Waylay13 wrote:NavLDO wrote:Waylay13 wrote:
I would say that our #1 priority is to build a championship team. Right now the best path to get there appears to include Booker but it is also important to remember with is that he wants a max 150 million deal that he cant get form anyone else besides the Suns and he cant get it till after next year. So odds are he isnt going anywhere for a while.
Yes, absolutely, because without Booker, we're starting all over. We've taken the 'build through the draft' route, and IMO, we've squeezed all we can out via that way. I know many want us to 'tank' 'just one more year', because once we get 'X player' we'll be set.
Well, rewind 12 months, insert Josh Jackson's name into that statement. Because that was mantra around here. Well, we did that. Now, that JJ hasn't come in and propelled us to instant glory, here we are again; we need to tank just once more and get Doncic, Young, Ayton, Bamba, whoever.
Then, when THAT rookie doesn't provide instant success, we'll see the phrase come out again...'We need to tank one more year; all we need is x player, and we'll be set!"
Point is, I think we are closer than we think,and what I just showed is a worst case scenario...
First of all you ever think any player is going to come in and make impact in their first season you are crazy. I was and still am one of the biggest supporters for selecting JJ in the draft. Really I am getting what I expected out of him. I have seen him provide us with some good defense and some times where his all around play has shined but I didn't expect that he would suddenly turn this team into a playoff team.
The path the Suns should be taking is that you collect resources (young players, draft picks, caproom, etc) and then you take time let them develop and build a long term team. We are seeing last years rookies get better and even seeing improvement from Len this year. what you dont do is give away all of resources just to get back into the playoffs and then find out you dont have the enough talent to stay there.
That's a great idea. I agree. Problem is, we've been drafting in the lottery since 2011, with Markieff Morris. Then came Marshall...then Len, Warren, Booker, Bender, Chriss, JJ, and now, whoever we select in '18. That will be enough to fill a 9-man rotation. Problem is, we hit with Kieff, but upset him. We probably hit with Len, but failed to develop him properly. we got 'lucky' with Booker, and depending how you look at Warren, him too...but you can't keep tanking every year, picking players in the lottery, so you have 2 players at each position before you decide to finally decide to act, because as we've seen, that's not going to work...because now two of those players are gone, and a 3rd is on his way out the door.
We have 3 extra 1st Rd picks, 2 x Starting-level (we hope) SFs + 2 x Starting-level (we also hope) PFs. We cannot properly develop, IMO, a #4 overall selection SF, so long as we have a SF that is putting up 19/5.6 numbers and a PER of nearly 19. We also cannot properly develop our #4 overall selection PF, so long as our #8 overall selection PF from the same draft is starting every game.
But here's a novel idea, we use the 3 picks and 2 players, which are 5 assets, and attempt to turn them into a starting Center and a starting PG within the next 8 months. Then we can have starter-level players at ALL of our positions, instead of only 3, with the 4th being manned by a 35 YO with no future, and the other being manned by a 5'10" PG who gets destroyed on a nightly basis.
Then, we can still get a draft pick in 2019, hopefully in the upper teens because we made the playoffs, and we continue to develop in that regard.
So when I say that JJ has not become an instant success, it is not me you have to worry about...far from it. IMO, a player needs at least 3 years before they can be relied upon to be an effective starter, as we've seen with both Booker and Warren. Sure, they were good, but they both needed a couple of years to truly master and hone their skills.
So, I'm really not the one you need to take issue with; it's those that think every rookie is going to come in and save the team, and then when they don't by game 10 of the season, they hop back on the 'tank train'. But at the same time, we need to be done. We've been to this 'train stop' once too many times for my liking, and many others...time to move on to a different track. We have plenty of assets to get us close to where we need to be. What you said about developing the talent, so on and so forth, is true, but when that is done, as is with Booker and Warren, we need to move on to stage 2, and continue to develop JJ and either PF we are going to stick, which will give us 3 solid young players.
