2016-17 Phoenix Suns Preseason Thread

[LukasBMW]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/10/12/phoenix-suns-explore-3-guard-look-wings-fit/91975274/

“They can stay big if they want to,” Watson said of opponents. “Who’s going to guard T.J.? That’s the main thing.

“His height, his intangibles and the fact that he needs an opportunity to flourish. That’s a perfect opportunity for him to flourish in that lineup.”

“It spreads the floor,” said Warren, who scored on three consecutive trips in his first power forward stint. “I don’t think most fours can guard me, getting that space out there and creating and having Devin and B-Knight, two shooters out there, to have the space to operate. I can pick my spots and get crafty in there and get some offensive boards so it works out.

“I don’t think there’s any four (power forward) that can run with me.”

“It’s an adjustment but as long as we play hard, defend it and break, it’s a great matchup,” Bledsoe said. “I like it.

“T.J.’s size is much different than a regular big man but that’s what people are going to now – a small 'four' man that can shoot it. T.J. can shoot and he can rebound more than people think.”

“The game is so fluid and it changes,” Watson said. “You have to change with the game. I’ve never been a big believer that you stay locked in to certain things. I think you feel it out.”

Shoot it, Bender

Suns rookie Dragan Bender made one of his 10 3-point shot attempts in his first three preseason games but that matters less to Watson than seeing Bender shoot it more.

The Suns believe in Bender’s long-range ability to the point that Watson is asking Bender to attempt six 3-point shots per game. He had four and five in Wednesday’s and Friday’s games, respectively, making his first one Friday at Portland.

Watson said rookie tentativeness, much like Devin Booker had early last season, is the only thing stopping Bender from firing more 3s.

“We want him to grow confidence-wise,” Watson said. “Once his confidence grows, he’s going to know what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot. … He has to move and find his spot and be ready to shoot quicker.

“Shooters have no conscience and you have to develop that. And the way you develop that, a coach has to instill that power into you and empower you to have that confidence.”

I knew it. I F-ing knew it.

Knight wants to start. Period.

[darealjuice]

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2016/10/12/phoenix-suns-explore-3-guard-look-wings-fit/91975274/

“They can stay big if they want to,” Watson said of opponents. “Who’s going to guard T.J.? That’s the main thing.

“His height, his intangibles and the fact that he needs an opportunity to flourish. That’s a perfect opportunity for him to flourish in that lineup.”

“It spreads the floor,” said Warren, who scored on three consecutive trips in his first power forward stint. “I don’t think most fours can guard me, getting that space out there and creating and having Devin and B-Knight, two shooters out there, to have the space to operate. I can pick my spots and get crafty in there and get some offensive boards so it works out.

“I don’t think there’s any four (power forward) that can run with me.”

“It’s an adjustment but as long as we play hard, defend it and break, it’s a great matchup,” Bledsoe said. “I like it.

“T.J.’s size is much different than a regular big man but that’s what people are going to now – a small 'four' man that can shoot it. T.J. can shoot and he can rebound more than people think.”

“The game is so fluid and it changes,” Watson said. “You have to change with the game. I’ve never been a big believer that you stay locked in to certain things. I think you feel it out.”

Shoot it, Bender

Suns rookie Dragan Bender made one of his 10 3-point shot attempts in his first three preseason games but that matters less to Watson than seeing Bender shoot it more.

The Suns believe in Bender’s long-range ability to the point that Watson is asking Bender to attempt six 3-point shots per game. He had four and five in Wednesday’s and Friday’s games, respectively, making his first one Friday at Portland.

Watson said rookie tentativeness, much like Devin Booker had early last season, is the only thing stopping Bender from firing more 3s.

“We want him to grow confidence-wise,” Watson said. “Once his confidence grows, he’s going to know what’s a good shot and what’s a bad shot. … He has to move and find his spot and be ready to shoot quicker.

“Shooters have no conscience and you have to develop that. And the way you develop that, a coach has to instill that power into you and empower you to have that confidence.”

I knew it. I F-ing knew it.

Knight wants to start. Period.

What about this article made you think that lol? Because they are fine putting 3 guards on the floor together..? They've already given us the regular season starting line up and have frequently talked about Brandon Knight coming off the bench since, what more do you need?

[Djedefre]

I’m pleased. We are bad. Bad enough that ending up short of top5 pick seems like a bad sf. We need at least one more top level talent injection.

[letsgosuns]

I want the Suns to get a new point guard that is pass first. With guys like Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, even Len and Chandler, they do not need a Marbury type point guard. They need a Nash/Kidd style point guard. Unfortunately, there are not many pass first point guards in the league right now. And the ones that are pass first are not available. Rubio might be but I do not like his game. He never wants to shoot the ball. Hard to be a successful guard when do not want to shoot. So Idk what the Suns are going to do. Unless they want to start Ulis, which I doubt, they might be stuck with Bledsoe and/or Knight. And I definitely am not high on either.

[LukasBMW]

The 3 guard lineup of Bledsoe/Thomas/Dragic was a disaster because all 3 were pure point guards.

A 3 guard lineup of Bledsoe/Knight/Booker probably wouldn't be as bad (at least in theory) because Knight is a combo guard and Booker is now 6'7" which is adequate for a small forward.

There is no denying that Bledsoe/Knight/Booker/TJ are our best players right now. And at 6'1, 6'3, 6'7, and 6'9, we wouldn't be THAT undersized. Especially in today's NBA.

I think it possibly works with Tyson (a healthy Tyson) as our center to hold down the paint.

We'd matchup just fine against small teams, but against larger teams that slow down the game and bang inside the paint, we'd either need to catch fire early or make a quick substitution quickly to a larger lineup.

Knight or Bledsoe would need to be the first one pulled for our 6th man so we can stagger their minutes until Ulis is 100% ready for NBA contact.

As someone mentioned before, our bench would be weak on scoring though.

[ATTL]

I’m pleased. We are bad. Bad enough that ending up short of top5 pick seems like a bad sf. We need at least one more top level talent injection.

The 2016 draft was supposed to be weak but we ended up with at least one guy that looks like will make an impact as early as this year and two more with potential once their bodies catch up.

2017 draft looks great so far and I think we'll get a great player anywhere in the top 10.

I agree we need more talent at the 3, 5, and maybe point depending on Bled's knees.

[bwgood77]

I want the Suns to get a new point guard that is pass first. With guys like Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, even Len and Chandler, they do not need a Marbury type point guard. They need a Nash/Kidd style point guard. Unfortunately, there are not many pass first point guards in the league right now. And the ones that are pass first are not available. Rubio might be but I do not like his game. He never wants to shoot the ball. Hard to be a successful guard when do not want to shoot. So Idk what the Suns are going to do. Unless they want to start Ulis, which I doubt, they might be stuck with Bledsoe and/or Knight. And I definitely am not high on either.

I think as long as Booker facilitates and gets 4-5 assists, it is more ok to have Bledsoe, a guy who gets only 6 or 7 assists. Sure he is not a pure pg in the sense of KJ, Kidd or Nash, but those guys are legends.

I used to not like Rubio but I wouldn't totally mind him because he makes everyone else so much better. He IS a pure PG and the 2nd best defensive PG in the league. If he COULD shoot, he would be one of the top notch point guards in the league.

Not saying I want him and I don't think Minnesota is going to trade him anyway.

I think we end up getting our future PG in the next draft. At least I hope so.

[Zelaznyrules]

I want the Suns to get a new point guard that is pass first. With guys like Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, even Len and Chandler, they do not need a Marbury type point guard. They need a Nash/Kidd style point guard. Unfortunately, there are not many pass first point guards in the league right now. And the ones that are pass first are not available. Rubio might be but I do not like his game. He never wants to shoot the ball. Hard to be a successful guard when do not want to shoot. So Idk what the Suns are going to do. Unless they want to start Ulis, which I doubt, they might be stuck with Bledsoe and/or Knight. And I definitely am not high on either.

I think as long as Booker facilitates and gets 4-5 assists, it is more ok to have Bledsoe, a guy who gets only 6 or 7 assists. Sure he is not a pure pg in the sense of KJ, Kidd or Nash, but those guys are legends.

I used to not like Rubio but I wouldn't totally mind him because he makes everyone else so much better. He IS a pure PG and the 2nd best defensive PG in the league. If he COULD shoot, he would be one of the top notch point guards in the league.

Not saying I want him and I don't think Minnesota is going to trade him anyway.

I think we end up getting our future PG in the next draft. At least I hope so.

I know that, due to his size, it's pie in the sky to most fans here but I really believe we have our point guard of the future. Ulis isn't quite ready to take the reins yet but I don't think it will take very long before he'll be ready to start for us.

[Saberestar]

I love the idea of playing Warren at PF. He is better defensively this year, probably even better than Dudley right now.
Offensively he is great with shooters around him, so he can make a lot of damage at that position.

Regarding Knight, in the article Watson says that he likes a 3 guard lineup with Warren as a PF but he doesn't say anything about starting Knight. He is gonna be our "Sixth starter", just that.

[Saberestar]

I want the Suns to get a new point guard that is pass first. With guys like Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, even Len and Chandler, they do not need a Marbury type point guard. They need a Nash/Kidd style point guard. Unfortunately, there are not many pass first point guards in the league right now. And the ones that are pass first are not available. Rubio might be but I do not like his game. He never wants to shoot the ball. Hard to be a successful guard when do not want to shoot. So Idk what the Suns are going to do. Unless they want to start Ulis, which I doubt, they might be stuck with Bledsoe and/or Knight. And I definitely am not high on either.

Chris Paul would be our perfect PG , but it's not gonna happen. There are not good pass first PGs out there.
Ish Smith and Rubio are that type of players, but they are not good enough to start on a playoff team IMO.

[edurham88]

The 3 guard lineup of Bledsoe/Thomas/Dragic was a disaster because all 3 were pure point guards.

A 3 guard lineup of Bledsoe/Knight/Booker probably wouldn't be as bad (at least in theory) because Knight is a combo guard and Booker is now 6'7" which is adequate for a small forward.

There is no denying that Bledsoe/Knight/Booker/TJ are our best players right now. And at 6'1, 6'3, 6'7, and 6'9, we wouldn't be THAT undersized. Especially in today's NBA.

I think it possibly works with Tyson (a healthy Tyson) as our center to hold down the paint.

We'd matchup just fine against small teams, but against larger teams that slow down the game and bang inside the paint, we'd either need to catch fire early or make a quick substitution quickly to a larger lineup.

Knight or Bledsoe would need to be the first one pulled for our 6th man so we can stagger their minutes until Ulis is 100% ready for NBA contact.

As someone mentioned before, our bench would be weak on scoring though.

I don't think they are planning on starting this lineup or even giving it major minutes. It's more likely something they run out for stretches in certain games where it's not going to get killed on the other end.

[OGBAH]

http://www.inquisitr.com/3591198/nba-trade-rumors-booker-lakers-ingram-suns/

"News worth sharing"

[kennydorglas]

Booker playing at 3 makes sense. At least until our best players are guards and someone needs to step up and take our 3 (Josh Jackson anyone? rsrs)

[Jdiddy701]

Lol the Suns are not trading Booker. Articles like that piss me off.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[OGBAH]

There's another one about trading Knight to the Spurs

[MrMiyagi]

There's another one about trading Knight to the Spurs

For a 3 D-leaguers I'm sure.

[Saberestar]

Our hero, Devin Booker, probably out for the next game.

Read on Twitter

[AtheJ415]

I was thinking, if we wanted to trade Len at the deadline, because we decided to stick with Chandler for the next couple years - who would be interested? Similarly, if we simply wait til this summer for RFA - who would be interested (and capable of making an offer)? There simply aren't that many teams who would appear to be in the market for a guy like Alex. Given that, we might be able to sign him at a bargain. No matter what you think of Len, if we can retain him for under $10 mil/yr, that's a bargain.

You can't trade Len for that reasoning imo. Chandler is super old and you need 2 centers. We're a rebuilding team who will probably be really bad again this year and Len is still super young and a better fit for the direction of the team. If you want to trade Len because you are scared of his next deal then okay, but it would have to be for a young center or picks that we could use to get a comparable young talent. Keep in mind that bigs take time, so anybody we draft is going to take a few years to develop. And Chandler may not last that long. Imo, we should trade Chandler for a youngster or pick, start Len and see exactly what we have before negotiating his deal. If he's not what we want we can move him then and go into FA with a starting spot and money to sell, or with an extra pick or 2 to use on bigs.

That said, I'm biased because I don't really want Chandler on the team and would rather he be traded. We're in rebuild mode and I think you can find vet locker room presences for cheaper. Same goes for Tucker, who a playoff team would value at the $5 mil mark for the stretch run, and who we really don't need on this rebuilding team.

[DRK]

I want the Suns to get a new point guard that is pass first. With guys like Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, even Len and Chandler, they do not need a Marbury type point guard. They need a Nash/Kidd style point guard. Unfortunately, there are not many pass first point guards in the league right now. And the ones that are pass first are not available. Rubio might be but I do not like his game. He never wants to shoot the ball. Hard to be a successful guard when do not want to shoot. So Idk what the Suns are going to do. Unless they want to start Ulis, which I doubt, they might be stuck with Bledsoe and/or Knight. And I definitely am not high on either.

The modern NBA is moving away from the Steve Nash/ Jason Kidd style " pure point guard." Look at OKC, Cleveland, GSW... None of them rely on one player as a "point guard," to have a main role of distributing the ball. All the good teams have at least 1, 2 players on the court at all times that can bring the ball up the floor and run the offence... Usually a point forward and a small guard. (LeBron/Kyrie, Draymond/Iggy/Curry, Durant/Westbrook)

I like what the Suns are doing here because we are moving with the times. I would not be surprised to see Devin and Bled share ball handling duties this season as the "point guard." Also, Bender's ability to handle the ball at the 4/5 is what made how so valuable on draft night. Look for him to have ball handling duties too as he matures as a player.

[bwgood77]

I want the Suns to get a new point guard that is pass first. With guys like Booker, Warren, Chriss, Bender, even Len and Chandler, they do not need a Marbury type point guard. They need a Nash/Kidd style point guard. Unfortunately, there are not many pass first point guards in the league right now. And the ones that are pass first are not available. Rubio might be but I do not like his game. He never wants to shoot the ball. Hard to be a successful guard when do not want to shoot. So Idk what the Suns are going to do. Unless they want to start Ulis, which I doubt, they might be stuck with Bledsoe and/or Knight. And I definitely am not high on either.

The modern NBA is moving away from the Steve Nash/ Jason Kidd style " pure point guard." Look at OKC, Cleveland, GSW... None of them rely on one player as a "point guard," to have a main role of distributing the ball. All the good teams have at least 1, 2 players on the court at all times that can bring the ball up the floor and run the offence... Usually a point forward and a small guard. (LeBron/Kyrie, Draymond/Iggy/Curry, Durant/Westbrook)

I like what the Suns are doing here because we are moving with the times. I would not be surprised to see Devin and Bled share ball handling duties this season as the "point guard." Also, Bender's ability to handle the ball at the 4/5 is what made how so valuable on draft night. Look for him to have ball handling duties too as he matures as a player.

I don't know if you guys like reading GMATCallahan's posts, but he has some great one's regarding Bledsoe in this thread... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1482128&start=40#p49443688