Official Trade Thread: How to Trade Your Dragon

[bwgood77]

Yes, and no matter how many reporters report what our front office tells them, it doesn't make it absolutely true. You never know how much that comes out of front offices is absolutely true.

Why are you so loath to believe it? Did you believe the rumors about Goran before he was traded to Houston the first time? If I can read between the lines some of the similar stuff is going on with Zoran this time around.

I just generally don't totally believe everything I hear coming out of front offices. Reports often contradict themselves, and I think PR and pleasing the fan base is a consideration.

It's not so much that I don't believe it as much as I take all these reports with a grain of salt. I'm not going to blow a gasket because of some random report that came out of an nba front office. It may be true it may not be true. I just generally don't always believe everything I read or hear.

There is also the report that he will only play for a contender, and that list includes the Knicks and Lakers. Doesn't make too much sense to me.

[JTrain]

Cry me a **** river. Dragic is not the only player in the league, or even on this team, who has to play out of his comfort zone. Durant has to play off the ball for long stretches, Tucker has to guard players like Z-Bo, Griffin or Big Al on a regular basis etc. But they don't act like an entitled, spoiled brats and don't ask for a trade in the most disgusting manner like Dragic just did. They understand that basketball is a team sport and sometimes you have to take one for the team. Dragic doesn't.

Selfish, greedy, rat faced biznatch.

Why exactly was it "in the most disgusting manner"? Do you have video of the meeting?

He didn't go on Twitter or some other public forum and complain or throw individuals under the bus like many athletes have done in the past. He is going into free agency and his agent met with Babby and McD to inform them he won't be re-signing here.

What would be an appropriate way to convey this for you? Inviting all the FO and coaching staff to a Cheesecake Factory and watching his suns highlight compilation set to Celine Dion music?

He complained a lot, whole season. And he didn't just inform the Suns FO that he won't be re-signing, he demanded to be traded. One day before the deadline with a very short list of preferred trade destinations and immediately leaked it to the media. That's a dick move.

If you actually watch his interviews this season, he is not just whining for the sake of it. He's answering the questions asked in what appears to be an honest way, without throwing any individuals under the bus.

In terms of the "leak", many believe that the FO was in on it and that it may help us get a reasonable deal done. There is no reason for Dragic or his agent to leak something that will hurt a potential move. That would be bad for all parties. Makes no sense. Dragic wants to get somewhere where he can prove his worth the next 30 games to net a big contract. Why would be hurt his chances of that?

Either the leak was accidental or it was for the benefit of both parties. The dick move theory doesn't add up.

[Calvin Klein]

Not that it matters now but, Goran wanted to stay . However, he wanted to stay and have the ability to run this team kind of like Steph Curry..

What does this even mean? That he wants to be the main ballhandler like most other starting PGs in the league? I don't get the Curry reference people keep throwing.

[RaisingArizona]

Why exactly was it "in the most disgusting manner"? Do you have video of the meeting?

He didn't go on Twitter or some other public forum and complain or throw individuals under the bus like many athletes have done in the past. He is going into free agency and his agent met with Babby and McD to inform them he won't be re-signing here.

What would be an appropriate way to convey this for you? Inviting all the FO and coaching staff to a Cheesecake Factory and watching his suns highlight compilation set to Celine Dion music?

He complained a lot, whole season. And he didn't just inform the Suns FO that he won't be re-signing, he demanded to be traded. One day before the deadline with a very short list of preferred trade destinations and immediately leaked it to the media. That's a dick move.

If you actually watch his interviews this season, he is not just whining for the sake of it. He's answering the questions asked in what appears to be an honest way, without throwing any individuals under the bus.

In terms of the "leak", many believe that the FO was in on it and that it may help us get a reasonable deal done. There is no reason for Dragic or his agent to leak something that will hurt a potential move. That would be bad for all parties. Makes no sense. Dragic wants to get somewhere where he can prove his worth the next 30 games to net a big contract. Why would be hurt his chances of that?

Either the leak was accidental or it was for the benefit of both parties. The dick move theory doesn't add up.

Bickley is saying his agent leaked this.

[carey]

Not that it matters now but, Goran wanted to stay . However, he wanted to stay and have the ability to run this team kind of like Steph Curry..

What does this even mean? That he wants to be the main ballhandler like most other starting PGs in the league? I don't get the Curry reference people keep throwing.

Yes, he wants the ball in his hands all the time. If you watch W's it's all initiated through him. I'm actually a bit surprised they don't struggle so much when he's on the bench. I'd be interested in seeing the ppp numbers when Curry is sitting. Though I don't think it matters too much because when he is on the floor they can put up points in a hurry. My guess is he wants the ball and he wants his 2-Guard to be a catch and shoot type like Klay which clearly Bledsoe is not. More splash, less slash.

[letsgosuns]

I really disagree with what Gambo is saying the Suns should do. http://arizonasports.com/41/1808722/CALL-HIS-BLUFF Keep him and then give him a max contract this offseason? That would be the worst possible thing to to do. Besides the fact that I believe Dragic's agent has made this a point of no return now, giving a non all star point guard who's best year ever was averaging only 20 pts and 6 assists a game 20 million dollars a year for five years is ludicrous.

Dragic is averaging 16 pts, 4 assts, and 4 rbs a game. His overall field goal percentage is good at 50% but his 3pt % is 35.5% and his ft % is only 74.6%. That is a terrible free throw percentage for a point guard. Is a soon to be 29 year old who averages 16, 4, and 4 worth a 100 million dollar contract? I feel like I am in the twilight zone here. What in the world is going on. So what the Suns signed Isaiah Thomas and lost Channing Frye. Bledsoe seems to be doing fine. Thomas has almost the same averages off the bench as Dragic does starting and Thomas plays nearly 8 minutes less per game than Dragic.

This is crazy. You cannot give Dragic five years, 100 million dollars. If people think Bledsoe is overpaid, just wait until you see Dragic getting 20 million a year and not even making an all star team. Now that is insane. Kevin Love is supposed to get a max contract this offseason or next offseason right. Well he has career averages of 19 pts, 12 rbs, and 2.5 asst a game. Dragic's career averages are 12 pts, 4.5 asst, and 2.6 rbs a game. See this difference in statistics for someone who actually puts up max contract statistics versus Dragic? The Suns rewarding Dragic with a max contract after a bad year like he is having and his no leadership, selfish intentions would be a massive mistake.

[carey]

I really disagree with what Gambo is saying the Suns should do. http://arizonasports.com/41/1808722/CALL-HIS-BLUFF Keep him and then give him a max contract this offseason? That would be the worst possible thing to to do. Besides the fact that I believe Dragic's agent has made this a point of no return now, giving a non all star point guard who's best year ever was averaging only 20 pts and 6 assists a game 20 million dollars a year for five years is ludicrous.

Dragic is averaging 16 pts, 4 assts, and 4 rbs a game. His overall field goal percentage is good at 50% but his 3pt % is 35.5% and his ft % is only 74.6%. That is a terrible free throw percentage for a point guard. Is a soon to be 29 year old who averages 16, 4, and 4 worth a 100 million dollar contract? I feel like I am in the twilight zone here. What in the world is going on. So what the Suns signed Isaiah Thomas and lost Channing Frye. Bledsoe seems to be doing fine. Thomas has almost the same averages off the bench as Dragic does starting and Thomas plays nearly 8 minutes less per game than Dragic.

This is crazy. You cannot give Dragic five years, 100 million dollars. If people think Bledsoe is overpaid, just wait until you see Dragic getting 20 million a year and not even making an all star team. Now that is insane. Kevin Love is supposed to get a max contract this offseason or next offseason right. Well he has career averages of 19 pts, 12 rbs, and 2.5 asst a game. Dragic's career averages are 12 pts, 4.5 asst, and 2.6 rbs a game. See this difference in statistics for someone who actually puts up max contract statistics versus Dragic? The Suns rewarding Dragic with a max contract after a bad year like he is having and his no leadership, selfish intentions would be a massive mistake.

Truth bomb. I tweeted Gambo the same. I said it would be the worst contract Phoenix ever handed out and that includes the one where Amare had microfracture before the ink was dry.

[Grots]

In terms of the "leak", many believe that the FO was in on it and that it may help us get a reasonable deal done. There is no reason for Dragic or his agent to leak something that will hurt a potential move. That would be bad for all parties. Makes no sense. Dragic wants to get somewhere where he can prove his worth the next 30 games to net a big contract. Why would be hurt his chances of that?

The FO being in on the leak makes zero sense. None whatsoever. It makes complete sense for Dragic/his agent to do it. It severely tanks his trade value outside of the big markets (LA/MIA/NY) he wants to go to. It also forces us to trade him.

If the FO wasn't blindsided like this, if he would have just quietly told us he wasn't going to resign, we would have traded him at the last minute to Houston for a very nice haul. But no, he wants his 5 year max money from LA or NY.

[rottenbanana36]

I don't really understand what this means either? Curry defers a good portion of the time to Klay Thompson.. obviously not 50/50 but still a pretty decent amount of the time. Does he want to be a clear cut starter playing 35-40 minutes a game? I mean he plays the same amount of minutes as Bledsoe does and takes more shots than Bledsoe. In fact the ratios of shots per game/minutes/points is actually very similar between Curry/Thompson and Dragic/Bledsoe. Does he just want to be the one with the ball in his hands so that the offense runs through him? If anything I think the Suns decision to put the ball in his hands less was a smart one actually. He's going to suffer more wear and tear if he has the ball in his hands all the time and with the amount of extra minutes he plays internationally this allows him to not wear down as much towards the end of the season.

[BallLikeYao]

hello fellow arizonians im back again with some more insider info from somebody who has a lot of friends...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Thedocrocket/status/568076836292280320[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/Thedocrocket/status/568079025094000640[/tweet]

[Jarlaxle0204]

This is going to come right down to the wire isn't it? I can't stand the wait.

Also, there's no way we keep Dragic now, nor should we.

[carey]

Latest on Dragic trade talk from Woj: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--s ... 09795.html

[harshey1388]

I really disagree with what Gambo is saying the Suns should do. http://arizonasports.com/41/1808722/CALL-HIS-BLUFF Keep him and then give him a max contract this offseason? That would be the worst possible thing to to do. Besides the fact that I believe Dragic's agent has made this a point of no return now, giving a non all star point guard who's best year ever was averaging only 20 pts and 6 assists a game 20 million dollars a year for five years is ludicrous.

Dragic is averaging 16 pts, 4 assts, and 4 rbs a game. His overall field goal percentage is good at 50% but his 3pt % is 35.5% and his ft % is only 74.6%. That is a terrible free throw percentage for a point guard. Is a soon to be 29 year old who averages 16, 4, and 4 worth a 100 million dollar contract? I feel like I am in the twilight zone here. What in the world is going on. So what the Suns signed Isaiah Thomas and lost Channing Frye. Bledsoe seems to be doing fine. Thomas has almost the same averages off the bench as Dragic does starting and Thomas plays nearly 8 minutes less per game than Dragic.

This is crazy. You cannot give Dragic five years, 100 million dollars. If people think Bledsoe is overpaid, just wait until you see Dragic getting 20 million a year and not even making an all star team. Now that is insane. Kevin Love is supposed to get a max contract this offseason or next offseason right. Well he has career averages of 19 pts, 12 rbs, and 2.5 asst a game. Dragic's career averages are 12 pts, 4.5 asst, and 2.6 rbs a game. See this difference in statistics for someone who actually puts up max contract statistics versus Dragic? The Suns rewarding Dragic with a max contract after a bad year like he is having and his no leadership, selfish intentions would be a massive mistake.

In all honesty Nash's stats weren't GREAT or too far off Dragic's at 29 when leaving Dallas.

I'm actually still completely unsure of how I feel about all this but just wanted to point out the fact that Nash's numbers were similar... he got to run his own show when he got to Phoenix and started to KILL it!

[Sunsdeuce]

@ChrisMannixSI: Teams talking to Phoenix still not convinced the Suns will pull the trigger on Goran Dragic before tomorrow. But several teams in the mix.

[In Len We Trust]

I mean you could post an actual argument instead of just posting " ".

When posting those two emoticons repeatedly, one shows little respect for other posters. It's good to show respect even if you disagree. I haven't seen "In Len We Trust" use them a ton, but I have seen others do it.

I normally do post explanations when I disagree with others. This morning I was in a bit of a rush so I went with the quick and easy route. My apologies

[harshey1388]

I am so confused and interested in seeing what happens. Deadline is tomorrow at 1pm right? AZ time or eastern?

[Sunsdeuce]

@KennyAndCrash: Lakers seem most determined to get Goran, says @sam_amick - but maybe too confident? Will they go about it quietly? All points to consider.


@foxsports910: If actually want this guy as part of your future, you are going to have to come get him now - @Suns position on @Goran_Dragic per @Sam_Amick

@KennyAndCrash: "I think it's possible that this whole story started being told when Bledsoe came to town," says @sam_amick. #CurryComplex #NBA #Suns

[kennydorglas]

Dragic just wants to be a main ballhandler.
Of course, the only teams that would offer it for him would be the **** ones.

He isnt even in the same ballpark than Curry. Not even than Lowry.

This is just a ****' non-sense.

[SideSwipe]

Trade Bledsoe is the dark horse move that returns the most value while returning order to the backcourt.

Does Bled, PHX #1, Warren get Love out of CLE?

Follow-up with IT, Plumlee for Harris, Nicholson

Dragic/Archie/Ennis
Tucker/Green/Bullock
Harris/Mook
Love/ Kieff/ Nicholson
Len/ Brown (from D League)

Not a bad combination of toughness, experience with youth and athleticism. Archie will need to become Bledsoe lite, and 1 younger guy will need to flourish for it to work. We'd be rail thin at the center spot, but we would finally get a chance to find out what Len can do in 36 minutes. Need to tech Goran to pass to him in there, though. Beyond that we could do it and still have the LA pick whether it conveys this year or not.

[gaspar]

Yikes!