Season Speculation, Trade Ideas & Discussion Pt. 3

[TASTIC]

I'm liking what I'm seeing from Dinwiddie, with Lin and Russell banged up he's getting good run at PG and he has good size and passing ability.

Doubt the Nets would take it (at least until Russell is back), but Len for Dinwiddie makes some sense.

Sure they drafted Allen but he is RAW. Zeller and Mozgov aren't starters, at least Len has shown he can put up 10-8.5-1.5 if given 28mins.

The other guy I'd love to pair with Booker is Lin. He's a good locker-room guy, extremely smart, solid defender and good shooter - also doesn't need to dominate the ball so Booker can continue to make plays. Knee injuries are obviously a concern though and at 29 he doesn't fit 'The Timeline', but he could easily transition to a 6th man type role.

[MilotheSlayer]

Would anyone be interested in a Rubio for Chandler swap? We'd also give a 2nd round pick or two.

[sunskerr]

Would anyone be interested in a Rubio for Chandler swap? We'd also give a 2nd round pick or two.

No way in hell Utah agrees.

[nevetsov]

...but he [Len] isn't okaying a move to a team that has Gobert unless Gobert is out for longer than expected. We would need to make it a 3 way trade with Len going somewhere he can play right now to prove his value before FA. That's the only way he signs off on it.

You don't think he'd rather be playing 18 mins a night behind Gobert, than 0 mins a night behind Chandler/ Monroe?

Like I said, after a string of DNPs, he'll be willing to go anywhere he can get actual minutes.

[JS22]

Would anyone be interested in a Rubio for Chandler swap? We'd also give a 2nd round pick or two.

I would make that trade yesterday. No way does Utah do that.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Would anyone be interested in a Rubio for Chandler swap? We'd also give a 2nd round pick or two.

No way in hell Utah agrees.

Yeah that wouldn't do it. But if Utah falls apart I could see them shop Rubio and favors and do a mini rebuild around gobert, hood, ingles, and Mitchell. I assume they would want at least a 1st similar to what they paid for him.

I've never been a big rubio guy but he would be an upgrade. I wouldn't trade either the Miami or Milwaukee pick for him so thats where it gets tricky. If Utah felt motivated to move burkes contract then maybe Monroe and couple 2nds or reed for rubio and burkes is somewhat possible. Clears a bunch of money for Utah and still keeps the suns pretty clean for the summer of 19. But that summer rubio would need another deal too.

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[WeekapaugGroove]

Speaking of Utah I'm very curious what happens with exum. What is he? He's shown some little flashes but has lost 2 years to injury. Will some team throw a contract at him?

If by some slim chance he stays healthy and puts it together hed be a great guy to pair with booker. I just have no idea what type or calculated risk contract would be a good idea.

He might just play out the qo and try to cash in in 2019.

Jabari Parker is another intersting rfa case but at least the bucks will get a look at him later this season.

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[AtheJ415]

Rubio is NOT the answer. Obviously if it only cost us Chandler we should do it, but Rubio is no better than Bled. We need a passer who can also shoot. The last thing we need is a great passer who is so horrific shooting-wise that he takes away the paint for everyone else on the court with him. We already have a mini version of that guy in Ulis on offense.

[Frank Lee]

There are really so few options available to acquire a PG. Going to have to pony up to get anyone that is a clear upgrade....and even then , the pickins are slim. Injuries across the league have limited the expendable benchers looking for a significant minutes. There is essentially no FAs coming up that would likely sign here without serious over pay.... and the draft doesn't have the standout PG quite yet.

I think we might as well get used to the idea that BKnight will BGiven the reigns next year. Honestly, it is the best path both financially and asset wise....and likely talent wise too.

[Saberestar]

Please no...the Knightmare again no.... his basketball IQ is another Knightmare.

We know him pretty well. He can not play PG.

[WeekapaugGroove]

I highly doubt knight is given anything more than a chance to compete for a rotation and roster spot next year. His best shot is if they draft a pg, then they probably wouldn't bring in a vet and it would be an open competition for pg minutes. If they go the other route and bring in a vet then hes probably gone in a trade or buy out.

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[Saberestar]

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[NTB]

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[Saberestar]

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Probably we start Monroe and Chandler together against the Pelicans.

[LukasBMW]

What scares me is Knight will probably be even worse after his ACL tear. He was already awful on defense before the tear and now lateral movement and that first step will be a fraction of what it once was. He also relied on speed/quickness to cross over and get to the rim on offense and that will be impacted too.

Are we going to be left with a guy who doesn't like to pass, can't defend, and now can't penetrate? All that leaves are those much hated 18-24 foot jumpers he takes.

[LukasBMW]

Read on Twitter

Probably we start Monroe and Chandler together against the Pelicans.

LOL. They'll drop 40 each on us.

But I'd rather them make outside shots then give them free points in the paint and free points at the line.

[Blackification]

9. Phoenix, without both its creators

Without Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns have only two guys who can reliably create offense off the bounce -- Devin Booker and T.J. Warren. (On some nights, you can add Tyler Ulis and Mike James, but both are limited; no defense is scared of them.)

The Suns' offense dies when they both sit. Phoenix has scored just 94.4 points per 100 possessions in 182 such minutes -- a hair below Chicago's league-worst overall team mark, per NBA.com.

Maybe it doesn't matter. Phoenix isn't trying to win, even though they've been competitive under Jay Triano. There is developmental value in letting Ulis, Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender stretch themselves. It just isn't fun to watch.

P.S.: Warren is a midrange and floater wizard -- the NBA's Man of A Thousand Release Points -- but it would be nice if he occasionally passed the ball.


Tyson Chandler has suffered so much unrequited lob love during his sad time in Phoenix. Warren is dishing just 1.6 assists per 36 minutes. Meanwhile, he's jacking almost 19 shots per 36 minutes. Only 27 rotation players have ever shot so often while recording so few assists, and almost all of them were behemoth big-man finishers.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21528928/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-ben-simmons-nba

Saw this by Lowe, and it's been something i've been thinking of this season. We really need Warren to be that second scorer to open things up for Booker, but he really has been a bit of a blackhole as a result, he made some nice passes in recent games but I think that is where he should focus on improving going forward this season. It's hard when we don't have a lot of guys on the team that make others around them better, but it is still awesome to see the team getting so many assists without a real starting PG. (Though Ulis has been a lot better lately other than his shooting)

[Saberestar]

9. Phoenix, without both its creators

Without Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns have only two guys who can reliably create offense off the bounce -- Devin Booker and T.J. Warren. (On some nights, you can add Tyler Ulis and Mike James, but both are limited; no defense is scared of them.)

The Suns' offense dies when they both sit. Phoenix has scored just 94.4 points per 100 possessions in 182 such minutes -- a hair below Chicago's league-worst overall team mark, per NBA.com.

Maybe it doesn't matter. Phoenix isn't trying to win, even though they've been competitive under Jay Triano. There is developmental value in letting Ulis, Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender stretch themselves. It just isn't fun to watch.

P.S.: Warren is a midrange and floater wizard -- the NBA's Man of A Thousand Release Points -- but it would be nice if he occasionally passed the ball.


Tyson Chandler has suffered so much unrequited lob love during his sad time in Phoenix. Warren is dishing just 1.6 assists per 36 minutes. Meanwhile, he's jacking almost 19 shots per 36 minutes. Only 27 rotation players have ever shot so often while recording so few assists, and almost all of them were behemoth big-man finishers.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21528928/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-ben-simmons-nba

Saw this by Lowe, and it's been something i've been thinking of this season. We really need Warren to be that second scorer to open things up for Booker, but he really has been a bit of a blackhole as a result, he made some nice passes in recent games but I think that is where he should focus on improving going forward this season. It's hard when we don't have a lot of guys on the team that make others around them better, but it is still awesome to see the team getting so many assists without a real starting PG. (Though Ulis has been a lot better lately other than his shooting)

Shawn Marion averaged 1.9 assists per game.
Cedric Ceballos averaged 1.2 assists per game.

Those are just examples of two great former Suns players who, like TJ, excelled playing off the ball.

It's not strange that these kind of players average under 2 assists per game, but that is not a bad thing at all because they CREATE assists and opportunities for other teammates with his movement without the ball, cuts and good positioning around the basket. They are not ball hogs and they usually shoot over 50% from the floor....like TJ.

I expect an improvement from TJ in his passing/assists if he has more the ball in his hands and has more plays run for him in the next future.

[Blackification]

9. Phoenix, without both its creators

Without Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns have only two guys who can reliably create offense off the bounce -- Devin Booker and T.J. Warren. (On some nights, you can add Tyler Ulis and Mike James, but both are limited; no defense is scared of them.)

The Suns' offense dies when they both sit. Phoenix has scored just 94.4 points per 100 possessions in 182 such minutes -- a hair below Chicago's league-worst overall team mark, per NBA.com.

Maybe it doesn't matter. Phoenix isn't trying to win, even though they've been competitive under Jay Triano. There is developmental value in letting Ulis, Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender stretch themselves. It just isn't fun to watch.

P.S.: Warren is a midrange and floater wizard -- the NBA's Man of A Thousand Release Points -- but it would be nice if he occasionally passed the ball.


Tyson Chandler has suffered so much unrequited lob love during his sad time in Phoenix. Warren is dishing just 1.6 assists per 36 minutes. Meanwhile, he's jacking almost 19 shots per 36 minutes. Only 27 rotation players have ever shot so often while recording so few assists, and almost all of them were behemoth big-man finishers.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21528928/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-ben-simmons-nba

Saw this by Lowe, and it's been something i've been thinking of this season. We really need Warren to be that second scorer to open things up for Booker, but he really has been a bit of a blackhole as a result, he made some nice passes in recent games but I think that is where he should focus on improving going forward this season. It's hard when we don't have a lot of guys on the team that make others around them better, but it is still awesome to see the team getting so many assists without a real starting PG. (Though Ulis has been a lot better lately other than his shooting)

Shawn Marion averaged 1.9 assists per game.
Cedric Ceballos averaged 1.2 assists per game.

Those are just examples of two great former Suns players who, like TJ, excelled playing off the ball.

It's not strange that these kind of players average under 2 assists per game, but that is not a bad thing at all because they CREATE assists and opportunities for other teammates with his movement without the ball, cuts and good positioning around the basket. They are not ball hogs and they usually shoot over 50% from the floor....like TJ.

I expect an improvement from TJ in his passing/assists if he has more the ball in his hands and has more plays run for him in the next future.

Definitely a good point, but those two did play with Nash and KJ respectively. I guess my point is more in the line of since we don't have guys like that yet everyone needs to step up with their passing until we do. Best time for him to develop the skill even if we won't necessarily rely on it in the future assuming we get a solid distributor on the team.

[dremill24]

9. Phoenix, without both its creators

Without Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, the Suns have only two guys who can reliably create offense off the bounce -- Devin Booker and T.J. Warren. (On some nights, you can add Tyler Ulis and Mike James, but both are limited; no defense is scared of them.)

The Suns' offense dies when they both sit. Phoenix has scored just 94.4 points per 100 possessions in 182 such minutes -- a hair below Chicago's league-worst overall team mark, per NBA.com.

Maybe it doesn't matter. Phoenix isn't trying to win, even though they've been competitive under Jay Triano. There is developmental value in letting Ulis, Josh Jackson and Dragan Bender stretch themselves. It just isn't fun to watch.

P.S.: Warren is a midrange and floater wizard -- the NBA's Man of A Thousand Release Points -- but it would be nice if he occasionally passed the ball.


Tyson Chandler has suffered so much unrequited lob love during his sad time in Phoenix. Warren is dishing just 1.6 assists per 36 minutes. Meanwhile, he's jacking almost 19 shots per 36 minutes. Only 27 rotation players have ever shot so often while recording so few assists, and almost all of them were behemoth big-man finishers.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21528928/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-ben-simmons-nba

Saw this by Lowe, and it's been something i've been thinking of this season. We really need Warren to be that second scorer to open things up for Booker, but he really has been a bit of a blackhole as a result, he made some nice passes in recent games but I think that is where he should focus on improving going forward this season. It's hard when we don't have a lot of guys on the team that make others around them better, but it is still awesome to see the team getting so many assists without a real starting PG. (Though Ulis has been a lot better lately other than his shooting)

Shawn Marion averaged 1.9 assists per game.
Cedric Ceballos averaged 1.2 assists per game.

Those are just examples of two great former Suns players who, like TJ, excelled playing off the ball.

It's not strange that these kind of players average under 2 assists per game, but that is not a bad thing at all because they CREATE assists and opportunities for other teammates with his movement without the ball, cuts and good positioning around the basket. They are not ball hogs and they usually shoot over 50% from the floor....like TJ.

I expect an improvement from TJ in his passing/assists if he has more the ball in his hands and has more plays run for him in the next future.

I’ve been frustrated by it too. I don’t need him to necessarily get a ton of assists, what I’d like to see is simply him making a pass out of the drive that isn’t successful. He makes his mind up that he’s going to shoot and unfortunately even if he’s completely bottled up, the shot is going up, and it isn’t pretty.

I did notice a slight improvement in the games before the MIL loss, but overall it’s a concern I have for he and Booker (who does it when he’s given up his dribble and unsuccessfully pump faked a few times).

They’re still young tho.