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

[Wilber85]

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.

I have since day 1 stated Booker is not a #1 that will lead a team to Playoffs. He is #2, #3 at best. We need a two way veteran star. Not sure how but we need one.

[Desertfox]

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.

I have since day 1 stated Booker is not a #1 that will lead a team to Playoffs. He is #2, #3 at best. We need a two way veteran star. Not sure how but we need one.

Jrue Holiday, not sure how to get him but: Holiday, Booker, Bridges, Toppin, Ayton, looks pretty good. Heck Id even trade Booker for Jrue if we can also get Markannen: Holiday, Draft Pick/FA, Bridges, Markannen, Ayton.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

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.

Like many players, Booker needs a particular set of circumstances to thrive. We've been trying to build those circumstances around him and so far, we've failed. Put another quality PG out there, and a solid backup 2 for him to battle with for minutes, and maybe we'd be singing a different tune. Hell, you could just add another quality wing and make Booker compete with Mikal for his minutes. Just fill out the roster and let him blend in a little.

I believe he has the heart and the tenacity to get to just-below-average defensively with fewer FGA and MPG. He just needs to be able to take the back seat on offense for games at a time. Our offense doesn't allow for that, and I'm sure Devin would see it as a terrible demotion. But it's simply the case that teams can game plan for Devin-as-PG. So you can't just go to that. It needs to be an option that WE deploy, under circumstances of our choosing. Not every game, whether we want to or not. He's a great player, he's just not THAT KIND of great player.

I have no doubt he'd be killing it this year for Milwaukee, and that team would be no worse off. But he would not do well in Harden's role, or Trae Young's or Luka Doncic's. Put him in Klay's place in Golden State and they'd suffer for it. Put him in Toronto and they'd be even more dangerous.

I could see Devin being roughly worth a max contract. But a lot of max players are worth more than their contract. I don't think he's that kind of player. And I'm thinking.... many teams' front offices probably don't agree (just like ours doesn't). Like a lot of people, many front office types probably think it's all the team's fault, not his. If that's true, we really should consider moving him, so he can continue chasing his dream of being a transcendent superstar.

Bottom line: There's no chance of a Booker trade happening this summer unless he requests it. And hopefully we can add a couple more guards this summer - not one, like I've been saying, but two solid bench guards - to keep Devin's FGA and MPG down, and let him focus on being a solid defender and knocking down open shots. Go Super-Booker only when it's called for, not all the time. That's the only way I can see to go forward with Book and win.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Read on Twitter

Looks like the Pistons will be claiming McRae ahead of the Suns.

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[WeekapaugGroove]

Read on Twitter

bUt IS iT a rEaL injury.... I still can't get over that embarrassing AZ Central article from last week.

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[bwgood77]

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.

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I don't think it's that hard. Memphis, Miami, Indiana, Brooklyn, Denver, Utah, Clippers (last year), OKC this year, etc. A lot of teams have build quality teams with solid picks (few busts) and nice depth, with nice development. Some of these teams had a star evolve (like Jokic, or to a lesser extent, Bam and Oladipo) but most of these teams were built with nice, smart, savvy moves, and not giving up on their players a couple years after drafting them.

[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.

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I don't think it's that hard. Memphis, Miami, Indiana, Brooklyn, Denver, Utah, Clippers (last year), OKC this year, etc. A lot of teams have build quality teams with solid picks (few busts) and nice depth, with nice development. Some of these teams had a star evolve (like Jokic, or to a lesser extent, Bam and Oladipo) but most of these teams were built with nice, smart, savvy moves, and not giving up on their players a couple years after drafting them.

Depends what bar is set for success. I'm personally not one of those 'championships are the only thing that matters' types but I have to say all those teams you've mentioned if I were a fan of them at some point I'd be disappointed in where they have or will plateau. Basically every step you get to leaves you wanting more until you're ultimately disappointed.

Look at OKC they had 3 future MVPs at one point and made 1 finals appearance and now have none of those three on the roster. They had almost impossible good fortune to get that young core and still didn't win a championship.



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[bwgood77]

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.

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I don't think it's that hard. Memphis, Miami, Indiana, Brooklyn, Denver, Utah, Clippers (last year), OKC this year, etc. A lot of teams have build quality teams with solid picks (few busts) and nice depth, with nice development. Some of these teams had a star evolve (like Jokic, or to a lesser extent, Bam and Oladipo) but most of these teams were built with nice, smart, savvy moves, and not giving up on their players a couple years after drafting them.

Depends what bar is set for success. I'm personally not one of those 'championships are the only thing that matters' types but I have to say all those teams you've mentioned if I were a fan of them at some point I'd be disappointed in where they have or will plateau. Basically every step you get to leaves you wanting more until you're ultimately disappointed.

Look at OKC they had 3 future MVPs at one point and made 1 finals appearance and now have none of those three on the roster. They had almost impossible good fortune to get that young core and still didn't win a championship.

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Well if you're not championship or bust that doesn't seem like you agree they have done a good job. You kind of have to luck into a superstar, but typically to get one you need to build those solid cores like Miami or Brooklyn did first, unless you are the Lakers or a major market and even then, they currently have needed to trade major picks. There have been some major free agent moves, but those are usually to very well built teams who already have a very solid core or at least one star and are in a major market....unless it was LeBron going back to Cleveland.

Our best teams in the past haven't gotten that championship but I had a hell of a lot of fun as a fan during those times watching competitive teams in the playoffs have that chance every year.

[Slim Charless]

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.

I have since day 1 stated Booker is not a #1 that will lead a team to Playoffs. He is #2, #3 at best. We need a two way veteran star. Not sure how but we need one.

Jrue Holiday, not sure how to get him but: Holiday, Booker, Bridges, Toppin, Ayton, looks pretty good. Heck Id even trade Booker for Jrue if we can also get Markannen: Holiday, Draft Pick/FA, Bridges, Markannen, Ayton.

Jrue is too little a return. If we're trading Booker there then shoot for Ingram. He would fit nicely into our 4 spot and produces at a much better level then Markannen while being basically the same age. Ingram will get no attention while he's Zion's sidekick so he'd probably be happier here then with the NOP anyway

[WeekapaugGroove]

I don't think it's that hard. Memphis, Miami, Indiana, Brooklyn, Denver, Utah, Clippers (last year), OKC this year, etc. A lot of teams have build quality teams with solid picks (few busts) and nice depth, with nice development. Some of these teams had a star evolve (like Jokic, or to a lesser extent, Bam and Oladipo) but most of these teams were built with nice, smart, savvy moves, and not giving up on their players a couple years after drafting them.

Depends what bar is set for success. I'm personally not one of those 'championships are the only thing that matters' types but I have to say all those teams you've mentioned if I were a fan of them at some point I'd be disappointed in where they have or will plateau. Basically every step you get to leaves you wanting more until you're ultimately disappointed.

Look at OKC they had 3 future MVPs at one point and made 1 finals appearance and now have none of those three on the roster. They had almost impossible good fortune to get that young core and still didn't win a championship.

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Well if you're not championship or bust that doesn't seem like you agree they have done a good job. You kind of have to luck into a superstar, but typically to get one you need to build those solid cores like Miami or Brooklyn did first, unless you are the Lakers or a major market and even then, they currently have needed to trade major picks. There have been some major free agent moves, but those are usually to very well built teams who already have a very solid core or at least one star and are in a major market....unless it was LeBron going back to Cleveland.

Our best teams in the past haven't gotten that championship but I had a hell of a lot of fun as a fan during those times watching competitive teams in the playoffs have that chance every year.

Sure plenty of teams do a good job and the suns haven't for like a decade.

My original post was more around all the booker talk. I honestly don't think there's nessesarily a right answer. If you have a super duper star then the path is clear you build around them and do everything in your power to keep them as long as you can. For everyone else there's a lot of factors and sometimes you end up **** either way.

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[Desertfox]

I have since day 1 stated Booker is not a #1 that will lead a team to Playoffs. He is #2, #3 at best. We need a two way veteran star. Not sure how but we need one.

Jrue Holiday, not sure how to get him but: Holiday, Booker, Bridges, Toppin, Ayton, looks pretty good. Heck Id even trade Booker for Jrue if we can also get Markannen: Holiday, Draft Pick/FA, Bridges, Markannen, Ayton.

Jrue is too little a return. If we're trading Booker there then shoot for Ingram. He would fit nicely into our 4 spot and produces at a much better level then Markannen while being basically the same age. Ingram will get no attention while he's Zion's sidekick so he'd probably be happier here then with the NOP anyway

How about Jrue, NAW, and a draft pick?

[Slim Charless]

Jrue Holiday, not sure how to get him but: Holiday, Booker, Bridges, Toppin, Ayton, looks pretty good. Heck Id even trade Booker for Jrue if we can also get Markannen: Holiday, Draft Pick/FA, Bridges, Markannen, Ayton.

Jrue is too little a return. If we're trading Booker there then shoot for Ingram. He would fit nicely into our 4 spot and produces at a much better level then Markannen while being basically the same age. Ingram will get no attention while he's Zion's sidekick so he'd probably be happier here then with the NOP anyway

How about Jrue, NAW, and a draft pick?

It would depend on the pick. I wouldn't really have interest in this years pick but next year's high school eligble draft might work or if they can grab one of those later LAL picks-Im not sure how far back they have those picks but once Bron retires they'll be a dumpster fire again

[lilfishi22]

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.

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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.

I hardly think losing to Pistons and Warriors in the middle of a season where it doesn't look like we have the manpower to keep driving the team in a playoff race is the end of the world or that it means we're a bottom dweller for years to come.

We didn't play well against teams that we should confidently beat but it's just part of the NBA and even good teams go through these ruts during the long NBA season. Teams on our level are more susceptible to these ruts.

[Frank Lee]

wow...what do yall really think is Books value ?? I place it a prospect, a pick, and salary fodder/useful Vet. Star out Star in just doesn't seem likely anymore. Get on the big board and see what his value might be. I think you will be surprised at the lack of interest/worth. May be I am wrong, but if I was a Pelican fan, I'd be pissed to swap out Jrue, NAW, AND a pick for just about anyone, let alone Book. Why would they shake up something that seems to be working, finally?

[lilfishi22]

I personally don't care to play the hypothetical trade Booker game. It's not productive, realistic and quite frankly, has no value in it. Star players don't grow on trees and the vast majority of them don't hit that super stardom tier anyway which you need in order to win a championship and even then, you're not guaranteed a title either. The fact is, winning a title requires more than one guy and trading a star level player in Booker for a vet, a young player and picks would have wasted the last 5 seasons of tanking and honestly, no one knows whether it would put us on a more solid path towards a championship.

I don't know if we can win multiple playoff series with Booker or not but the good thing is, he'd be a damn good #2 and we still have Ayton who's only this year starting to understand and feel like he belongs in the NBA. Booker might not be the elite star we hoped he would be but to discount his entire body of work and abilities on the court because he hasn't shown he can take over consistently and his defense is poor, would be throwing the baby out with the bath water.

We're not winning a championship this year or the next so let's show some patience with this squad and see if it can be good. If we're still not improving at the rate we need to then we can move on from Booker when he has a year or two left on his deal. Either way, to start thinking about moving him now is both premature and would be akin to panic selling.

[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.

I hardly think losing to Pistons and Warriors in the middle of a season where it doesn't look like we have the manpower to keep driving the team in a playoff race is the end of the world or that it means we're a bottom dweller for years to come.

We didn't play well against teams that we should confidently beat but it's just part of the NBA and even good teams go through these ruts during the long NBA season. Teams on our level are more susceptible to these ruts.

The Pistons and Warriors have nowhere close to the talent the Suns have, and beat the Suns. Decisively I might add, had it not been for the late Cam's barrage of 3. They did this on the road.

What does it say about this team that it lost to two of the worst teams in the league?

I am not saying this team is terrible. I am actually one of the optimist. But when you lose in that fashion, I think it's okay for people to think about alternatives. Like I mentioned before, I think the Booker issue is very fixable.

[lilfishi22]

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.

I hardly think losing to Pistons and Warriors in the middle of a season where it doesn't look like we have the manpower to keep driving the team in a playoff race is the end of the world or that it means we're a bottom dweller for years to come.

We didn't play well against teams that we should confidently beat but it's just part of the NBA and even good teams go through these ruts during the long NBA season. Teams on our level are more susceptible to these ruts.

The Pistons and Warriors have nowhere close to the talent the Suns have, and beat the Suns. Decisively I might add, had it not been for the late Cam's barrage of 3. They did this on the road.

What does it say about this team that it lost to two of the worst teams in the league?

I am not saying this team is terrible. I am actually one of the optimist. But when you lose in that fashion, I think it's okay for people to think about alternatives. Like I mentioned before, I think the Booker issue is very fixable.

Sometimes it's more than talent. It's coaching, it's chemistry, it's health, it's shooting and sometimes, it's simply just one team playing better than the other on the night. Even then, it's a massive leap to think these two L's are indicative of what we're going to be going forward.

[Keith_myath]

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.

I hardly think losing to Pistons and Warriors in the middle of a season where it doesn't look like we have the manpower to keep driving the team in a playoff race is the end of the world or that it means we're a bottom dweller for years to come.

We didn't play well against teams that we should confidently beat but it's just part of the NBA and even good teams go through these ruts during the long NBA season. Teams on our level are more susceptible to these ruts.

The Pistons and Warriors have nowhere close to the talent the Suns have, and beat the Suns. Decisively I might add, had it not been for the late Cam's barrage of 3. They did this on the road.

What does it say about this team that it lost to two of the worst teams in the league?

I am not saying this team is terrible. I am actually one of the optimist. But when you lose in that fashion, I think it's okay for people to think about alternatives. Like I mentioned before, I think the Booker issue is very fixable.

But does he want to fix it? That's my issue.

There are strong indicators that he doesn't. Those who say he's improving his issues could also be mistaking his effort for natural improvement. It's hard to tell without going to trainings, but a lot of the stuff that requires more effort to improve doesn't show signs of improving.

[sunsbg]

The Nuggets lost to the Warriors by 16 as well. Jokic is probably available now. Let's grab him.

Good that Jones probably doesn't have trade fetish like half this board and knows to build a team you need continuity.

[King4Day]

I hardly think losing to Pistons and Warriors in the middle of a season where it doesn't look like we have the manpower to keep driving the team in a playoff race is the end of the world or that it means we're a bottom dweller for years to come.

We didn't play well against teams that we should confidently beat but it's just part of the NBA and even good teams go through these ruts during the long NBA season. Teams on our level are more susceptible to these ruts.

The Pistons and Warriors have nowhere close to the talent the Suns have, and beat the Suns. Decisively I might add, had it not been for the late Cam's barrage of 3. They did this on the road.

What does it say about this team that it lost to two of the worst teams in the league?

I am not saying this team is terrible. I am actually one of the optimist. But when you lose in that fashion, I think it's okay for people to think about alternatives. Like I mentioned before, I think the Booker issue is very fixable.

But does he want to fix it? That's my issue.

There are strong indicators that he doesn't. Those who say he's improving his issues could also be mistaking his effort for natural improvement. It's hard to tell without going to trainings, but a lot of the stuff that requires more effort to improve doesn't show signs of improving.

He did show a lot more effort when the team was winning earlier in the year.
This offseason will be huge in that we need to continue to add the right pieces around him.

Maybe Gallo
Cam continues to improve
One more cheaper shooting option

I still feel we need another scoring guard to take the load off Booker. I hope we can snag Bogdon but I'm not holding my breath