2017 Trade & Free Agency Ideas & Discussion

[gaspar]

Important dates:

June 12 - NBA Draft early entry entrant withdrawal deadline (5:00 pm ET)
June 22 - NBA Draft (7:00 pm ET), Suns picks: #4, #32 and #54
June 29 - Qualifying offer deadlines for Alex Len ($4,187,599) and Alan Williams ($1,671,382)
July 1-5 - NBA moratorium
July 3 - Leandro Barbosa’s $4 million guarantees for 2017-18 ($500,000 guaranteed)
July 7-17 - Las Vegas Summer League
July 9 - No-trade restriction lifts on Elijah Millsap
October 31 - Extension deadline for T.J. Warren
October 31 - Team options on Devin Booker, Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss (for 2018-19 season)
January 10, 2018 - Elijah Millsap’s $1,524,305 guarantees for 2017-18
January 10, 2018 – Derrick Jones’ $1,312,611 guarantees for 2017-18

[Qwigglez]

I'm fearful of us building organically and ending up like the Blazers. Sure they made the playoffs but they are stuck being a 6th-8th seed.
This is why I'm advocating potentially trading the pick if it could land us a star. We already rolled out the youngest starting 5 in the history of the NBA this season, why go younger?

[Qwigglez]

For the Len vs Williams poll, we had 32 votes for keeping Williams, and 12 for keeping Len.

Created a new poll to see what everyone's thoughts are on who is leaving in free agency, who's getting traded, etc.

[Blackification]

I'm fearful of us building organically and ending up like the Blazers. Sure they made the playoffs but they are stuck being a 6th-8th seed.
This is why I'm advocating potentially trading the pick if it could land us a star. We already rolled out the youngest starting 5 in the history of the NBA this season, why go younger?

I think the best recipe would be to build organically and get to that spot and build in free agency or with smart trades. Kinda like Portland just did with Nurkic, but didn't do by overpaying for mediocre level role players over the summer.

Smart management is really what it comes down to, and player development.

[bigfoot]

I'm fearful of us building organically and ending up like the Blazers. Sure they made the playoffs but they are stuck being a 6th-8th seed.
This is why I'm advocating potentially trading the pick if it could land us a star. We already rolled out the youngest starting 5 in the history of the NBA this season, why go younger?

I think the best recipe would be to build organically and get to that spot and build in free agency or with smart trades. Kinda like Portland just did with Nurkic, but didn't do by overpaying for mediocre level role players over the summer.

Smart management is really what it comes down to, and player development.

Yep I would agree with the organic build. Look we have to be realistic ... the Warriors have at least five more years of relevance, maybe more. At that point, their core of Curry, Durant, Green, and Thompson is 32-34 years old. Injury risk will be their biggest liability and they should have lost a step or two. Then our current crop of young guys will be 25-27. The most important thing is that we start experiencing the playoffs in the next year or two. We will not attract quality free agents until we can prove we have deep playoff potential.

[Mulhollanddrive]

Blazers are a Green or Gobert type away from being a contender, they have 2 stars and need a complimentary 3rd.

I wouldn't mind Booker and Jackson leading us to Portland's last 2 years with 6 firsts by 2021 to accelerate if required.

[Qwigglez]

I saw something on the GB about Kevin Durant. I know it would never happen, but what a true underdog story it would be if he went from going to the best team in the West and winning a ring, to going to the worst team in the West and winning a ring.

[Revived]

I'm fearful of us building organically and ending up like the Blazers. Sure they made the playoffs but they are stuck being a 6th-8th seed.

The key to not ending up like the Blazers imo is by not overpaying RFAs like they have.

Suns have to resist the temptation to give Len an overpaid contract. Same thing with TJ Warren when he becomes a RFA and Bledsoe when he becomes an UFA. I doubt Williams gets any big offers so should be fine there.

McD has been able to resist the temptation to overpay RFAs thus far (besides Knight) so the question will be if he can continue to do that and be smart financially with the cap room.

[Qwigglez]

I'm fearful of us building organically and ending up like the Blazers. Sure they made the playoffs but they are stuck being a 6th-8th seed.

The key to not ending up like the Blazers imo is by not overpaying RFAs like they have.

Suns have to resist the temptation to give Len an overpaid contract. Same thing with TJ Warren when he becomes a RFA and Bledsoe when he becomes an UFA. I doubt Williams gets any big offers so should be fine there.

McD has been able to resist the temptation to overpay RFAs thus far (besides Knight) so the question will be if he can continue to do that and be smart financially with the cap room.

Very true. I had a poll up earlier in the week that was a Len vs Williams and who should the Suns keep, and the vote was almost 75% towards Williams. I think Len might get swooped up by the Spurs if they are unable to nab Chris Paul. I don't think we are keeping Len unless it's for the qualifying offer amount.
TJ Warren I'm almost okay with giving him slightly more than Allen Crabbe money just because he's so damn efficient. It depends who we draft though and where the front office envisions Warren's role on the team. I hope they can come up with a extension for him before the summer ends.

[Revived]

I'm fearful of us building organically and ending up like the Blazers. Sure they made the playoffs but they are stuck being a 6th-8th seed.

The key to not ending up like the Blazers imo is by not overpaying RFAs like they have.

Suns have to resist the temptation to give Len an overpaid contract. Same thing with TJ Warren when he becomes a RFA and Bledsoe when he becomes an UFA. I doubt Williams gets any big offers so should be fine there.

McD has been able to resist the temptation to overpay RFAs thus far (besides Knight) so the question will be if he can continue to do that and be smart financially with the cap room.

Very true. I had a poll up earlier in the week that was a Len vs Williams and who should the Suns keep, and the vote was almost 75% towards Williams. I think Len might get swooped up by the Spurs if they are unable to nab Chris Paul. I don't think we are keeping Len unless it's for the qualifying offer amount.
TJ Warren I'm almost okay with giving him slightly more than Allen Crabbe money just because he's so damn efficient. It depends who we draft though and where the front office envisions Warren's role on the team. I hope they can come up with a extension for him before the summer ends.

I like Warren a lot but in today's NBA, you need SFs who can either shoot 3s and defend well. Warren struggles to do either even though he's improved defensively.

I wouldn't mind trading him and maybe Bledsoe (draft Fox at #4 then) for another top 10 pick in the draft and then drafting someone in the 2nd like Devin Robinson to be the SF of the future.

Warren is a good player but I'm not sure he's worth the max which is what the Nets or some desperate team will throw his way.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

The key to not ending up like the Blazers imo is by not overpaying RFAs like they have.

Suns have to resist the temptation to give Len an overpaid contract. Same thing with TJ Warren when he becomes a RFA and Bledsoe when he becomes an UFA. I doubt Williams gets any big offers so should be fine there.

McD has been able to resist the temptation to overpay RFAs thus far (besides Knight) so the question will be if he can continue to do that and be smart financially with the cap room.

Very true. I had a poll up earlier in the week that was a Len vs Williams and who should the Suns keep, and the vote was almost 75% towards Williams. I think Len might get swooped up by the Spurs if they are unable to nab Chris Paul. I don't think we are keeping Len unless it's for the qualifying offer amount.
TJ Warren I'm almost okay with giving him slightly more than Allen Crabbe money just because he's so damn efficient. It depends who we draft though and where the front office envisions Warren's role on the team. I hope they can come up with a extension for him before the summer ends.

I like Warren a lot but in today's NBA, you need SFs who can either shoot 3s and defend well. Warren struggles to do either even though he's improved defensively.

I wouldn't mind trading him and maybe Bledsoe (draft Fox at #4 then) for another top 10 pick in the draft and then drafting someone in the 2nd like Devin Robinson to be the SF of the future.

Warren is a good player but I'm not sure he's worth the max which is what the Nets or some desperate team will throw his way.

I think we should try to sign an extension this summer and avoid restricted free agency with TJ. I think drafting Tatum would make it harder to get TJ to agree to a reasonable deal.

[bwgood77]

The key to not ending up like the Blazers imo is by not overpaying RFAs like they have.

Suns have to resist the temptation to give Len an overpaid contract. Same thing with TJ Warren when he becomes a RFA and Bledsoe when he becomes an UFA. I doubt Williams gets any big offers so should be fine there.

McD has been able to resist the temptation to overpay RFAs thus far (besides Knight) so the question will be if he can continue to do that and be smart financially with the cap room.

Very true. I had a poll up earlier in the week that was a Len vs Williams and who should the Suns keep, and the vote was almost 75% towards Williams. I think Len might get swooped up by the Spurs if they are unable to nab Chris Paul. I don't think we are keeping Len unless it's for the qualifying offer amount.
TJ Warren I'm almost okay with giving him slightly more than Allen Crabbe money just because he's so damn efficient. It depends who we draft though and where the front office envisions Warren's role on the team. I hope they can come up with a extension for him before the summer ends.

I like Warren a lot but in today's NBA, you need SFs who can either shoot 3s and defend well. Warren struggles to do either even though he's improved defensively.

I wouldn't mind trading him and maybe Bledsoe (draft Fox at #4 then) for another top 10 pick in the draft and then drafting someone in the 2nd like Devin Robinson to be the SF of the future.

Warren is a good player but I'm not sure he's worth the max which is what the Nets or some desperate team will throw his way.

Warren doesn't have much trade value now and the only way he gets a max is if he does develop those skills this year. He's a super efficient scorer. I certainly wouldn't trade him AND Bledsoe for a 2nd top 10 pick. I mean maybe if I KNEW it was Fultz. That's it.

[Ghost of Kleine]

I suppose I would choose fox so we could trade Bledsoe before he expects a supermax type of deal. Now don't get me wrong. I love his heart and newfound leadership qualities, But I still have concern over his age, potential knee issues and impending max contract expectations. I would rather have an uber athletic, young point guard who can grow with the team while reducing team payroll and putting us in a better position for a potential star in free agency when the time comes. Also wouldn't hurt to pickup another potential stud in the 6-10 range of the lottery.

That, and to be honest, He does remind me somewhat of a young kevin Johnson.

Watch on YouTube

Then maybe pickup somebody like Isaac or lauri with the pick acquired from the Bledsoe trade.

[suns91fan]

Very true. I had a poll up earlier in the week that was a Len vs Williams and who should the Suns keep, and the vote was almost 75% towards Williams. I think Len might get swooped up by the Spurs if they are unable to nab Chris Paul. I don't think we are keeping Len unless it's for the qualifying offer amount.
TJ Warren I'm almost okay with giving him slightly more than Allen Crabbe money just because he's so damn efficient. It depends who we draft though and where the front office envisions Warren's role on the team. I hope they can come up with a extension for him before the summer ends.

I like Warren a lot but in today's NBA, you need SFs who can either shoot 3s and defend well. Warren struggles to do either even though he's improved defensively.

I wouldn't mind trading him and maybe Bledsoe (draft Fox at #4 then) for another top 10 pick in the draft and then drafting someone in the 2nd like Devin Robinson to be the SF of the future.

Warren is a good player but I'm not sure he's worth the max which is what the Nets or some desperate team will throw his way.

Warren doesn't have much trade value now and the only way he gets a max is if he does develop those skills this year. He's a super efficient scorer. I certainly wouldn't trade him AND Bledsoe for a 2nd top 10 pick. I mean maybe if I KNEW it was Fultz. That's it.

I don't think Warren is a super efficient scorer. He might be efficient considering his play style, but his play style is largely inefficient. He barely edged Booker in TS%, and it's known that efficiency is one of the things we want Booker to improve on. While i have no doubts Booker will have no problems there, i have my worries about Warren. League has never before rewarded getting contact as much as these days, yet Warren's game is completely based on finesse, which leads to lack of free throws and, therefore, his efficiency suffers. Lack of consistent outside shooting makes things even worse. On the bright side, he is an elite finisher (especially in transition), and has that nice automatic midrange jumper. All in all, unless he makes some massive improvements (which is not out of question as he seems like a hard working type), it seems to me that he will end up as an elite 6th man. And that's fine by me. It's a shame though, he would have been more appreciated if he was born 10-15 years earlier.

[bwgood77]

I like Warren a lot but in today's NBA, you need SFs who can either shoot 3s and defend well. Warren struggles to do either even though he's improved defensively.

I wouldn't mind trading him and maybe Bledsoe (draft Fox at #4 then) for another top 10 pick in the draft and then drafting someone in the 2nd like Devin Robinson to be the SF of the future.

Warren is a good player but I'm not sure he's worth the max which is what the Nets or some desperate team will throw his way.

Warren doesn't have much trade value now and the only way he gets a max is if he does develop those skills this year. He's a super efficient scorer. I certainly wouldn't trade him AND Bledsoe for a 2nd top 10 pick. I mean maybe if I KNEW it was Fultz. That's it.

I don't think Warren is a super efficient scorer. He might be efficient considering his play style, but his play style is largely inefficient. He barely edged Booker in TS%, and it's known that efficiency is one of the things we want Booker to improve on. While i have no doubts Booker will have no problems there, i have my worries about Warren. League has never before rewarded getting contact as much as these days, yet Warren's game is completely based on finesse, which leads to lack of free throws and, therefore, his efficiency suffers. Lack of consistent outside shooting makes things even worse. On the bright side, he is an elite finisher (especially in transition), and has that nice automatic midrange jumper. All in all, unless he makes some massive improvements (which is not out of question as he seems like a hard working type), it seems to me that he will end up as an elite 6th man. And that's fine by me. It's a shame though, he would have been more appreciated if he was born 10-15 years earlier.

I agree, and there are things he needs to improve. I wouldn't trade him though if his value didn't bring back something worth trading away an elite 6th man for, it's not worth it. We will see next offseason, if he isn't extended, what kind of value he has and contracts he demands, but we can't always assume a purely unknown draft prospect (unknown as to how well their skills will translate into being an impactful nba player) is worth it.

[Ghost of Kleine]

My ideal trade scenario would be predicated on us somehow landing josh Jackson at #4, Then trading Bledsoe to sacramento for their 5th pick wherein we grab Dennis Smith Jr. Essentially giving us the two most athletically gifted players with the highest potential in the entire draft.

And should Jackson be gone at#4, Plan B is we take DeAaron Fox at #4 trade Bledsoe to either sacramento or New York, and take Jonathan Isaac with sacs' pick Or Lauri Markannen or Zach Collins( Lens' replacement) with New Yorks' pick.

Maybe take Caleb Swanigan in the 2nd round as our "Draymond Green" type of project.

[Qwigglez]

http://valleyofthesuns.com/2017/05/28/ranking-the-phoenix-suns-assets-based-on-tradability/

[Ghost of Kleine]

http://valleyofthesuns.com/2017/05/28/ranking-the-phoenix-suns-assets-based-on-tradability/

Good read! And more or less pretty accurate.

I would still like to see us cash in on bledsoe while his value is at a premium currently, But I am sure that McD has a pretty clever plan he's devising going into the draft.

[sunsbum]

The blazers draftedntheir team just fine, the problem is oshley got scared because PDX is such a small market team and kept all his rfa's strictly because of that fear of no one would want to come here. He actually made a ton of really bad moves last off-season like re signing meyers, over paying crabbe, over paying Turner ECT. But then the nuggets showed up and totally bailed him out with the nurkic trade. The blazers are going to be really good next year all because of that trade . Like a 3 or 4 seed.

I'm not worried about the suns turning into the blazers at this point but it all starts with Alex Len. We cannot overpay him and start on the path of keeping bad role players on crap contracts.

[kennydorglas]

The blazers draftedntheir team just fine, the problem is oshley got scared because PDX is such a small market team and kept all his rfa's strictly because of that fear of no one would want to come here. He actually made a ton of really bad moves last off-season like re signing meyers, over paying crabbe, over paying Turner ECT. But then the nuggets showed up and totally bailed him out with the nurkic trade. The blazers are going to be really good next year all because of that trade . Like a 3 or 4 seed.

I'm not worried about the suns turning into the blazers at this point but it all starts with Alex Len. We cannot overpay him and start on the path of keeping bad role players on crap contracts.

What a ridiculous trade, oh my.
Nurkic had to be destroying their locker room... i've got nothing else to explain that.