Post#333 » by WeekapaugGroove » Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:50 pm
ImNotMcDiSwear wrote:jcsunsfan wrote:PhxLax wrote:
Fully agree. The whole Ariza thing was knee-jerk signing at the spur of the moment. There's no effing way they gonna be successful or try to build any consistency/progress if they gonna roll out skinny Jackson and skinny Ariza as your forwards.
I happen to think SOMETHING gonna happen in the next 60 days w/ regards to Dudley-Warren-Chandler-Bender-Chriss. We need clarity and I would love to have a legit PF on this team. Not a superstar taking away cap space, but a legit somewhat young PF that is a starter next to Ayton.
Totally disagree about Ariza being a spur of the moment signing. When you call a guy immediately upon the free agent market opening and offer him that kind of contract--that was a very deliberate plan. There were lots of other free agents they could have gone after and Ariza is the one they called immediately and they made him an offer they knew he would accept. I can see how some fans might disagree with Ariza being an effective PF, but it is clear that the Suns think he can be and that they did their own research to come to that conclusion.
Given the talents and shortcomings of the forwards on the roster as well as our desire to win next season, the FO clearly thought that Ariza was the best player to aid in the development of this team. Any significant PG signing would have been problematic if we hope to resurrect Knight's value (as we clearly do). Signing Ariza for only one year allows us to promote whomever among our forwards steps up this season. I suppose it's also fairly obvious that we didn't want to sign any young players that could stand in the way of the development of other young players on the roster (Gordon, Randle, Parker, Anderson, and even Bertans to a lesser extent) and that we didn't want to tie ourselves up in a protracted RFA battle while we watched good fits (like Ariza) slip away.
The $20 million in cap space we'll have next summer is also valuable, but less so given the amount of $$$ teams will have to spend. But we do get some time to further evaluate our young guys (and Knight) before making any long-term additions. If Koko manages to get a lot out of these guys, I wonder if we would consider taking on salary in order to add a pick (as remote as that possibility may be). I struggle to figure out whom we would actually want out of the FA class that we could afford at $20ish million.....
I think you're spot on with the assessment of the Ariza signing. Like it or not it was plan A evidenced by them signing him 1 hour into FA. As I've stated I think the Ariza signing gives them some options later in the year because as long as he's healthy that is a very tradeable contract at the deadline if they are out of the hunt.
It's kind of interesting that for all the talk they had about getting vets this summer their actions point to them really targeting next year. Which does make sense if they feel that Ayton is the real deal and Booker continues to improve because they could be a MUCH more desirable team for a veteran to join next summer if those guys are legit than they were this summer coming in as the worst team in the league.
As far as who they will target that really doesn't need to be determined today. They will have a much better idea of the type of player they want by next spring. Plus it might not even be a FA they use their cap space on; having it makes it much easier to do a trade for a guy on a big contract.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming Wow! What a Ride!-H.S.T.
