2020 Offseason Speculation, free agency, summer trades (keep draft prospect talk in draft thread)

[TeamTragic]

I did hear or read about the rumors about Suns and 76ers trade of Simmons/Horford for Rubio/Oubre/4 first picks.... But not the Booker for Simmons rumors.

Where was this?

What rumor?

[Blonde]

If we can get Simmons next to Booker and Ayton WHILE flipping Rubio for Horford, I’d do it in a second. Simmons is just really really good and really young. He’s legitimately one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league. Don’t even care that he isn’t an ideal fit next to Ayton because he’s a better prospect and if things go bad you build around Booker/Simmons.

[bwgood77]

If we can get Simmons next to Booker and Ayton WHILE flipping Rubio for Horford, I’d do it in a second. Simmons is just really really good and really young. He’s legitimately one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league. Don’t even care that he isn’t an ideal fit next to Ayton because he’s a better prospect and if things go bad you build around Booker/Simmons.

Well, obviously in that theoretical deal, yes, the players swapped benefit us big time, and give another nice vet for Ayton to maybe learn tricks from. However, we still have the shooting problem. And at least Rubio shoots open 3s...and as much as people complain, has hit at a decent rate this year.

Having said that, of course I'd prefer Simmons, but he HAS to start shooting. I mean the same complaints will come up. No one will guard Simmons AT ALL if Booker starts dribbling around. As talented as that team is, we could run into the same problem if Simmons was not the primary ball handler at all times. He's such a great player with such a great flaw. He doesn't even shoot out of like 3 ft I don't think.

Also, at least Embiid hits over 34% from 3, so that helps in that situation. I think it would still be an uphill battle....now if Simmons turned into a great and will shooter, it would be amazing...but that's unlikely, considering he is not even willing to shoot at all.

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

[SunsRback4Good]

Looks like Bridges actually puts in the time to work with Ayton unlike the other " all star".

[cberry78]

Point Bridges!

[SunsRback4Good]

If we can get Simmons next to Booker and Ayton WHILE flipping Rubio for Horford, I’d do it in a second. Simmons is just really really good and really young. He’s legitimately one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league. Don’t even care that he isn’t an ideal fit next to Ayton because he’s a better prospect and if things go bad you build around Booker/Simmons.

We'll probably have to lose Ayton or Booker to get Simmions here. Also, Simmons is worse outside shooter than Rubio the trade accomplishes absolutely nothing whatsoever. We need two guards that can shoot 45+ fg % and a bench player that comes in and pours his heart out like Clarkson or Schroder.

[Blonde]

If we can get Simmons next to Booker and Ayton WHILE flipping Rubio for Horford, I’d do it in a second. Simmons is just really really good and really young. He’s legitimately one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league. Don’t even care that he isn’t an ideal fit next to Ayton because he’s a better prospect and if things go bad you build around Booker/Simmons.

We'll probably have to lose Ayton or Booker to get Simmions here. Also, Simmons is worse outside shooter than Rubio the trade accomplishes absolutely nothing whatsoever. We need two guards that can shoot 45+ fg % and a bench player that comes in and pours his heart out like Clarkson or Schroder.

I get it, trust me I know that Simmons doesn’t shoot the ball. But he does score 16ppg on elite efficiency which is more than you can say for Rubio who puts up 12ppg on all time bad efficiency. But just because the guy can’t shoot doesn’t mean it accomplishes nothing. It probably adds 10 wins minimum. It’s an all NBA player, don’t overthink it. Our roster isn’t that close where you can add a Clarkson and suddenly we make the WCF. Take high end talent first, figure out the rest later.

3&D guard
Booker
Bridges/Cam
Simmons/Stretch 4
Ayton

^this is a much higher potential roster construction than anything we can realistically hope for with Rubio tbf. Whether we could get Simmons for a deal around Oubre and picks is to be decided but I tend to agree that Philly would have better options.

[thamadkant]

If we can get Simmons next to Booker and Ayton WHILE flipping Rubio for Horford, I’d do it in a second. Simmons is just really really good and really young. He’s legitimately one of the best and most versatile defenders in the league. Don’t even care that he isn’t an ideal fit next to Ayton because he’s a better prospect and if things go bad you build around Booker/Simmons.

I would rather trade Booker for Simmons...
and if Ayton must go... which would be the DUMBEST move ever, since he is a two-way player.... a darn good legit All-Star big man better be coming back to the Suns.

[thamadkant]

Read on Twitter

its obvious that certain team members put a lot of effort getting the ball to Ayton when he has position... certain other(s) are hesitant unless its a guaranteed assists or if its absolute last second situation and half the time its a bad pass....

[Frank Lee]

Man y'all must be bored as **** conjuring up reasons/ways to trade Book.... when the fact is, Book is likely the one to make that decision.

Furthermore, I think y'all might be surprised at the tepid interest in him. A perceived one dimensional ball dominated chucker isn't exactly high on the list. Only Minny has a real reason to get him, and it isn't really a Bball roster mix one. Perhaps NY would snag him, just to attract eventual FAs KAT and DLo. IDK, nor think its even remotely something we'd consider, again, unless the Book says get me outta here.

And I just don't see how we are better by trading him, even with these piper suggestions involving Simmons. It isn't happening... Id imagine Teams will wait and let things fester, then try to get him for .50 on the dollar. Much better odds we get him to continue the D improvement and get some proper shooters/help on this team. Our past off season additions didn't really pan out this yr. At least none of them are binding.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I don't really get all of this "we need more shooters" talk. Mikal and Oubre are at 35% for the year, just a hair under Booker at 36%. Cam at 40%. Saric was a stretch 4 in years prior - 35% for his career, just 31% this year. Baynes isn't bad for a 5: with this prolonged slump he's shooting 33% for the year. Carter's shooting 39%, Okobo 36% and Rubio 34%. That's all our current rotation players save Deandre.

Which of these players do we need to boot for a pure shooter? Think if we replace Saric with someone who's hitting 36% (his career average prior to this year), our problems would be solved? If we gave all of Okobo's minutes to Carter to get that extra 3%? Say we replace Oubre with someone shooting 40% instead of 35%, that our problems would go away? Most pure shooters have deficiencies elsewhere...

As a team we shoot 34.8% from 3, which isn't great, but the league median is Denver/Lakers at 35.8%, and a lot of good teams sit between them and us (Memphis @ 34.9%, Houston @ 35.1%, OKC @ 35.3%, Philly @ 35.7%). You might think that it comes down to our lack of attempts, but then, we're tied with the Lakers at 31.2 per game, which is more than Denver, Memphis and OKC.

Looking at the stats more comprehensively, we're pretty much just the tenth worst team on every statistical measure, except we're high in free throw attempts (thanks Book) and assists (thanks Ricky) and near the bottom on blocks (thanks diuretics, scorekeepers and Saric/Frank/Baynes). OBVIOUSLY, it's not just one thing - it's everything. Being below average from 3, on offense generally, on D, on the boards - it's all of it. Prioritize shooting over defense and other attributes and you'll just exacerbate all the other problems we have.

In my view, the 36 minutes of bad D at the 2 spot, the 20 minutes of Booker at the point, no rebounding/rim protection aside from Ayton, and Deandre taking those short jumpers rather than pounding in the paint are all bigger issues than our lack of shooters. I don't see a problem with our spacing in particular. It's just everything.

I have no doubt we'll get better next year with the progress our young players will continue to make, and, hopefully, with some bench upgrades via free agency. But what I can't figure out is how you make it work with Devin. I don't see it working with him on-ball. I don't see his defense ever getting to good due to his lack of physical tools. I'd take two Mikal Bridgeses over two Devin Bookers, because at least I can see Bridges improving offensively. Booker's D? That'll never be better than below average. The most I hope for there is that he gets comfortable taking more threes than twos and stops turning the ball over. For reference, Devin's #6 in turnovers per game, surrounded in those stats by (a) the league assist leaders, (b) LaVine and Beal and (c) Andre Drummond.

I am left with this. You add a quality rotation guard and big to this group via free agency, and you run it back next season. See if it works. If it doesn't, then the fundamental change I look to make is getting rid of the bad defense and excessive turnovers we get for 36 minutes from our 2 guard every night, because I just don't know what else to do that could change our team so dramatically. Booker's great, and Booker's cool, and I like Booker as a person, but if you can't see that he's a big part of what ails us, then you just don't have eyes.

[realsunsfan]

Two winnable games against bad teams and they come out and lay giant eggs.

This team sucks buttermilk. Zero heart. Done with them.

Freedom at last.

Sent from my SM-G955U using RealGM mobile app

Bye..... don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya......

[Walt_Uoob]

Grizzlies are waiving Jordan Bell. I hadn't thought about him in a while. What happened to him? I remember him as generally considered a 2nd-round steal and likely to have a solid career. Didn't even remember he had already bounced to the Wolves, Rockets, and Grizzlies.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

Grizzlies are waiving Jordan Bell. I hadn't thought about him in a while. What happened to him? I remember him as generally considered a 2nd-round steal and likely to have a solid career. Didn't even remember he had already bounced to the Wolves, Rockets, and Grizzlies.

He never improved. Just blocks shots. Same player he was when he entered the league.

[MathiasPW]

I don't really get all of this "we need more shooters" talk. Mikal and Oubre are at 35% for the year, just a hair under Booker at 36%. Cam at 40%. Saric was a stretch 4 in years prior - 35% for his career, just 31% this year. Baynes isn't bad for a 5: with this prolonged slump he's shooting 33% for the year. Carter's shooting 39%, Okobo 36% and Rubio 34%. That's all our current rotation players save Deandre.

Which of these players do we need to boot for a pure shooter? Think if we replace Saric with someone who's hitting 36% (his career average prior to this year), our problems would be solved? If we gave all of Okobo's minutes to Carter to get that extra 3%? Say we replace Oubre with someone shooting 40% instead of 35%, that our problems would go away? Most pure shooters have deficiencies elsewhere...

As a team we shoot 34.8% from 3, which isn't great, but the league median is Denver/Lakers at 35.8%, and a lot of good teams sit between them and us (Memphis @ 34.9%, Houston @ 35.1%, OKC @ 35.3%, Philly @ 35.7%). You might think that it comes down to our lack of attempts, but then, we're tied with the Lakers at 31.2 per game, which is more than Denver, Memphis and OKC.

Looking at the stats more comprehensively, we're pretty much just the tenth worst team on every statistical measure, except we're high in free throw attempts (thanks Book) and assists (thanks Ricky) and near the bottom on blocks (thanks diuretics, scorekeepers and Saric/Frank/Baynes). OBVIOUSLY, it's not just one thing - it's everything. Being below average from 3, on offense generally, on D, on the boards - it's all of it. Prioritize shooting over defense and other attributes and you'll just exacerbate all the other problems we have.

In my view, the 36 minutes of bad D at the 2 spot, the 20 minutes of Booker at the point, no rebounding/rim protection aside from Ayton, and Deandre taking those short jumpers rather than pounding in the paint are all bigger issues than our lack of shooters. I don't see a problem with our spacing in particular. It's just everything.

I have no doubt we'll get better next year with the progress our young players will continue to make, and, hopefully, with some bench upgrades via free agency. But what I can't figure out is how you make it work with Devin. I don't see it working with him on-ball. I don't see his defense ever getting to good due to his lack of physical tools. I'd take two Mikal Bridgeses over two Devin Bookers, because at least I can see Bridges improving offensively. Booker's D? That'll never be better than below average. The most I hope for there is that he gets comfortable taking more threes than twos and stops turning the ball over. For reference, Devin's #6 in turnovers per game, surrounded in those stats by (a) the league assist leaders, (b) LaVine and Beal and (c) Andre Drummond.

I am left with this. You add a quality rotation guard and big to this group via free agency, and you run it back next season. See if it works. If it doesn't, then the fundamental change I look to make is getting rid of the bad defense and excessive turnovers we get for 36 minutes from our 2 guard every night, because I just don't know what else to do that could change our team so dramatically. Booker's great, and Booker's cool, and I like Booker as a person, but if you can't see that he's a big part of what ails us, then you just don't have eyes.

Agree to most of this. We are not star-heavy enough (both in number and quality of starts) to be a star-dependent team. As the season progressed, and as injuries kicked in, we became more star-oriented and drifted away from a system. And the system was working. But Rubio's health is not dependable, nor were any of our secondary playmakers (was always a long shot to depend on Carter, Okobo and Jerome for that, anyway). You put the playmaking on Booker's hands, and it'll cost you on the defensive side and most likely on the offensive side, as well.

Booker's defense was passable enough when he was putting effort because he didn't have to carry all the load offensively, as he played a good chunk off-ball. Booker's strength is at scoring. Not defending. Not playmaking. He can do those things, but we better not depend on it.

[phnart]

I won't. There is nothing left to learn or see from this team.

Sent from my SM-G955U using RealGM mobile app

[WeekapaugGroove]

Not exactly a groundbreaking take but I think a lot of the Booker talk on this thread boils down to the simple fact that NBA team building without a true transcendent super star is **** hard. Unfortunately there are probably less than 10 of those dudes league wide. Without one you're often left with player decisions with no perfect/right answer so you just try to choose the least bad route and hope for the best.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

[GoodBehavior]

Not exactly a groundbreaking take but I think a lot of the Booker talk on this thread boils down to the simple fact that NBA team building without a true transcendent super star is **** hard. Unfortunately there are probably less than 10 of those dudes league wide. Without one you're often left with player decisions with no perfect/right answer so you just try to choose the least bad route and hope for the best.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using RealGM mobile app

I don't think people (fans) are thinking that far ahead. I don't think people care about the transcendence stuff yet because frankly, we are not even remotely close to that point. Everyone just want to field a competitive team that can fight for a playoff spot.

When you lose to the Pistons and Warriors, you do have to wonder if this roster is a bottom dweller for years to come. And unfortunately it starts with Booker. Unlike other people, I think it's a fixable problem. Booker, when he plays unselfish, is a damn good player. I rather see a 22p / 8a / 2to game than the current 25pt+ pace. When he's selective with his shot, he's going to be a clutch / closer player in the fourth.

[Airseven]

Who spews worse excuses for Booker: Eddie Johnson or Tom Chambers? I know these goobers are paid by the Suns but my goodness. On 98.7 right now- the fact Booker is an overrated, one-dimensional complimentary piece is being interpreted by Johnson as meaning he’s in “a period of adjustment.” “A period of adjustment.” That’s right.

This “rebuild” is never progressing until people stop pretending Booker is a centerpiece.