2018 Free Agency and Trade Discussion continued

[bwgood77]

Our schedule to start the season is absolutely brutal. We could realistically start the year 2-14

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Is that type of response necessary? I'm sure 50+ people read your prediction of us being 49-33 and had similar thoughts, but they didn't respond with a bunch of "crazy" emoticons.

[bwgood77]

Our schedule to start the season is absolutely brutal. We could realistically start the year 2-14

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Spoiler:

***ducks for cover***

We'll end up with Sekou Doumbouya from PB86, whatever that is.

[NavLDO]

Quite frankly I think it was a poor decision not to keep Payton for what he ended up signing for. I expect Payton to do well and be yet another McDonough cast off to make the playoffs in another city.

Completely agree. He's young, and better than ANY PG we currently have on the roster. Haters can point to team stats, etc., with him on the floor last year, but of course, those same posters refuse to acknowledge that a) we were tanking, and b) the rest of our team was pretty bad, and c) we had a horrible HC. What would it have hurt to keep our best PG on the roster?? We wouldn't have been able to overpay Ariza by about $7M to sign him for a 1-yr deal, and actually use that towards a different better answer in FA?

So, while teams like Toronto are buying Kawhi Leonard for a song, Indiana is signing a 28YO Tyreke Evans for $3M less than what we paid for a lesser player, and other trades/signings like Boogie and Melo (and yes, Melo at $2.4M is better than Ariza at $15M)

we are signing guys that have this type of impact...

"..the team was 15-1 in games Ariza didn't play last season..."

McD's most 'inspired move' was trading for Richaun Holmes...yay. Yes, I like that move, but that is not a 'were headed to the Playoffs-level' move.

I don't know how anyone who watched could think that *Payton* was our best PG last season. For me, top 3 were Shaq, Canaan and f'ing Mike James (despite the awful fit). Payton had like a week of good games and then proceeded to throw his audition. The FO tanked the team, not the players. Payton tanked himself. Knight's at least shown something in the NBA. Shaq outplayed Payton and is cheaper with possibly greater potential as well.

Evans has had one healthy season in the last... what, five years? We needed a guy who can play. And with so many talented SFs on the roster who have shown everything but 3&D, we needed a guy who could demonstrate to our young guys how to do what we need them to do. And I trust that Koko knew what he was talking about when he said Ariza was #1 on his list of guys who would help this roster. I never thought Evans would be a particularly good fit, and I wouldn't want to upset whatever chance remains that BK will make a good run with this team.

Yes, i can see how how Knight's last 10 games with us vs EP's were so much better, especially considering he'd played with the team for years prior, vs 9 games that EP had; I'm so glad we are pinning our hopes on him.

https://ibb.co/nP0kwU (ugh, I never get these images working right!)

EP wasn't even given a fair shake. Your going to 'roast' EP for 19 games in a Suns uniform, when placed on a team that was actively tanking?

And you just proved point number 2..."And with so many talented SFs on the roster..."; yep, let's bring in number SF #5, because that will help us. Ariza's Defense and 3Pt shooting is highly overrated over the last few years. He's lost a step or two, and his 3PT shooting is average, at best. And when has Bridges been given the opportunity to showcase his 3&D capabilities? Let's just assume he needs a mentor, and average one, at that, because that will make him better!

So, now we have Warren, JJ, Bridges, King...and Ariza, while we still trot out one of Bender or Chriss at PF, and Knight, Harrison, or Okobo at PG.

So tell me, which position needed more help Warren, JJ, and Bridges? Or Bender/Chriss or Knight/Harrison/Okobo? It's a no brainer, so what we do? We decide to collect more SFs...again...awesome.

I think HoopsHabit nailed it...

However, even with Devin Booker‘s necessary (and fully warranted) contract extension and the free Richaun Holmes pickup, the Suns will be relying on Brandon Knight, Okobo and Shaquille Harrison at the 1-spot next year. That’s not going to get it done in the West, and questions about the futures of Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender linger. The Suns had a strong draft regardless of one’s opinion on the Bridges trade, but it wasn’t a strong enough offseason to escape another tough rebuilding year.

So no, i'm far from the only person who sees our failure to make any REAL progress this off-season, and yes, we could have better in order to be competitive this year. Excuses like 'the West is too hard' is a major cop-out; we can't expect FA to want to come here until we start winning, and in order to do this, we have to make sacrifices in order to bring in real talent via trades from other teams that have this talent...not overpay 32YOs, on the down-stretch of his career, at a strength position, completely tying up our cap space for the rest of this season. I don't care about next season; it will come when it comes; I'm concerned about competing this year after what, 8 years of losing.

The fact of the matter is, McD could've been more aggressive in getting us to a playoff season this year, but instead, he chose to make this, yet ANOTHER, rebuilding year. It gets old, after awhile, to some of us. I've been patient, and given McD pass after pass, year after year for 5 years now. Well, I personally, am done giving him passes. That does not mean I am any less a Suns fan, so don't even go there; I'm just tired of McD at this point, because this season should have been that 1st season back into the playoffs, not more rebuilding.

And I'll say it, one more time. I'll happily eat crow if McD has somehow devised some great plan that I'm not seeing right now, that is getting us into the Playoffs at the end of this season, and by all means, if you see that 'plan', then let me know, but it looks rather obvious as to what the plan is this year, after signing a 32YO SF to a 1 year deal, eating all our cap space. That was not a move a GM makes who expects his team to compete for a playoff spot this season; it just isn't. It's exactly as has been 'told' to me by other posters here...it's a cap 'preserving' move for next year...whoop-it-dee-doo!!

[NavLDO]

Completely agree. He's young, and better than ANY PG we currently have on the roster. Haters can point to team stats, etc., with him on the floor last year, but of course, those same posters refuse to acknowledge that a) we were tanking, and b) the rest of our team was pretty bad, and c) we had a horrible HC. What would it have hurt to keep our best PG on the roster?? We wouldn't have been able to overpay Ariza by about $7M to sign him for a 1-yr deal, and actually use that towards a different better answer in FA?

So, while teams like Toronto are buying Kawhi Leonard for a song, Indiana is signing a 28YO Tyreke Evans for $3M less than what we paid for a lesser player, and other trades/signings like Boogie and Melo (and yes, Melo at $2.4M is better than Ariza at $15M)

we are signing guys that have this type of impact...

"..the team was 15-1 in games Ariza didn't play last season..."

McD's most 'inspired move' was trading for Richaun Holmes...yay. Yes, I like that move, but that is not a 'were headed to the Playoffs-level' move.

Payton was a top 10 pick by the Magic and when his RFA came up they wanted no part of it and traded him for a mid 2nd. That doesn't say much about a player. This isn't the same Magic front office that let Dipo or Harris go either. This is the one that drafted Giannis, traded for Middleton and drafted Brogdon and moved to the Magic last summer as GM. If Payton could only get $3 million in FA that certainly doesn't say a lot about what NBA GMs think of him.

There is more to the Payton story but I am not sure what it is. Maybe it has something to do with hair (where it was) maybe not. But it seems to me that there is something in his private life, habits or something that made teams not to keep him. The Suns saw him play well for about a month and then he just dropped.

Maybe he smokes A LOT or weed or something. I am just grasping at straws. In his rookie interviews, Payton claimed he had "never even tried" weed. He was also asked if he had a girlfriend, to which he said "yes." He was then asked what his "pick up line" was.

I don't know. There is something not quite right with the dude, and I just have no idea what it is. It is probably irresponsible to speculate.

Well, that's what we fans do most of the time...speculate...since we have no insider information, so I don't think it's wrong to have an opinion on the situation.

I don't think giving him 19 games on a crap team is enough to evaluate how he fits here, TBPH. Yeah, he hit a slump...10 games after he arrived here. Have we not seen this same level of inadequacy with Knight, yet with BK, it has been over and over. Chriss has had streaks of games where he's looked off; so has Bender. Warren hit a rough patch, I believe, a couple years back.

Bottom line, this team was in active Tank Mode, and Payton did nothing to turn that around, but look at the coaching decisions that were taking place at the time, as well.

And yeah, I bet EP only saw $3M this off-season; why would anyone pay him anymore after seeing what they saw? We had to PAY to get rid of Dudley, who is likely, if not already, bought out.

Alex Len wasn't re-signed as an RFA either, and signed for $4.5M, and Alex Len actually looked good last year for a good part of the season. No team is going to pay top dollar for an RFA that was not retained by their team, especially the worst team in the NBA.

Anyway, using what a player signed for in FA to determine whether he was good fit for our situation is irrelevant, IMO. In fact, NOT signing him for $3M was a bad move, if that's all it took. Ariza is NOT 5x the player EP is, and EP actually fills a need, whereas Ariza is no more than an overpaid mentor at a position of strength on our team.

So, like you were saying, this is speculation on my part, but one of three things will end up happening with Ariza:

1) He won't get very many minutes, thus, act in a 'mentor' role, as mentioned above...or, an occasional 'on-the-court' coach, if you will. That's a lot of money to spend on that role.

2) He'll play a lot, thus eating up a lot of minutes that are already going to be spread thin between Warren, JJ, and Bridges, or...

3) He'll play more at the 4, which is both not his ideal position and not promising for our young guys, Bender and Chriss, and if that's the case, we should have taken a chance on a younger talent whose actual primary position is PF. Why not, if we're on the 'Rebuild Train' again? We may as well try to figure out who's our future at a position of uncertainty, which, BTW, is NOT SF or SG, nor should it be Center, at this point, or we've made a grave error.

In any of those 3 situations, to me, that's a waste of a good $15M that could have been spent more wisely, even on a couple of one year deals on players at positions, like PG and PF, where we actually have uncertainty.

[Jdiddy701]

Who do you guys think will be in the starting lineups opening night?


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[Mjee]

Who do you guys think will be in the starting lineups opening night?


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1. Knight
2. Booker
3. Warren
4. Ariza
5. Ayton

Book it

[NavLDO]

Who do you guys think will be in the starting lineups opening night?


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1. Knight
2. Booker
3. Warren
4. Ariza
5. Ayton

Book it

Which leaves Okobo, Harrison, JJ, Bridges, Bender, and Chriss on the Bench...only our future. But hey, let's make sure Knight and Ariza earn their paychecks; I mean, I guess it makes sense, but why not start Chandler over Ayton, this way, we can have the highest priced, lowest producing starting 5 in the history of the NBA!

1. Knight - $14.6M
2. Booker - $27.2M (extension + this year/6)
3. Warren - $11.8M
4. Ariza - $15M
5. Chandler - $13.6M

So, for a cool $82.2M, we can start the most uninspired NBA team...ever. We could get into the Guinness Book of World Records with this, and then, attempt to unseat, who, the Cavs (?) as the team with most consecutive #1 Overall Picks!

Ugh, in all seriousness, I hope our HC understands that we have 11 players on our roster UNDER the age of 25. Remove the obvious Booker, and that leaves 10 players, and of those 10 players, we have #1, 2 x #4, #8, #10, and a #14 lotto picks on our roster that need playing time. Knight, Ariza??? Not so much. If Igor has any cohones, his starting5 will look something more like:

1. Booker
2. JJ
3. Bridges
4. Warren/Chriss
5. Ayton

or, more traditionally...

1. Harrison
2. Booker
3. JJ/Bridges
4. Chriss
5. Ayton

Yes, Warren is better, but if we aren't legitimately competing this season, then gosh darn-it, develop our young talent. Igor can make it something close to:

1. Harrison / Okobo
2. Booker / JJ
3. Warren / Bridges
4. Bender / Chriss
5. Ayton / Holmes

Whereby each gets between 20-28 minutes, and find a way between the 2/3/4 positions to get Davon Reed involved, as well, and if he surpasses another young guy, then give him the minutes. What about Ariza and Knight, you say? I don't care. But I know that's not how it's going to work, and likely by Chriss' absence in SL, we may have seen his last days as a Sun.

[Saberestar]

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[bigfoot]

Who do you guys think will be in the starting lineups opening night?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1. Knight
2. Booker
3. Warren
4. Ariza
5. Ayton

Book it

Which leaves Okobo, Harrison, JJ, Bridges, Bender, and Chriss on the Bench...only our future. But hey, let's make sure Knight and Ariza earn their paychecks; I mean, I guess it makes sense, but why not start Chandler over Ayton, this way, we can have the highest priced, lowest producing starting 5 in the history of the NBA!

1. Knight - $14.6M
2. Booker - $27.2M (extension + this year/6)
3. Warren - $11.8M
4. Ariza - $15M
5. Chandler - $13.6M

So, for a cool $82.2M, we can start the most uninspired NBA team...ever. We could get into the Guinness Book of World Records with this, and then, attempt to unseat, who, the Cavs (?) as the team with most consecutive #1 Overall Picks!

Ugh, in all seriousness, I hope our HC understands that we have 11 players on our roster UNDER the age of 25. Remove the obvious Booker, and that leaves 10 players, and of those 10 players, we have #1, 2 x #4, #8, #10, and a #14 lotto picks on our roster that need playing time. Knight, Ariza??? Not so much. If Igor has any cohones, his starting5 will look something more like:

1. Booker
2. JJ
3. Bridges
4. Warren/Chriss
5. Ayton

or, more traditionally...

1. Harrison
2. Booker
3. JJ/Bridges
4. Chriss
5. Ayton

Yes, Warren is better, but if we aren't legitimately competing this season, then gosh darn-it, develop our young talent. Igor can make it something close to:

1. Harrison / Okobo
2. Booker / JJ
3. Warren / Bridges
4. Bender / Chriss
5. Ayton / Holmes

Whereby each gets between 20-28 minutes, and find a way between the 2/3/4 positions to get Davon Reed involved, as well, and if he surpasses another young guy, then give him the minutes. What about Ariza and Knight, you say? I don't care. But I know that's not how it's going to work, and likely by Chriss' absence in SL, we may have seen his last days as a Sun.

I've heard this same crappy argument for the last four years. Crying about PJ Tucker playing in front of youth and stifling development. Chandler in front of Len, Dudley in front of Bender/Chriss. FREE THE YOUTH! FREE THE YOUTH!!

Aren't we tired of seeing undeserving 18-19 year olds gifted starting minutes or major playing time. Youngsters need to be hungry for playing time. Earn it. Instead we've watched 19-20 year olds as Suns starters get beat up nightly by 27-30 year old legitimate starters.

The plan at the beginning of the season should be simple ... try to win! Put the best team on the floor and see what comes of it. If they win/compete awesome ... if they are out of contention by January play the youth. This insistence on playing youth starting on the first game of the season is ridiculous.

[asudevil]

1. Knight
2. Booker
3. Warren
4. Ariza
5. Ayton

Book it

Which leaves Okobo, Harrison, JJ, Bridges, Bender, and Chriss on the Bench...only our future. But hey, let's make sure Knight and Ariza earn their paychecks; I mean, I guess it makes sense, but why not start Chandler over Ayton, this way, we can have the highest priced, lowest producing starting 5 in the history of the NBA!

1. Knight - $14.6M
2. Booker - $27.2M (extension + this year/6)
3. Warren - $11.8M
4. Ariza - $15M
5. Chandler - $13.6M

So, for a cool $82.2M, we can start the most uninspired NBA team...ever. We could get into the Guinness Book of World Records with this, and then, attempt to unseat, who, the Cavs (?) as the team with most consecutive #1 Overall Picks!

Ugh, in all seriousness, I hope our HC understands that we have 11 players on our roster UNDER the age of 25. Remove the obvious Booker, and that leaves 10 players, and of those 10 players, we have #1, 2 x #4, #8, #10, and a #14 lotto picks on our roster that need playing time. Knight, Ariza??? Not so much. If Igor has any cohones, his starting5 will look something more like:

1. Booker
2. JJ
3. Bridges
4. Warren/Chriss
5. Ayton

or, more traditionally...

1. Harrison
2. Booker
3. JJ/Bridges
4. Chriss
5. Ayton

Yes, Warren is better, but if we aren't legitimately competing this season, then gosh darn-it, develop our young talent. Igor can make it something close to:

1. Harrison / Okobo
2. Booker / JJ
3. Warren / Bridges
4. Bender / Chriss
5. Ayton / Holmes

Whereby each gets between 20-28 minutes, and find a way between the 2/3/4 positions to get Davon Reed involved, as well, and if he surpasses another young guy, then give him the minutes. What about Ariza and Knight, you say? I don't care. But I know that's not how it's going to work, and likely by Chriss' absence in SL, we may have seen his last days as a Sun.

I've heard this same crappy argument for the last four years. Crying about PJ Tucker playing in front of youth and stifling development. Chandler in front of Len, Dudley in front of Bender/Chriss. FREE THE YOUTH! FREE THE YOUTH!!

Aren't we tired of seeing undeserving 18-19 year olds gifted starting minutes or major playing time. Youngsters need to be hungry for playing time. Earn it. Instead we've watched 19-20 year olds as Suns starters get beat up nightly by 27-30 year old legitimate starters.

The plan at the beginning of the season should be simple ... try to win! Put the best team on the floor and see what comes of it. If they win/compete awesome ... if they are out of contention by January play the youth. This insistence on playing youth starting on the first game of the season is ridiculous.

Wasn't there a huge deal last year we had issues with the young players feeling entitled to minutes they had not earned?

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[Mjee]

Which leaves Okobo, Harrison, JJ, Bridges, Bender, and Chriss on the Bench...only our future. But hey, let's make sure Knight and Ariza earn their paychecks; I mean, I guess it makes sense, but why not start Chandler over Ayton, this way, we can have the highest priced, lowest producing starting 5 in the history of the NBA!

1. Knight - $14.6M
2. Booker - $27.2M (extension + this year/6)
3. Warren - $11.8M
4. Ariza - $15M
5. Chandler - $13.6M

So, for a cool $82.2M, we can start the most uninspired NBA team...ever. We could get into the Guinness Book of World Records with this, and then, attempt to unseat, who, the Cavs (?) as the team with most consecutive #1 Overall Picks!

Ugh, in all seriousness, I hope our HC understands that we have 11 players on our roster UNDER the age of 25. Remove the obvious Booker, and that leaves 10 players, and of those 10 players, we have #1, 2 x #4, #8, #10, and a #14 lotto picks on our roster that need playing time. Knight, Ariza??? Not so much. If Igor has any cohones, his starting5 will look something more like:

1. Booker
2. JJ
3. Bridges
4. Warren/Chriss
5. Ayton

or, more traditionally...

1. Harrison
2. Booker
3. JJ/Bridges
4. Chriss
5. Ayton

Yes, Warren is better, but if we aren't legitimately competing this season, then gosh darn-it, develop our young talent. Igor can make it something close to:

1. Harrison / Okobo
2. Booker / JJ
3. Warren / Bridges
4. Bender / Chriss
5. Ayton / Holmes

Whereby each gets between 20-28 minutes, and find a way between the 2/3/4 positions to get Davon Reed involved, as well, and if he surpasses another young guy, then give him the minutes. What about Ariza and Knight, you say? I don't care. But I know that's not how it's going to work, and likely by Chriss' absence in SL, we may have seen his last days as a Sun.

I've heard this same crappy argument for the last four years. Crying about PJ Tucker playing in front of youth and stifling development. Chandler in front of Len, Dudley in front of Bender/Chriss. FREE THE YOUTH! FREE THE YOUTH!!

Aren't we tired of seeing undeserving 18-19 year olds gifted starting minutes or major playing time. Youngsters need to be hungry for playing time. Earn it. Instead we've watched 19-20 year olds as Suns starters get beat up nightly by 27-30 year old legitimate starters.

The plan at the beginning of the season should be simple ... try to win! Put the best team on the floor and see what comes of it. If they win/compete awesome ... if they are out of contention by January play the youth. This insistence on playing youth starting on the first game of the season is ridiculous.

Wasn't there a huge deal last year we had issues with the young players feeling entitled to minutes they had not earned?

Sent from my Moto E (4) using RealGM mobile app

Yep !!!! The only question is will Koko start TJ or Jackson !??! I think it will be TJ but he also might be better suited as our primary 2nd unit scorer .

If you guys think Ariza is not starting ... you’re mistaken

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Yep !!!! The only question is will Koko start TJ or Jackson !??! I think it will be TJ but he also might be better suited as our primary 2nd unit scorer .

I can see that perspective, but the problem I have with it is that TJ is not a creator. He feeds off of others and is at his best taking advantage of the attention others are getting. JJ is more well-suited to handle the ball and create offense for others, which is why I would use him primarily as a third guard with Knight and Booker (who are also initiators on offense). Plus, JJ and Dragan seem to have pretty good chemistry, so it would be good to bring them in together off the bench. So my bench rotation would be #6: JJ, #7 Dragan, #8 Bridges, #9 Shaq, #10 Quese/Holmes, #11 Reed, #12 Holmes/Quese/Chandler, with Okobo as my cigar/white flag.

Much will be determined by the chemistry of the players and 3FG%. Josh and TJ need to be respectable. If Bridges and Dragan get close to 40% on volume, it'll be hard to take them off the court. If Ayton shoots 35%, it could be hard to play for most defenses to play a rim protector, which could really open things up for BK.

[Frank Lee]

I’ve got my reservations made on the upcoming USSNavDLO lose cruise, as long as the bilge pumps hold out as it appears we still are taking on water

Reality is going to creep in on us soon and it will just be a matter of time before another overhaul is needed. I too puzzled by Ariza.... see no need at all for Chandler....and exhausted with McDrainTheLifeOutOfaFan’s revolving roster repetition. Outside of a nice little signing in Holmes, the best move was sluffing off Chudley. Kind of a let down honestly after what looks like a nice little draft. I fully expect more moves to come, but realize it’s been McDreamer’s fantasy all along to sign a superstar. He’s king of the wait till next yr strategy, which is likely what we have to do....again

[bigfoot]

I’ve got my reservations made on the upcoming USSNavDLO lose cruise, as long as the bulge pumps hold out as it appears we still are taking on water

Reality is going to creep in on us soon and it will just be a matter of time before another overhaul is needed. I too puzzled by Ariza.... see no need at all for Chandler....and exhausted with McDrainTheLifeOutOfaFan’s revolving roster repetition. Outside of a nice little signing in Holmes, the best move was sluffing off Chudley. Kind of a let down honestly after what looks like a nice little draft. I fully expect more moves to come, but realize it’s been McDreamer’s fantasy all along to sign a superstar. He’s king of the wait till next yr strategy, which is likely what we have to do....again

That's the pessimist I've come to know and love !!

[King4Day]

Our schedule to start the season is absolutely brutal. We could realistically start the year 2-14

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I'm more curious why you think it's a crazy thought that we could go 2-14.

Denver
Golden State
Lakers
Thunder
Spurs
Raptors
Celtics
Pelicans
Thunder
Spurs
Thunder
76ers

All of those games we will be favored to lose.

Dallas
Brooklyn

Those 2 we SHOULD win

Memphis 2 times. They are back to full strength and will be more of a playoff contender than we are. Both games we could lose.

It's not like this Suns team is worlds improved. We have 3 rookies we will be relying heavily on along with role players like Knight and Ariza.
Just because Booker got his extension doesn't mean he will make the team even better.

All that said, I don't believe we will only win 2 of those games but if anyone thinks we will finish that stretch above .500, you might be looking through homer glasses.

[TASTIC]

Come January 24th if Cleveland is absolutely floundering at like 15-35 and we're at say 22-28, I can see McD making a play for Love.

Something involving Chandler's expiring, Warren and Chriss would get it done I think and maybe a 2nd or two. They might not need to include a 1st either because that contract could become an albatross very quickly.

I like Love, think he's now underrated and would be a great fit...but that deal is INSANE. Still, that's the sort of deal I think McD makes.

[lilfishi22]

Come January 24th if Cleveland is absolutely floundering at like 15-35 and we're at say 22-28, I can see McD making a play for Love.

Something involving Chandler's expiring, Warren and Chriss would get it done I think and maybe a 2nd or two. They might not need to include a 1st either because that contract could become an albatross very quickly.

I like Love, think he's now underrated and would be a great fit...but that deal is INSANE. Still, that's the sort of deal I think McD makes.

I was just about to get on board until you reminded me that he just got a new deal. It's 4yrs, $120m as a reminder.

It does sound like the kind of move McD would make as a final hurrah to keep his job. He's been talking since 2013 about turning in assets for a 'disgruntled' star. I don't think Love will be disgruntled and I don't think he's a star which makes this kind of deal extra scary to me.

[TASTIC]

Come January 24th if Cleveland is absolutely floundering at like 15-35 and we're at say 22-28, I can see McD making a play for Love.

Something involving Chandler's expiring, Warren and Chriss would get it done I think and maybe a 2nd or two. They might not need to include a 1st either because that contract could become an albatross very quickly.

I like Love, think he's now underrated and would be a great fit...but that deal is INSANE. Still, that's the sort of deal I think McD makes.

I was just about to get on board until you reminded me that he just got a new deal. It's 4yrs, $120m as a reminder.

It does sound like the kind of move McD would make as a final hurrah to keep his job. He's been talking since 2013 about turning in assets for a 'disgruntled' star. I don't think Love will be disgruntled and I don't think he's a star which makes this kind of deal extra scary to me.

I'm kinda torn. He's the perfect 2nd banana (eventual third once Ayton gets there) to Booker and he plugs a HUGE hole as a proven PF who can rebound and shoot 3s. Also means Ariza doesn't play out of position at PF...If McD really wants to make the playoffs, that's the sort of deal I think we can expect.

Other names to look out for (that I think McD would look at/could get, without giving everything up) if their team sucks and they're looking to move them are Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic and even John Wall...Then you've got Dragic who (AGAIN!) might be someone we look at.

Personally I'd be trying to get someone like Bobby Portis or Trey Lyles. Both guys have shown they can produce when given minutes, Portis in particular would be awesome at PF, but Lyles is the better 3pt shooter.

[Frank Lee]

McDeepEnd needs to make a splash

He hasn’t been able to pull anything off that had immediate impact. He filled our cupboards up with paper and prospects while preaching patience and potential. Can’t do that too much longer. Without results. McDownTheStretchHeComes’ future here may be riding on his next deal.

[lilfishi22]

Come January 24th if Cleveland is absolutely floundering at like 15-35 and we're at say 22-28, I can see McD making a play for Love.

Something involving Chandler's expiring, Warren and Chriss would get it done I think and maybe a 2nd or two. They might not need to include a 1st either because that contract could become an albatross very quickly.

I like Love, think he's now underrated and would be a great fit...but that deal is INSANE. Still, that's the sort of deal I think McD makes.

I was just about to get on board until you reminded me that he just got a new deal. It's 4yrs, $120m as a reminder.

It does sound like the kind of move McD would make as a final hurrah to keep his job. He's been talking since 2013 about turning in assets for a 'disgruntled' star. I don't think Love will be disgruntled and I don't think he's a star which makes this kind of deal extra scary to me.

I'm kinda torn. He's the perfect 2nd banana (eventual third once Ayton gets there) to Booker and he plugs a HUGE hole as a proven PF who can rebound and shoot 3s. Also means Ariza doesn't play out of position at PF...If McD really wants to make the playoffs, that's the sort of deal I think we can expect.

Other names to look out for (that I think McD would look at/could get, without giving everything up) if their team sucks and they're looking to move them are Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic and even John Wall...Then you've got Dragic who (AGAIN!) might be someone we look at.

Personally I'd be trying to get someone like Bobby Portis or Trey Lyles. Both guys have shown they can produce when given minutes, Portis in particular would be awesome at PF, but Lyles is the better 3pt shooter.

I'd rather give up assets for someone like Lyles and even Portis than someone like Love. I like what I've seen from Lyles. he's basically what we hoped Bender would be with better rebounding and better shooting, Lyles is 2 years older than so I wouldn't pull the trigger right away to find a Bender replacement/future PF but if we decided to cash in, he's a guy I would like to bring in.

Love is a good second banana but I don't like that he's going to take up such a huge chunk of our cap space. Team building is about making good/smart use of cap space.