2016-17 Phoenix Suns Preseason Thread

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I just don't have any more faith that Alex can turn into the center we need after watching Gobert kick his *** so handily back-to-back.

[NTB]

http://kjzz.org/content/383540/suns-coach-says-love-belief-key-building-cycle-success

Hey bw, do we have a seperate Earl Watson thread? I could post this to there.

[NTB]

http://www.sbnation.com/a/nba-2016-season-preview/phoenix-suns

[WeekapaugGroove]

I wouldnt touch Aldridge if i were the suns. It would cost too much for a guy who can leave after next year and doesnt make them a true contender. Be patient and develop the young PFs you have.

Sent from my SM-G930V using RealGM mobile app

[letsgosuns]

I think the Spurs realized Aldridge is not that true, top tier game changing player that can lead you to championships like Duncan. When you throw out the first two games against the Thunder in last year's postseason where Aldridge scored 38 and 41 points, he only averaged 17.5 pts in the other 8 playoff games. So he had two games out of ten where he played like a superstar and that was it. He also only averaged 8.3 rbs during the 10 playoff games with a total of 3 double-digit rebounding games. His overall playoff numbers were good but not great. Not MVP caliber like the Spurs are used to.

In addition, Aldridge is nowhere near the defensive player that Duncan was. Aldridge has never made an all-defensive team in his career in 10 years while Duncan made the first or second team 15 times in 19 years. Then factor in Aldridge's age. At 31 years old, he is already at the end of his prime. He is not going to get any better. If the Spurs could win 67 games last year and not even make it out of the second round, how are they supposed to go further this year. Do they really think a 36 year old Gasol replacing Duncan is going to catapult them to the championship. And if Aldridge is unhappy there, they probably figure what is the point of having him. It is not like he is on the level of Lebron.

[Kerrsed]

All this Aldridge talk and no one has been talking about the Draymond Green issue?

Seriously, we have some pieces that i feel like GS would be good with in their current "Win Now" mode.

[darealjuice]

Spurs SB Nation blog season preview **** on the Suns if anyone wants to read lol.

Featuring the author comparing Booker to Kevin Martin (lol) and talking about how he's going to have "empty stat lines" (I hate this phrase a lot) like Ray Allen and Allan Houston (lol like being compared to them is a bad thing), stroking himself off about how great their roster is and how bad ours is when the Aldridge pursuit happened (while being salty that we were the 2nd option, for some reason), saying he's "rather sit on a cactus while watching the debates on replay" than watch Suns on league pass, and predicting we won't win 30 games and will finish last in the conference.

In case anyone here needed additional reason to hate the Spurs and their fanbase.

[LukasBMW]

I think the Draymond Green issue is a non issue. Dude is not going anywhere. His actions are pretty mild compared to what Kobe and Jordan did to motivate teammates.

The Warriors biggest problem is going to be their interior.

Curry/Livingston
Klay
KD/Iggy
Green/West
Pachulia/McGee/Varajo

Their center lineup is a joke and David West is 36 years old.

They could benefit from a Tyson Chandler, but they have no one to give back to take on his contract.

For the Warriors to win, Green has to be an iron man, West needs to play 5 years younger then his age, and their centers need to overachieve.

I actually think we would match up extremely well with them. I'd pound it inside to Chriss and Chandler on the pick and role or post every damn time.

Other teams with an even more established inside game should pound it into the block every single possession and crash the boards to expose them.

A team like the Spurs with great/fast perimeter defenders as well as some serious inside muscle could really upset them.

[lilfishi22]

I just don't have any more faith that Alex can turn into the center we need after watching Gobert kick his *** so handily back-to-back.

Granted Gobert is an elite defender. He makes teams trying to get to the rim look silly. But yes, I've lost faith in Len. If he ends up being as good as Rolo on defense, then I'm happy.

[lilfishi22]

All this Aldridge talk and no one has been talking about the Draymond Green issue?

Seriously, we have some pieces that i feel like GS would be good with in their current "Win Now" mode.

I don't see the issue being a big one. Every elite contender needs a player with an edge, a guy that can fire up the rest of his team mates. Curry, Klay and KD have that action-led leadership but vocally, it's all Green.

[Kerrsed]

I was going through the Trade Board and came across a thread looking for a guard for the Bucks. Saw someone post a trade idea that i thought had no shot and altered it to make it more even for the teams and include the Suns. Tell me what you guys think:

Here's my altered version of Kupchak9's Gay in Milwaukee idea:

Bucks get: Gay/Collison ----------Starting 5 Collison/Gay/Antetokounmpo/Parker/Plumlee

Kings get: Knight/Monroe/Goodwin ----------Starting 5 Knight/Afflalo/Barnes/Cousins/Monroe

Suns get: Henson/WCS/McLemore ----------Starting 5 Bledsoe/Booker/Dudley/Henson/Len

Bucks get an upgrade at the PG spot (Collison>>Delly), a short term/long term Middleton replacement in Gay, and to rid themselves of the mistake of signing Monroe.

Kings upgrade their PG spot (Knight>>Collison), Get a better fitting C next to Cousins at PF (Monroe), and take a shot on a McLemore replacement in Goodwin.

Suns add in a real PF that can start (Dudly is currently our starting SG; last time he played for the Suns he was our starting SG), a C that can maybe challenge Len for that starting C spot or light a fire under his ass, and take a shot hoping McLemore benefits from joining a new team.

Just spitballing an idea.

Bledsoe/Ulis/Barbosa
Booker/Mclemore/Tucker
Dudley/Warren/Bender/Jones Jr. <----Hopefully Warren can step up and take away the starting gig.
Henson/Chriss/Williams <----Hopefully Chriss can step up and take away the starting gig.
Len/WCS/Chandler <----Hopefully WCS can step up and take away the starting gig.

As you can see, this trade also makes Chandler and Tucker even more expendable, and we can trade them off for future draft picks from a contender (OKC/CLE/DAL/Ect.)

[m1chal]

I'm not thrilled with the return but I'd do it. I don't like Knight's game and setting a fire under Len's ass would be welcome, same goes for a chance of trading Tyson and PJ away for future assets. Next step: trade Bled for a highest pick possible/rookie prospect, play the all-young-Suns team evaluating what we have, get a high pick, draft a pass first PG, acquire a star player if necessary in exchange for prospects/picks = profit. Sounds like a plan to me.

[theSUNalsoRISES]

I really didn't think the bucks would like that trade..but they seems to like on the board. They just paid Delly 10 mill for 4 years??

I might be one of the few who think Knight can be a valuable sixth man for us. Someone we can throw out with the second unit and let him be harden-lite (by that i mean go for all the same shots as James Harden just miss about 75 % on a bad day). And if we are competitive this year, than I'd keep him in most scenarios. But If trading Knight/Goodwin net us WCS. Its a great move for us. It gives the front office bit more leverage with Len. We won't have to match any ridiculous offers.

And as a general rule of thumb (cuz last years draft might turn out to be one of the deepest and most talented) Just get anyone from that year. Throw a second rounder at GSW for Looney. Just whoever.

Do the kings say yes? I don't think you can ever assume what the kings will do..so maybe.

[Saberestar]

I think the Draymond Green issue is a non issue. Dude is not going anywhere. His actions are pretty mild compared to what Kobe and Jordan did to motivate teammates.

The Warriors biggest problem is going to be their interior.

Curry/Livingston
Klay
KD/Iggy
Green/West
Pachulia/McGee/Varajo

Their center lineup is a joke and David West is 36 years old.

They could benefit from a Tyson Chandler, but they have no one to give back to take on his contract.

For the Warriors to win, Green has to be an iron man, West needs to play 5 years younger then his age, and their centers need to overachieve.

I actually think we would match up extremely well with them. I'd pound it inside to Chriss and Chandler on the pick and role or post every damn time.

Other teams with an even more established inside game should pound it into the block every single possession and crash the boards to expose them.

A team like the Spurs with great/fast perimeter defenders as well as some serious inside muscle could really upset them.

They do not care about having a true good C because it is not effective in the modern NBA.

When the game is on the line they are gonna put his best lineup (probably one of the best offensive lineups ever) and they can defend pretty well:

Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, KD and Green.

[NTB]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17777645/tiers-nba-zach-lowe

Phoenix Suns

Phoenix sports perhaps the best pile of young talent and future picks outside Philly (ironic, since it flipped the league's most coveted traded pick to Philly in exchange for Brandon Knight), including Devin Booker, an untouchable with a preternaturally diverse offensive game. They also have Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Leandro Barbosa, a six-year playoff drought, and an owner who has been vocal about his impatience to break that drought.

These guys don't appear willing to just let the kiddos play, and swallow the losses. That's fine; losing sucks, and there is value in veteran mentorship. Squint, and you can see the outlines of a feisty team: Eric Bledsoe is back, and he should help the league's most turnover-prone team value the ball. Surround a Bledsoe-Chandler pick-and-roll with some shooting (Booker, Dudley) and playmaking (T.J. Warren), and Phoenix could cause some stress. (They also plan to run more Portland- and Dallas-style flow offense, with bigs handling at the elbows and a ton of off-ball movement, to take some pressure off of Bledsoe.)

But any lineup featuring Booker, Warren, and Dudley will bleed points and rebounds, even with Bledsoe and Chandler bookending it. The bench is almost like a post-grad team of guys beefing up their college applications, though one of them, Marquesse Chriss, could start by the end of the season.

The Suns have to avoid doing something dumb to chase a short-term high.

[bwgood77]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17777645/tiers-nba-zach-lowe

Phoenix Suns

Phoenix sports perhaps the best pile of young talent and future picks outside Philly (ironic, since it flipped the league's most coveted traded pick to Philly in exchange for Brandon Knight), including Devin Booker, an untouchable with a preternaturally diverse offensive game. They also have Tyson Chandler, Jared Dudley, Leandro Barbosa, a six-year playoff drought, and an owner who has been vocal about his impatience to break that drought.

These guys don't appear willing to just let the kiddos play, and swallow the losses. That's fine; losing sucks, and there is value in veteran mentorship. Squint, and you can see the outlines of a feisty team: Eric Bledsoe is back, and he should help the league's most turnover-prone team value the ball. Surround a Bledsoe-Chandler pick-and-roll with some shooting (Booker, Dudley) and playmaking (T.J. Warren), and Phoenix could cause some stress. (They also plan to run more Portland- and Dallas-style flow offense, with bigs handling at the elbows and a ton of off-ball movement, to take some pressure off of Bledsoe.)

But any lineup featuring Booker, Warren, and Dudley will bleed points and rebounds, even with Bledsoe and Chandler bookending it. The bench is almost like a post-grad team of guys beefing up their college applications, though one of them, Marquesse Chriss, could start by the end of the season.

The Suns have to avoid doing something dumb to chase a short-term high.

What?

Please

[NTB]

Also he says "playmaking (T.J. Warren)" that I don't get.

[ATTL]

Also he says "playmaking (T.J. Warren)" that I don't get.

He does make plays for himself.

[bwgood77]

Also he says "playmaking (T.J. Warren)" that I don't get.

Yes, his best trait his offensive rebounds and uncanny knack for knowing where to be, and just his ability offensively to do make short to mid range buckets even if not at the rim...his floaters are great.

[NTB]

Also he says "playmaking (T.J. Warren)" that I don't get.

He does make plays for himself.

Don't we use "playmaking" for making plays for others generally?