The Trade Thread: All Eyes Toward The Offseason

[Saberestar]

The Suns players unanimously supported bringing Watson back. Mirza Teletovic even said his potential re-signing is predicated on whether Watson gets the job.

I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing....Teletovic wants Watson back because he has played big time minutes and he has been shooting every time that he touched the ball under Watson. But I don't think he can be an important player on a playoff team because he takes too many shots and his defense is just horrible. He reminds me of Gerald Green because he can make incredible shots but he doesn't contribute a lot on another stuff.

[TeamTragic]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/04/15/suns-gm-ryan-mcdonough-talks-changes-coach-hire-hope/83089142/

In free agency, the Suns could have up to $30 million in salary cap space, depending on how they handle non-guaranteed contracts and cap holds and where the salary cap winds up before July 1.

“We have options and flexibility to chase the top free agents without touching the core of our roster, if that is what we choose to do,” McDonough said.

There is that “if.” Because the salary cap is taking a giant leap this season, most of the league can be free agent competitors. The Suns surely will address power forward in free agency and/or a trade, where they do not have a player under contract for next season.

“We realize it may be tough for us this year to get in the mix like we have the previous two summers,” McDonough said. “Since I’ve been here, with the elite free agents, it’s easier when you win 87 combined games over two years than when you win 23. It’s a hard sell. We’ll be aggressive, creative. We value our young core. By young, I mean 26 and under with guys who have a chance to be really good players. Our last three lottery picks (Booker, Len and Warren), in particular, showed nice flashes this year of what they can do for guys who are still college age.”


McDonough finally admitting that no elite free agents are interested in the Suns.

Who exactly during this upcoming FA is worth going after anyway? Tank again next season and go hard for Durant/etc in 2017.

Durant is a free agent this offseason though.

I thought he was signing a one year deal and then going big in 2017 FA?

[letsgosuns]

Who exactly during this upcoming FA is worth going after anyway? Tank again next season and go hard for Durant/etc in 2017.

Durant is a free agent this offseason though.

I thought he was signing a one year deal and then going big in 2017 FA?

Idk. I just know he is supposed to be a free agent this offseason. We will have to see what he does.

[Qwigglez]

The Suns players unanimously supported bringing Watson back. Mirza Teletovic even said his potential re-signing is predicated on whether Watson gets the job.

I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing....Teletovic wants Watson back because he has played big time minutes and he has been shooting every time that he touched the ball under Watson. But I don't think he can be an important player on a playoff team because he takes too many shots and his defense is just horrible. He reminds me of Gerald Green because he can make incredible shots but he doesn't contribute a lot on another stuff.

But Gerald Green doesn't have nearly the same Bball IQ as Mirza. Not saying Mirza is the smartest basketball player in the world, but I think he understands the game a bit better than Green did.
I think MT3 would actually be a big help in the playoffs. If you think about it, how many teams in the Western Conference playoffs have more than one legit post man? Warriors don't have any, Spurs got LMA and I guess Duncan, Thunder got Kanter, but he's useless on defense and Ibaka is more of a face up player, Clippers do have Griffin and Jordan, Blazers don't got crap, Grizzlies do have Z-Bo and Gasol, and Houston has Dwight and D-Mo. Jazz only got Favors, Gobert isn't much of a threat offensively on his own. Houston could potentially lose both Dwight and D-Mo too. So anyway, back to the point, we still got Tyson and Len to anchor the paint, so I still feel like what Mirza brings to the table is more than what he doesn't bring.

[Qwigglez]

If the Suns strike out on the big names, rather then overspend on mediocre players I wonder if they would consider signing a few mediocre players to HUGE 2 year deals (1 year guaranteed followed by a team option)

1. The Suns then have trade chips - expirings.

2. The Suns then preserve cap space for next year.

3. Unless of course that player "goes off" then we can exercise the team option and keep their bird rights.

I've always thought this is a great strategy that I've only seen Houston do with Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. Seriously, it's probably one of the smarter things to do and I would think a player such as Terrence Jones, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, Jeff Green would accept this kind of deal because they still have something to prove. Or we can just sign a player such as Jared Dudley to this kind of two year deal.
Anyway, smart strategy if we can utilize it correctly. The downside however is, it is exactly a McD kind of move in the way that he treats players as assets instead of human beings.

[letsgosuns]

It is a tough thing to accept as a fan when Brian Windhorst says the Minnesota Timberwolves are looked at as a far better coaching situation than the Phoenix Suns. Sarver has officially driven this franchise into the ground. No one wants to come to Phoenix anymore. This used to be a top five destination in the league. Now it is in the bottom five. I do not know what Sarver can do to rehabilitate his reputation. Players and coaches do not want to work for him. It is sad that a once proud franchise has been relegated to a laughing stock. The fact that this board is so active goes to show how much we all want the team to become great again but Idk how that will ever happen with Sarver as the owner.

[LukasBMW]

It is a tough thing to accept as a fan when Brian Windhorst says the Minnesota Timberwolves are looked at as a far better coaching situation than the Phoenix Suns. Sarver has officially driven this franchise into the ground. No one wants to come to Phoenix anymore. This used to be a top five destination in the league. Now it is in the bottom five. I do not know what Sarver can do to rehabilitate his reputation. Players and coaches do not want to work for him. It is sad that a once proud franchise has been relegated to a laughing stock. The fact that this board is so active goes to show how much we all want the team to become great again but Idk how that will ever happen with Sarver as the owner.

I agree 110%.

Great post.

[LukasBMW]

If the Suns strike out on the big names, rather then overspend on mediocre players I wonder if they would consider signing a few mediocre players to HUGE 2 year deals (1 year guaranteed followed by a team option)

1. The Suns then have trade chips - expirings.

2. The Suns then preserve cap space for next year.

3. Unless of course that player "goes off" then we can exercise the team option and keep their bird rights.

I've always thought this is a great strategy that I've only seen Houston do with Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. Seriously, it's probably one of the smarter things to do and I would think a player such as Terrence Jones, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, Jeff Green would accept this kind of deal because they still have something to prove. Or we can just sign a player such as Jared Dudley to this kind of two year deal.
Anyway, smart strategy if we can utilize it correctly. The downside however is, it is exactly a McD kind of move in the way that he treats players as assets instead of human beings.

I'd throw a STUPID 2 year deal at T Jones. Max money for 2 years. 1 year guaranteed. 2nd year team option.

If he plays like crap, he's an expiring.
If he plays well and breaks out, exercise his option, and keep him a second year. Plus then we have his bird rights. Woot!

[jcsunsfan]

The Suns players unanimously supported bringing Watson back. Mirza Teletovic even said his potential re-signing is predicated on whether Watson gets the job.

I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing....Teletovic wants Watson back because he has played big time minutes and he has been shooting every time that he touched the ball under Watson. But I don't think he can be an important player on a playoff team because he takes too many shots and his defense is just horrible. He reminds me of Gerald Green because he can make incredible shots but he doesn't contribute a lot on another stuff.

Cardinals players, especially on the defensive side, really wanted Ray Horton to get the head coaching job, but the Cards mgmt went another way. They are just fine with it right now.

If the new hire is a good one, the players will be fine. I do know that you cannot let a FA like Mirza influence the coaching decision you make. I don't pretend to know who that should be. If its Watson, fine, but they better hire him because he is the right guy, not just because the players like him.

[jcsunsfan]

It is a tough thing to accept as a fan when Brian Windhorst says the Minnesota Timberwolves are looked at as a far better coaching situation than the Phoenix Suns. Sarver has officially driven this franchise into the ground. No one wants to come to Phoenix anymore. This used to be a top five destination in the league. Now it is in the bottom five. I do not know what Sarver can do to rehabilitate his reputation. Players and coaches do not want to work for him. It is sad that a once proud franchise has been relegated to a laughing stock. The fact that this board is so active goes to show how much we all want the team to become great again but Idk how that will ever happen with Sarver as the owner.

But that is more about the players on the roster than the owner isn't it. They have KAT, Wiggins, and Levine, plus a lottery pick this year. The TWolves are a little closer to really competing than the Suns.

[JMac1]

It is a tough thing to accept as a fan when Brian Windhorst says the Minnesota Timberwolves are looked at as a far better coaching situation than the Phoenix Suns. Sarver has officially driven this franchise into the ground. No one wants to come to Phoenix anymore. This used to be a top five destination in the league. Now it is in the bottom five. I do not know what Sarver can do to rehabilitate his reputation. Players and coaches do not want to work for him. It is sad that a once proud franchise has been relegated to a laughing stock. The fact that this board is so active goes to show how much we all want the team to become great again but Idk how that will ever happen with Sarver as the owner.

But that is more about the players on the roster than the owner isn't it. They have KAT, Wiggins, and Levine, plus a lottery pick this year. The TWolves are a little closer to really competing than the Suns.

Everything looks good on paper. Call me when you are winning.

[letsgosuns]

It is a tough thing to accept as a fan when Brian Windhorst says the Minnesota Timberwolves are looked at as a far better coaching situation than the Phoenix Suns. Sarver has officially driven this franchise into the ground. No one wants to come to Phoenix anymore. This used to be a top five destination in the league. Now it is in the bottom five. I do not know what Sarver can do to rehabilitate his reputation. Players and coaches do not want to work for him. It is sad that a once proud franchise has been relegated to a laughing stock. The fact that this board is so active goes to show how much we all want the team to become great again but Idk how that will ever happen with Sarver as the owner.

But that is more about the players on the roster than the owner isn't it. They have KAT, Wiggins, and Levine, plus a lottery pick this year. The TWolves are a little closer to really competing than the Suns.

That is a major part of my point. Six years. No playoffs. Extremely untalented roster. The opposite of what the Suns are known for. No coach is interested. Most coaches would have been knocking down the door to coach the Suns in the past. Now the Suns are an afterthought. A last resort for a desperate coach looking for a chance.

A team like the Timberwolves which has not made the playoffs for 12 straight seasons boasts a more exciting opportunity than a Suns franchise which clearly has no direction. It is insane. What is the vision of this team. Go all young. Half veteran, half young. More three guard lineup garbage. No one knows. The organization probably does not even know what to do at this point.

McDonough himself said he was shocked that the Suns were so bad this year. Why? Everyone could see how horrible of a roster you put together. Everyone saw how poorly you personally handled the Markieff situation. Where is the confusion? You draft well. That is it. You have no idea how to put together a team. Who is supposed to right the ship? The guy that signed a 5'9" point guard when the team already had Bledsoe, Dragic, and Ennis? Give me a break. The worst part is Sarver's confidence in him. It goes to show the heart of my point that Sarver is the problem. It all starts with Sarver.

[RaisingArizona]

I expect McD to make another Bledsoe for Dudley type deal. Maybe a draft day trade. Really think he'll go down swinging if in fact he goes down.

[thamadkant]

Watson shouldnt come back if there is a better coach available. And depending if he agrees with what ever the GM wants.


Teletovic is this season's Gerald Green as Sabrestar mentioned... Agreed 100%.

Should be on a playoff team who needs shooters

[carey]

Who is supposed to right the ship? The guy that signed a 5'9" point guard when the team already had Bledsoe, Dragic, and Ennis? Give me a break. The worst part is Sarver's confidence in him. It goes to show the heart of my point that Sarver is the problem. It all starts with Sarver.

Well that's not accurate. It is funny how ppl subtly bend a narrative to prove a point. Bledsoe hadn't even spoken to the organization when IT was signed. It was very much in doubt that a deal was going be done. He didn't want to go into the season with Dragic & a rookie Ennis as the only PGs. Plus the deal was a good one & likely too good to pass up financially. Once Bledsoe was signed things went wonky.

[bwgood77]

Who is supposed to right the ship? The guy that signed a 5'9" point guard when the team already had Bledsoe, Dragic, and Ennis? Give me a break. The worst part is Sarver's confidence in him. It goes to show the heart of my point that Sarver is the problem. It all starts with Sarver.

Well that's not accurate. It is funny how ppl subtly bend a narrative to prove a point. Bledsoe hadn't even spoken to the organization when IT was signed. It was very much in doubt that a deal was going be done. He didn't want to go into the season with Dragic & a rookie Ennis as the only PGs. Plus the deal was a good one & likely too good to pass up financially. Once Bledsoe was signed things went wonky.

I think Bledsoe was going to sign and McD always knew he would sign. They just played a tough negotiation so they would end up in the middle of the max wanted and $12 million per offered. IT was a nice value signing but knowing he was told he would start (didn't know this until I read a quote of Hornacek saying he was told he would start when signed) was not good. McD seems like he tells people what they want to hear regardless of what he thinks. I can be forgiving for rookie GM mistakes like that, but when they add up that is a problem.

I am not sure he makes some of the moves he did without pressure from Sarver to compete, so I don't know that another GM could do better with our circumstance. So McD needs to improve in some aspects, and he can't make any more dumb signings that create logjams particularly when you hand out fairly large contracts at positions with no need. I still don't totally mind the Chandler signing, but the Knight thing bothers me.

I can't see him trading Knight soon either, so next season could potentially be like the last two where we have chemistry issues due to a disgruntled player. I wouldn't mind getting another high pick because we could use one in the next draft because the top few guys are bigs but the rest of the lottery looks to be guards, and mostly point guards, but to go through another season like this one will be painful.

If we can't strike gold in this draft, or start out really strong and have excellent chemistry, or strike some crazy deal or land a prized free agent (all of these are extremely unlikely), our best course of action might be to completely reload with youth and just have Booker be that cornerstone we build around with him being our Durant and drafting a couple of other high picks in the next couple of years while strictly playing young guys.

I hate Philly's tactic, but I'm saying there are 4 teams at the top of the west that will be tough to crack, and at least a couple young teams with stacked talent we are behind so our BEST case scenario for the foreseeable future is a 7 or 8 seed and a first round exit. I wouldn't mind that if I thought we had enough young talent so far for our next deep playoff run, but I don't think we do.

[silverstyne]

It is a tough thing to accept as a fan when Brian Windhorst says the Minnesota Timberwolves are looked at as a far better coaching situation than the Phoenix Suns. Sarver has officially driven this franchise into the ground. No one wants to come to Phoenix anymore. This used to be a top five destination in the league. Now it is in the bottom five. I do not know what Sarver can do to rehabilitate his reputation. Players and coaches do not want to work for him. It is sad that a once proud franchise has been relegated to a laughing stock. The fact that this board is so active goes to show how much we all want the team to become great again but Idk how that will ever happen with Sarver as the owner.

Agree as well

I read the Windhorst article. There was a part there which mentions that no coach is rushing to work for Sarver. Theres another tidbit saying we are not willing pony up money for top coaching candidates. Its just sad how low we have fallen.

[Qwigglez]

So I picked up NBA2K16 today (I know, very late) played a bit of the MyCareer thing before realizing it sucks complete donkey dick because of Spike Lee. Wish I would have read reviews before picking it up, but I got a nice bonus from work so I didn't care too much. I decided to play the Franchise mode and pretend I'm Devin Booker instead and went ahead and boosted his overall rating from 79 to about 86. Then I was trying to make a three team trade where we send Knight to Knicks, Love to Phoenix, and Melo to Cavs. I had to move around some extra contracts to make the salaries work but ultimately both Knicks and NY rejected my offer. Knicks said they are giving up a lot and Cavs said they got a championship team and didn't want to mess with it and also said they are set at SF.
Decided okay... well then I'll just override a trade where Suns get Love and Cavs get Knight and Mirza. Sent the trade proposal and Cavs surprisingly accepted it. Keep in mind I didn't adjust any other players (besides Bled/Book/Warren/Len of course). So there we have it guys, McD just needs to call up the Cavs offer Knight/Mirza for Love and they will happily accept. I can't believe no one thought of this before.

Oh and then Tas Melas broke the story on social media and said "Latest: Cavs trade Kevin Love to Suns for Brandon Knight #GoodTrade"

[MathiasPW]

Picking up NBA2K to fill in this looooong off season might not be a bad idea at all.

[Qwigglez]

Picking up NBA2K to fill in this looooong off season might not be a bad idea at all.

Just don't play MyCareer mode it is seriously bad. You start off in HS, and your nickname is "Freq", short for "Frequency Vibrations". Also I'm half filipino half white and so I made my character obviously try and look like me but the game doesn't care what skin tone you have, you'll still have a black twin sister, and black parents. After playing some HS games, colleges try and recruit you, and I don't think it matters what college you go to. Apparently I was suppose to be the top projected pick but after my first college game scouts now are unsure where I'll fall in the draft if I decide I want to go pro. There are a lot of cut scenes that I guess are suppose to show what it's like for a player outside of the court but it all just seems farfetched. I ended up getting drafted by the Kings with the 6th pick and I might have went higher but scouts looked at my personal life and decided that my obnoxious best friend was hurting my draft stock, but I love him because he's family now. After playing in my first game, there's all this talk about how I was a legend in HS, a beast in college, and I'm the next great thing in the NBA. I then realized that your rookie season only allows you to play 8 games.
I'm not sure I want to continue playing this mode because it seems really stupid and read that it gets even dumber.