overrated player of the year or two. Where every year everyone overrates and over values a player on the Bucks and claims them untradable.

Before Giannis it was Henson. Everyone would say I wouldn't trade Henson for a top 5 pick in the draft. Henson is a valuable untradable player. Even though Henson has done nothing in the NBA.

Giannis was a good pick for the middle of the first round will he work we'll see.

Sanders was literally the best post defender in the NBA the season before last get out of here with that nonsense.

And there is legit reason to be excited for Giannis. near 7 footers with his athleticism, ball handling and court vision don't grow on trees

Sorry I don't put stock into players/thugs. And Giannis went around #15 in the draft for a reason. I hope Giannis develops into a fine player but don't act like all prospects are locks. Allot has to happen in his development throughout many years to turn into the player he is projected to be.

Henson got the same treatment when he was drafted. O we found a gem in the draft. Henson is going to be a beast. What! Henson did nothing in year one? O wait to year two he will bust out. Maybe in year three?

Prospects are prospects for a reason.

[Godgers]

Take a step back from overrating your own players. Most fans struggle to do this. Your team drafts a good prospect and to you its a sure thing.

[Max Green]

Some of you guys are really over-thinking the Bledsoe situation.

* If we sign him to the Max and he lives up to the hype then this would be like OKC getting RW but without having to tank an additional year for him. We would have a Core player at one of the most important positions in the league.

* If he gets hurt and misses all of next season then we will be in contention to win the lottery once again.

* If he a long with our young guys (Yanni, Parker, Larry, Middleton, Henson, Nate) somehow come together and is able to lead us play to the Playoffs at this stage in their careers then we will have one of the best young group of Players in the league.

[JayMKE]

I think its possible we draft outside the top 10 this year without Bledsoe, we sure as hell aren't going to the be in the lottery 2-3 years from now if Giannis and Jabari are who we think they are. That's a straight up fantasy, we're not going to be the worst team in the league like last year and coming into last year most thought we were going to win like 35+ games. Bledsoe is a top 5 pick talent, the chances we get anyone better next year is slim and we're not picking top 5 for the foreseeable future after that. He's is a building block going forward, guys like him don't come along often especially to us.

[xTitan]

Interesting article.....

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas ... ite-talent

[El Duderino]

Which is why Pheonix won't let him go, they would match any offer.

That's where Kidd comes in. He recruits Bledsoe and gets in his head that Milwaukee has a brighter future now than the Suns along with telling Bledsoe that he'll be the man at PG here in MKE and he won't have to share billing with Dragic. Then Bledsoe goes to his agent and tells him to let Phoenix know that he wants out and they should explore a sign and trade.

The Suns need to either land LeBron and/or Bosh or tank. I just don't buy the idea that the Morris twins and Alex Len are any sort of sustainable contender in the West. I think Hornacek got them to massively over-perform last season in a year when they were supposed to win 22 games and get a top five pick. I just see them maxing out Bledsoe and Dragic and ending up a 42-45 win team in no man's land.

I don't buy that the Suns need to land James and/or Bosh or else tank.

They have a very bright GM and organization now. I see Ryan McDonough trying to do something like Morey has done in Houston. Collect as many assets as possible and then bide his time waiting for the right opportunity to land with their organization.

1. Phoenix is a desirable city for athletes to play in

2. Their cap situation is in fabulous shape. They don't have a single multi-year bad contract on their books.

So i see McDonough both trying to lure a top tier player to Phoenix and if that doesn't happen, he'll just keep doing as he did last year. Try finding more under-valued players who fit what Hornacek runs. Try to win more trades. Maybe use his great cap situation to leverage some more assets, be it players or draft picks.

Then bide his time trying to keep enough talent on the roster which could potentially entice a high quality free agent going forward or via a trade. I just don't see McDonough pulling a Sam Hinke and having a fire-sale if he whiffs on James or Bosh this year.

That's why i can't see him refusing to match any max offer the Bucks potentially would put together. Bledsoe is to much of a young talent and asset for McDonough to let just walk given the great shape of the Suns cap. I don't see the Bucks trying to send riff raff like Knight and/or Henson being a mind changer either.

That all said, no harm in making a big offer though, regardless that it likely gets matched.

[skones]

Some of you guys are really over-thinking the Bledsoe situation.

* If we sign him to the Max and he lives up to the hype then this would be like OKC getting RW but without having to tank an additional year for him. We would have a Core player at one of the most important positions in the league.

* If he gets hurt and misses all of next season then we will be in contention to win the lottery once again.

* If he a long with our young guys (Yanni, Parker, Larry, Middleton, Henson, Nate) somehow come together and is able to lead us play to the Playoffs at this stage in their careers then we will have one of the best young group of Players in the league.

Or Parker and Giannis don't develop as expected and suddenly you've got a second or third fiddle in Bledsoe signed to max dollars keeping you in limbo when you're trying to rebuild. That's the real issue here.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Which is why Pheonix won't let him go, they would match any offer.

That's where Kidd comes in. He recruits Bledsoe and gets in his head that Milwaukee has a brighter future now than the Suns along with telling Bledsoe that he'll be the man at PG here in MKE and he won't have to share billing with Dragic. Then Bledsoe goes to his agent and tells him to let Phoenix know that he wants out and they should explore a sign and trade.

The Suns need to either land LeBron and/or Bosh or tank. I just don't buy the idea that the Morris twins and Alex Len are any sort of sustainable contender in the West. I think Hornacek got them to massively over-perform last season in a year when they were supposed to win 22 games and get a top five pick. I just see them maxing out Bledsoe and Dragic and ending up a 42-45 win team in no man's land.

I don't buy that the Suns need to land James and/or Bosh or else tank.

They have a very bright GM and organization now. I see Ryan McDonough trying to do something like Morey has done in Houston. Collect as many assets as possible and then bide his time waiting for the right opportunity to land with their organization.

1. Phoenix is a desirable city for athletes to play in

2. Their cap situation is in fabulous shape. They don't have a single multi-year bad contract on their books.

So i see McDonough both trying to lure a top tier player to Phoenix and if that doesn't happen, he'll just keep doing as he did last year. Try finding more under-valued players who fit what Hornacek runs. Try to win more trades. Maybe use his great cap situation to leverage some more assets, be it players or draft picks.

Then bide his time trying to keep enough talent on the roster which could potentially entice a high quality free agent going forward or via a trade. I just don't see McDonough pulling a Sam Hinke and having a fire-sale if he whiffs on James or Bosh this year.

That's why i can't see him refusing to match any max offer the Bucks potentially would put together. Bledsoe is to much of a young talent and asset for McDonough to let just walk given the great shape of the Suns cap. I don't see the Bucks trying to send riff raff like Knight and/or Henson being a mind changer either.

That all said, no harm in making a big offer though, regardless that it likely gets matched.

very well said. The other thing people seem to forget is the experiment of playing Bledsoe and dragic together worked really well. They were something like 22-9 in games they both started. They compliment each other. Dragic is more effective when he doesn't need to carry all the play making mode and is better at guarding 2s than quick 1s. Bledsoe is a little turnover prone to be the sole distributer. Plus they like have 2 guys who can start the fast break. Sure eventually one might get traded but I don't think it's a move the suns need to make right now.

Sent from my SM-N900V using RealGM Forums mobile app

[LittleRooster]

Some of you guys are really over-thinking the Bledsoe situation.

* If we sign him to the Max and he lives up to the hype then this would be like OKC getting RW but without having to tank an additional year for him. We would have a Core player at one of the most important positions in the league.

* If he gets hurt and misses all of next season then we will be in contention to win the lottery once again.

* If he a long with our young guys (Yanni, Parker, Larry, Middleton, Henson, Nate) somehow come together and is able to lead us play to the Playoffs at this stage in their careers then we will have one of the best young group of Players in the league.

Or Parker and Giannis don't develop as expected and suddenly you've got a second or third fiddle in Bledsoe signed to max dollars keeping you in limbo when you're trying to rebuild. That's the real issue here.

IMO we need to worry about this later. If you believe they're two very good core pieces and you can get a PG that will also be young to be the third part of that core (not to mention Sanders) then you go get him even if it costs you max dollars.

And, with a good PG, that should only help Jabari and Giannis' development not hinder it

[mattg]

Some of you guys are really over-thinking the Bledsoe situation.

* If we sign him to the Max and he lives up to the hype then this would be like OKC getting RW but without having to tank an additional year for him. We would have a Core player at one of the most important positions in the league.

* If he gets hurt and misses all of next season then we will be in contention to win the lottery once again.

* If he a long with our young guys (Yanni, Parker, Larry, Middleton, Henson, Nate) somehow come together and is able to lead us play to the Playoffs at this stage in their careers then we will have one of the best young group of Players in the league.

Or Parker and Giannis don't develop as expected and suddenly you've got a second or third fiddle in Bledsoe signed to max dollars keeping you in limbo when you're trying to rebuild. That's the real issue here.

That's so irrelevant. It's gonna take the next 4 years before people are willing to give up on Parker and Giannis anyway which is nearly the duration of the contract Bledsoe would get. Bledsoe isn't getting in the way of any rebuild. The argument is that maybe Bledsoe causes us to move down a few spots in the draft this year, which is plausible. But then you weigh in the potential player we would have drafted without Bledsoe and 99% chance is that he isn't even as good as him. Plus we'd still have the pick. The only way Bledsoe would really screw us would be if we moved from like worst to 5th worst or something's up that's so unlikely. It would also mean that ersan was bad, none of our young guys showed anything, and sanders contributed negatively.

A big part of rebuilding is always adding young assets. Not offering Bledsoe because he might make our pick worse next year is stupid when the exact type of player we'd hope to draft is Bledsoe.

[El Duderino]

The Suns need to either land LeBron and/or Bosh or tank. I just don't buy the idea that the Morris twins and Alex Len are any sort of sustainable contender in the West. I think Hornacek got them to massively over-perform last season in a year when they were supposed to win 22 games and get a top five pick. I just see them maxing out Bledsoe and Dragic and ending up a 42-45 win team in no man's land.

I don't buy that the Suns need to land James and/or Bosh or else tank.

They have a very bright GM and organization now. I see Ryan McDonough trying to do something like Morey has done in Houston. Collect as many assets as possible and then bide his time waiting for the right opportunity to land with their organization.

1. Phoenix is a desirable city for athletes to play in

2. Their cap situation is in fabulous shape. They don't have a single multi-year bad contract on their books.

So i see McDonough both trying to lure a top tier player to Phoenix and if that doesn't happen, he'll just keep doing as he did last year. Try finding more under-valued players who fit what Hornacek runs. Try to win more trades. Maybe use his great cap situation to leverage some more assets, be it players or draft picks.

Then bide his time trying to keep enough talent on the roster which could potentially entice a high quality free agent going forward or via a trade. I just don't see McDonough pulling a Sam Hinke and having a fire-sale if he whiffs on James or Bosh this year.

That's why i can't see him refusing to match any max offer the Bucks potentially would put together. Bledsoe is to much of a young talent and asset for McDonough to let just walk given the great shape of the Suns cap. I don't see the Bucks trying to send riff raff like Knight and/or Henson being a mind changer either.

That all said, no harm in making a big offer though, regardless that it likely gets matched.

very well said. The other thing people seem to forget is the experiment of playing Bledsoe and dragic together worked really well. They were something like 22-9 in games they both started. They compliment each other well. Dragic is more effective when he doesn't need to carry all the play making mode and is better at guarding 2s than quick 1s. Bledsoe is a little turnover prone to be the sole distributer. Plus they like have 2 guys who can start the fast break. Sure eventually one might get traded but I don't think it's a move the suns need to make right now.

Sent from my SM-N900V using RealGM Forums mobile app

Plus, so long as Bledsoe stays healthy, he'd likely remain a desirable trade piece if McDonough was to go after a bigger piece in the future. So if he can do stuff like accumulate draft picks, draft well, and/or gather up under-valued talent, that all could potentially be used in the future to either trade for an upper-tier player or just sign one. Same for Dragic. He's only 28 and has plenty of years left to either help the Suns on the court if kept or to be used in a trade.

[MetroDrugUnit]

So what if we woulda made the trade for Bledsoe a year ago?