Official Trade Thread: Two drink minimum

[bwgood77]

I would do a package of Bledsoe for Horford

I wouldn't be interested due to the length of Bledsoe's contract and already having Teague and Schroder.

Would you guys do a Dragic for Horford straight up? I feel like throwing Len in is a deal breaker for me..

I seriously doubt people are giving up guys like Horford for Dragic since he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Can't see the Suns trading him anyway. But especially for what they could get.

[kennydorglas]

Goran Dragic Plans On Testing Open Market In Free Agency

sounds like he already changed his mind.
that sucks.

[Sunlight]

Hard to believe Suns offer 17-18 mil/year to him when need get quality PF same summer.

[Revived]

Goran Dragic plans to opt out this offseason to test free agency, according to sources.

Dragic previously stated that he planned on opting out in order to re-sign a long-term deal with the Phoenix Suns.

Sources say the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers will be options for Dragic.

At issue with the Suns and Dragic is the guard logjam on the team, which Dragic addressed on Tuesday. He told AZCentral.com’s Paul Coro that the reason for some of Phoenix’s early struggles this year is, “Because there’s only one ball and we’re all point guards. That’s an easy answer.”

Dragic’s numbers have dipped this year (15.6 points, 47.5 percent shooting), and the Suns generally have had a harder time offensively.

Can't blame him one bit if he leaves. I don't think him, Bledsoe or Thomas enjoys this 3 PG system that the Suns are trying. Dragic is the only one with his contract ending soon so he gets to leave before them.

Sucks though, he had said earlier he loves it here and will resign back ASAP....a shame to know that our 3 PG has made him change his mind.

I wish we would just end all this crap and just pair Dragic with good 3 & D guy in the backcourt.

And funny, the "there's only one ball, and we're all 3 PGs" is exactly what many Suns fans have been saying.

[JDLAW]

Goran Dragic Plans On Testing Open Market In Free Agency

sounds like he already changed his mind.
that sucks.

I read the piece from Devaney. It is nothing more than speculation and re-hash of old junk. But Goran's comments do raise some red flags. It appears that he is not enamored with the situation in the backcourt and a part of the problem is that the ball is out of his hands too much. Goran is the most adept at driving and kicking to a teammate for a shot. Bledsoe is reasonable, but not great (too many turnovers and out of control play), and Thomas frankly is not good at all with this aspect of the game (too focused on shots). The offense is stagnant at times with a lot of one-on-one dribbling as opposed to pass and movement.

I am not going to blame Thomas for all of this, but his comments about being a starter and about finishing games and his somewhat selfish play - there are times where the ball never leaves his hand for a play - is an issue. i do find it somewhat interesting that the Kings are a better balanced team with Collison having replaced Thomas.

If the team is winning, the winning will cause goodwill and some of the problems will sort themselves out. If the team struggles, there will be griping and insistence on who should be playing at what times, etc....

Ultimately, Hornacek might have to make some very difficult decisions on how he wants to run his rotation of guards. He will need to demand better ball and personnel movement and a shift of the offense to get a better balance and more opportunities for the front court.

[JDLAW]

Hard to believe Suns offer 17-18 mil/year to him when need get quality PF same summer.

I love it when people put stuff like this out. Name the 17-18M quality PF available to the Suns next summer.

I will tell you there are none.

[JDLAW]

Goran Dragic plans to opt out this offseason to test free agency, according to sources.

Dragic previously stated that he planned on opting out in order to re-sign a long-term deal with the Phoenix Suns.

Sources say the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers will be options for Dragic.

At issue with the Suns and Dragic is the guard logjam on the team, which Dragic addressed on Tuesday. He told AZCentral.com’s Paul Coro that the reason for some of Phoenix’s early struggles this year is, “Because there’s only one ball and we’re all point guards. That’s an easy answer.”

Dragic’s numbers have dipped this year (15.6 points, 47.5 percent shooting), and the Suns generally have had a harder time offensively.

Can't blame him one bit if he leaves. I don't think him, Bledsoe or Thomas enjoys this 3 PG system that the Suns are trying. Dragic is the only one with his contract ending soon so he gets to leave before them.

Sucks though, he had said earlier he loves it here and will resign back ASAP....a shame to know that our 3 PG has made him change his mind.

I wish we would just end all this crap and just pair Dragic with good 3 & D guy in the backcourt.

And funny, the "there's only one ball, and we're all 3 PGs" is exactly what many Suns fans have been saying.

I do not put stock in Devaney's speculation, and I do not thing these sources know what they are talking about. This is called attempting to drive a wedge between the player and team. Notice it does not come from Goran but the sources.

But I do believe and I said this as recently as yesterday, Thomas is likely to be the odd man out and will be traded next off-season.

I do not think there is a problem with Bledsoe and Dragic together in the back court, but I do believe Thomas makes it a difficult rotation. Green might not be the most ideal 3 and D guy, but he has one major advantage in that he can get a shot anytime he wants to and him off the ball with Dragic and Bledsoe makes for an explosive backcourt.

[thamadkant]

Dragic testing the FA market is a no brainer.
When he said he loved it in phoenix is fine and dandy but ultimately he will listen to his agent when it comes his options for obtaining his next contract.

In addition, now that he has to sacrifice a lot of role and touches and the team being mediocre it doesn't help Suns case of him taking a slightly lower contract per year than what he could get. Signing less than 5 years is not so bad also since he can sign another contract quicker in a potentially much higher salary cap environment.

Basically it's a fan pipedream if they think players are willing to sacrifice money when the team isn't even elite.

[letsgosuns]

That article offers no inside information. I watched the interview with Dragic saying that and it is not like he seemed angry or wanting off the team. He stated the obvious. There are too many point guards. Something everyone has been saying since the team signed Isaiah Thomas. Plus the stuff about wanting to test the free agent market is a joke. Of course he is going to test it. Him not testing it makes no sense. It does not mean he does not want to come back to Phoenix just because he is listening to other offers.

I also think tonight's game against the Pistons is big because of Greg Monroe. I look for him to try to have a big game. There were rumors over the summer the Suns were interested in him and a lot of fans including myself have talked about trading for him right now. I personally do not know much about him other than his stats and watching highlights. So it will be interesting to see him play tonight since the Pistons are rarely on national tv.

[Revived]

That article offers no inside information. I watched the interview with Dragic saying that and it is not like he seemed angry or wanting off the team. He stated the obvious. There are too many point guards. Something everyone has been saying since the team signed Isaiah Thomas. Plus the stuff about wanting to test the free agent market is a joke. Of course he is going to test it. Him not testing it makes no sense. It does not mean he does not want to come back to Phoenix just because he is listening to other offers.

I also think tonight's game against the Pistons is big because of Greg Monroe. I look for him to try to have a big game. There were rumors over the summer the Suns were interested in him and a lot of fans including myself have talked about trading for him right now. I personally do not know much about him other than his stats and watching highlights. So it will be interesting to see him play tonight since the Pistons are rarely on national tv.

Think about it, if Dragic had the opportunity to go to a team where there was only 1 PG or stay with the Suns who have 100 PGs, where do you think he would he go?

Assume that both teams are offering the same $$...

[letsgosuns]

That article offers no inside information. I watched the interview with Dragic saying that and it is not like he seemed angry or wanting off the team. He stated the obvious. There are too many point guards. Something everyone has been saying since the team signed Isaiah Thomas. Plus the stuff about wanting to test the free agent market is a joke. Of course he is going to test it. Him not testing it makes no sense. It does not mean he does not want to come back to Phoenix just because he is listening to other offers.

I also think tonight's game against the Pistons is big because of Greg Monroe. I look for him to try to have a big game. There were rumors over the summer the Suns were interested in him and a lot of fans including myself have talked about trading for him right now. I personally do not know much about him other than his stats and watching highlights. So it will be interesting to see him play tonight since the Pistons are rarely on national tv.

Think about it, if Dragic had the opportunity to go to a team where there was only 1 PG or stay with the Suns who have 100 PGs, where do you think he would he go?

Assume that both teams are offering the same $$...

Oh I completely agree. I am just saying that article makes it like Dragic never had any interest in leaving the Suns and suddenly there is a rift causing him to want off the team. I think he always wanted to see what other teams would offer him in free agency. Usually every player wants to do that. I also think there is an incredibly small chance that he and Bledsoe are the starting guards next season. I believe one of them will be traded this season.

[MilotheSlayer]

Of the 3 guards we have and considering their current contracts, who would everyone most like to see moved?

I wouldn't mind moving Isiah. If we could move him for an Ed Davis/Sacre, a Monroe package, C Zeller, West, or Tobias Harris. If we could swing him for some interior help I'd be extatic.
We could get back to the rotations we had last year except with a little better inside presence.

[bwgood77]

All first time unrestricted free agents test the market. Or at least 95-99% of them. Even if they know where they want to be, they are smart to say they will test it to make a team a little nervous if it really wants to keep him and fork out more cash.

It also makes sense he thinks the backcourt is too crowded. Why? Because it IS too crowded. IT needs to be in a Jamal Crawford role on a team that NEEDS that sparkplug off the bench. A place like the Bulls would work like it did for Nate Robinson who came in and helped them win some big playoff games. I don't think he'd fetch much in a trade, but we could probably get a first rounder and to allow them to squeeze him under the cap we could take Hinrich's expiring to play the Ish Smith role (or perhaps he just opts out)..he has a PO next year for 2.8 million. Or maybe a veteran team would want him.

The Bulls could be perfect because they don't have much for guards, Brooks has been playing when Rose sits, but he's expiring.

I'm sure some will say we should trade him for Noah, which would never happen, and he makes the same as Taj, so some might bring that up, but I doubt they'd do that and I"m not sure he fits. Not sure about Mirotic. They do have a ton of bigs and even small forwards.

[bwgood77]

Of the 3 guards we have and considering their current contracts, who would everyone most like to see moved?

I wouldn't mind moving Isiah. If we could move him for an Ed Davis/Sacre, a Monroe package, C Zeller, West, or Tobias Harris. If we could swing him for some interior help I'd be extatic.
We could get back to the rotations we had last year except with a little better inside presence.

Lets see where Len is....no need to stunt his growth if he's almost ready. IF we were to bring back someone for the middle, Plumlee would have to go out, and the guy would need to be a definitive upgrade.

Even if we traded him for a first round pick, that's not a bad deal to sign a free agent and then deal him for a pick. That's just basically picking up a first rounder because you have cap space, like Utah did from GS (of course they took on like 19 million and got two picks). But we would have paid Thomas for only a few months. Not sure if it is 12/15 or 1/15 that he is eligible for trade. Anyone know the answer to this? Maybe it's in the links thread above.

[letsgosuns]

I just had a crazy thought. Trade Dragic and Plumlee for Roy Hibbert. Throw in a protected pick if you need to. It is public knowledge that the Pacers have coveted Dragic for a while now and need a top tier point guard. They might intrigued by that trade. From the Suns perspective, the Suns could legitimately start Len and Hibbert together and become a big man juggernaut like the Duncan/Robinson Spurs model. Len can guard power forwards as he showed when he shut down Blake Griffin in the fourth quarter the other day. The Suns would be a huge team. Plus they would still be versatile with the ability to play small if they need to with the Morris' as the back ups.

Seriously imagine the defensive potential of a lineup like this:

Bledsoe/Thomas/Ennis
Green/Goodwin
Tucker/Warren
Len/Marcus
Hibbert/Markieff/Randolph

This would also give Bledsoe full reigns to the team and allow him to unleash his potential. Green gets to start and play more relaxed. Thomas would get consistent minutes. Warren and Goodwin can develop. The Morris brothers become super subs.

Now before people get on me about floor spacing and needing a stretch four and all that, look at the history of championship teams. Big teams win championships. Some of the most recent championship examples (outside of Lebron/Wade/Bosh) include the following frontcourts: Duncan/Splitter, Nowtizki/Chandler, Gasol/Bynum, Garnett/Perkins, Shaq/Horry, B. Wallace/R. Wallace, Duncan/Robinson, Shaq/Haslem.

A couple of those teams had frontcourts with Horry and the Pistons had Rasheed Wallace who can shoot threes, but they are also big, can rebound, and play defense. The common things among all these teams are they are bigger and play better defense than all the other teams. Who would not love to watch the Suns go to battle in a playoff series with Len/Hibbert against Duncan/Splitter, Randolph/Gasol, Griffin/Jordan, Nowitzki/Chandler, and if they make the finals against maybe a team like the Bulls with Noah/Gasol, or whatever other big teams they would play in a seven game series. The Suns would no longer be the small ball pretenders they have been for almost 50 years. Might as well try something new and become a big team for once. It is not like a lineup of three point guards is going to get them anywhere fast. I would rather have an abundance of top tier big men than top tier point guards.

[thamadkant]

I just had a crazy thought. Trade Dragic and Plumlee for Roy Hibbert. Throw in a protected pick if you need to. It is public knowledge that the Pacers have coveted Dragic for a while now and need a top tier point guard. They might intrigued by that trade. From the Suns perspective, the Suns could legitimately start Len and Hibbert together and become a big man juggernaut like the Duncan/Robinson Spurs model. Len can guard power forwards as he showed when he shut down Blake Griffin in the fourth quarter the other day. The Suns would be a huge team. Plus they would still be versatile with the ability to play small if they need to with the Morris' as the back ups.

Seriously imagine the defensive potential of a lineup like this:

Bledsoe/Thomas/Ennis
Green/Goodwin
Tucker/Warren
Len/Marcus
Hibbert/Markieff/Randolph

This would also give Bledsoe full reigns to the team and allow him to unleash his potential. Green gets to start and play more relaxed. Thomas would get consistent minutes. Warren and Goodwin can develop. The Morris brothers become super subs.

Now before people get on me about floor spacing and needing a stretch four and all that, look at the history of championship teams. Big teams win championships. Some of the most recent championship examples (outside of Lebron/Wade/Bosh) include the following frontcourts: Duncan/Splitter, Nowtizki/Chandler, Gasol/Bynum, Garnett/Perkins, Shaq/Horry, B. Wallace/R. Wallace, Duncan/Robinson, Shaq/Haslem.

A couple of those teams had frontcourts with Horry and the Pistons had Rasheed Wallace who can shoot threes, but they are also big, can rebound, and play defense. The common things among all these teams are they are bigger and play better defense than all the other teams. Who would not love to watch the Suns go to battle in a playoff series with Len/Hibbert against Duncan/Splitter, Randolph/Gasol, Griffin/Jordan, Nowitzki/Chandler, and if they make the finals against maybe a team like the Bulls with Noah/Gasol, or whatever other big teams they would play in a seven game series. The Suns would no longer be the small ball pretenders they have been for almost 50 years. Might as well try something new and become a big team for once. It is not like a lineup of three point guards is going to get them anywhere fast. I would rather have an abundance of top tier big men than top tier point guards.

I've already said this in the trade forum.
I think Pacers are a good trading partner.

But Len as good of a potential he has shown I would stll prefer coming off the bench behind a establish starting center until maybe 1-2 seasons time. The Suns could also try to do a 2 Center type lineup aka spurs twin towers and lakers twin towers of late.
Hence Marc Gasol is also on the ideal list.

[thamadkant]

Lakers have nothing to offer... Maybe lose the protection on the pick, another future and Randle for Dragic.
But Randle has been injured.



Rockets don't have any either... Jones and filler aren't enough.

Id do for Harden... Add Other assets..

Bledsoe / Harden / Tucker perimeter would be defensively adequate.

[thamadkant]

Also...
Maybe Jimmy Butler from Bulls, but he has increased his value twice fold latelt

[JDLAW]

I just had a crazy thought. Trade Dragic and Plumlee for Roy Hibbert. Throw in a protected pick if you need to. It is public knowledge that the Pacers have coveted Dragic for a while now and need a top tier point guard. They might intrigued by that trade. From the Suns perspective, the Suns could legitimately start Len and Hibbert together and become a big man juggernaut like the Duncan/Robinson Spurs model. Len can guard power forwards as he showed when he shut down Blake Griffin in the fourth quarter the other day. The Suns would be a huge team. Plus they would still be versatile with the ability to play small if they need to with the Morris' as the back ups.

Seriously imagine the defensive potential of a lineup like this:

Bledsoe/Thomas/Ennis
Green/Goodwin
Tucker/Warren
Len/Marcus
Hibbert/Markieff/Randolph

This would also give Bledsoe full reigns to the team and allow him to unleash his potential. Green gets to start and play more relaxed. Thomas would get consistent minutes. Warren and Goodwin can develop. The Morris brothers become super subs.

Now before people get on me about floor spacing and needing a stretch four and all that, look at the history of championship teams. Big teams win championships. Some of the most recent championship examples (outside of Lebron/Wade/Bosh) include the following frontcourts: Duncan/Splitter, Nowtizki/Chandler, Gasol/Bynum, Garnett/Perkins, Shaq/Horry, B. Wallace/R. Wallace, Duncan/Robinson, Shaq/Haslem.

A couple of those teams had frontcourts with Horry and the Pistons had Rasheed Wallace who can shoot threes, but they are also big, can rebound, and play defense. The common things among all these teams are they are bigger and play better defense than all the other teams. Who would not love to watch the Suns go to battle in a playoff series with Len/Hibbert against Duncan/Splitter, Randolph/Gasol, Griffin/Jordan, Nowitzki/Chandler, and if they make the finals against maybe a team like the Bulls with Noah/Gasol, or whatever other big teams they would play in a seven game series. The Suns would no longer be the small ball pretenders they have been for almost 50 years. Might as well try something new and become a big team for once. It is not like a lineup of three point guards is going to get them anywhere fast. I would rather have an abundance of top tier big men than top tier point guards.

You are right - the idea is crazy.

[MilotheSlayer]

Of the 3 guards we have and considering their current contracts, who would everyone most like to see moved?

I wouldn't mind moving Isiah. If we could move him for an Ed Davis/Sacre, a Monroe package, C Zeller, West, or Tobias Harris. If we could swing him for some interior help I'd be extatic.
We could get back to the rotations we had last year except with a little better inside presence.

Lets see where Len is....no need to stunt his growth if he's almost ready. IF we were to bring back someone for the middle, Plumlee would have to go out, and the guy would need to be a definitive upgrade.

Even if we traded him for a first round pick, that's not a bad deal to sign a free agent and then deal him for a pick. That's just basically picking up a first rounder because you have cap space, like Utah did from GS (of course they took on like 19 million and got two picks). But we would have paid Thomas for only a few months. Not sure if it is 12/15 or 1/15 that he is eligible for trade. Anyone know the answer to this? Maybe it's in the links thread above.

I believe it is 12/15. And I'm looking for mainly a backup PF who can be productive down low and grab boards and bang with the big lineups. Someone better than Tolliver. Ideally I would look at Zeller for the Hornets. He can run the floor and I think Charlotte would consider it due their scoring problems and outside shooting so far this year. Plus they have vonleh, Biyombo, and Williams. So losing Zeller wouldn't be the biggest blow.