Windhorst: Phoenix Suns have had discussions about acquiring Chris Paul

[YourCellarDoor]

Well I hope they can do better than CP3s contract for the next 5 years in one of the worst markets for free agents in a long time.

That's ridiculous. He only has 2 years left on his contract. I doubt we are getting any big free agents this year or next year with the current team.

You realize he's 35 right. And could suck next year, right? And Booker and Ayton are an amazing young core that haven't entered their prime correct?

The time to strike isn't next year. Same thing with the Celtics with a Brown and Tatum core.

This is the exact type of short sightedness of a trade that leads to a Booker and then Ayton demanding trades in 2 years because there's nothing on the team for them to play with.

You need to be collecting pieces for Book and Ayton's timeline, not an Owners wishes for playoff money (if possible, I understand if the Suns owner is forcing it. It wouldn't be the first time an Owner is screwing over a franchise with short sighted moves).

i think you're looking at the short-term vs long-term aspect of this in 2d way. kelly was great for us, but mikal should probably be the long-term starter there moving forward and we have solid backups at the position on the roster. kelly will be an UFA very soon and because of our forwards i think the whole fanbase would have been surprised if we brought him back. he certainly looks like the better long-term fit just looking at age, but he's been seen as expendable because of the contract situation and competition at the position.

CP3 has two years left on his deal. the hope is that we can make the playoffs these two years, solidify the culture monty has started to build, and get ayton and booker two years under one of the best mentors in the league. mikal and ayton will be getting paid in two years. having $44m coming off the books in a stacked FA class and looking like a decent second tier FA destination instead of a team that hasn't made the playoffs for 12 years? that is planning for the future.

of course a 35 year old with injury concerns can always go wrong, but the idea that it would be best for the team to get in the playoffs this year, the benefits of CP3 as a mentor, his contract coming off the books at the right time.... there's long-term upside here that doesn't look that bad against the prospects of bringing kelly back once his deal is up.

[celticfan42487]

That's ridiculous. He only has 2 years left on his contract. I doubt we are getting any big free agents this year or next year with the current team.

You realize he's 35 right. And could suck next year, right? And Booker and Ayton are an amazing young core that haven't entered their prime correct?

The time to strike isn't next year. Same thing with the Celtics with a Brown and Tatum core.

This is the exact type of short sightedness of a trade that leads to a Booker and then Ayton demanding trades in 2 years because there's nothing on the team for them to play with.

You need to be collecting pieces for Book and Ayton's timeline, not an Owners wishes for playoff money (if possible, I understand if the Suns owner is forcing it. It wouldn't be the first time an Owner is screwing over a franchise with short sighted moves).

i think you're looking at the short-term vs long-term aspect of this in 2d way. kelly was great for us, but mikal should probably be the long-term starter there moving forward and we have solid backups at the position on the roster. kelly will be an UFA very soon and because of our forwards i think the whole fanbase would have been surprised if we brought him back. he certainly looks like the better long-term fit just looking at age, but he's been seen as expendable because of the contract situation and competition at the position.

CP3 has two years left on his deal. the hope is that we can make the playoffs these two years, solidify the culture monty has started to build, and get ayton and booker two years under one of the best mentors in the league. mikal and ayton will be getting paid in two years. having $44m coming off the books in a stacked FA class and looking like a decent second tier FA destination instead of a team that hasn't made the playoffs for 12 years? that is planning for the future.

of course a 35 year old with injury concerns can always go wrong, but the idea that it would be best for the team to get in the playoffs this year, the benefits of CP3 as a mentor, his contract coming off the books at the right time.... there's long-term upside here that doesn't look that bad against the prospects of bringing kelly back once his deal is up.

I fully do not believe in any CP3 effect of the mentor, nor the effect of sacrificing long term assets for purely depreciating ones when you have two studs under the age of 24 on your roster that should be your primary focus.

You need to build so you're winning when they're both in their RFA contracts first and foremost.

Losing in the first round doesn't make you a future NBA success, having talent around you does. And that's all CP3 would bring unless he does fall off the cliff next year which is highly possible. He's also rubbed every player he's every played with the wrong way due to being such a piece of **** to be a team mate with.

He's a HoF for sure, but he's 35 and can't be a franchise player for a team anymore. OKC has the right idea in trading him away for ANY kind of future asset they can get their hands on and looking to build towards the future. That's what every non LA, GS, or MIL team should be thinking as well in regards to CP3.

Everything else is just first round at best masturbation.

That said if you get him for like a second rounder then sure F it. With one of the best young cores in the NBA the Suns are already way too good to ever tank so for a bag of chips it doesn't sacrifice much to trade for him. But at his salary he will cost more than he's worth to the franchise core of Book and Ayton.

For what it's worth, even if you disagree I would say the exact same thing for the Celtics who I feel like the Suns and Celtics are very similar positions in the current stages as franchises right now. Except the Celtics have to trade Hayward and hope to get something for him like an Oubre to actually have for the future, ect. The Suns are kind of in the right position and just need to gather more assets for their core as they can find them (draft or undervalued player on a team most likely).

[OdomFan]

Why the Suns? he should be trying to get a championship now at this point in his career.

[YourCellarDoor]

You realize he's 35 right. And could suck next year, right? And Booker and Ayton are an amazing young core that haven't entered their prime correct?

The time to strike isn't next year. Same thing with the Celtics with a Brown and Tatum core.

This is the exact type of short sightedness of a trade that leads to a Booker and then Ayton demanding trades in 2 years because there's nothing on the team for them to play with.

You need to be collecting pieces for Book and Ayton's timeline, not an Owners wishes for playoff money (if possible, I understand if the Suns owner is forcing it. It wouldn't be the first time an Owner is screwing over a franchise with short sighted moves).

i think you're looking at the short-term vs long-term aspect of this in 2d way. kelly was great for us, but mikal should probably be the long-term starter there moving forward and we have solid backups at the position on the roster. kelly will be an UFA very soon and because of our forwards i think the whole fanbase would have been surprised if we brought him back. he certainly looks like the better long-term fit just looking at age, but he's been seen as expendable because of the contract situation and competition at the position.

CP3 has two years left on his deal. the hope is that we can make the playoffs these two years, solidify the culture monty has started to build, and get ayton and booker two years under one of the best mentors in the league. mikal and ayton will be getting paid in two years. having $44m coming off the books in a stacked FA class and looking like a decent second tier FA destination instead of a team that hasn't made the playoffs for 12 years? that is planning for the future.

of course a 35 year old with injury concerns can always go wrong, but the idea that it would be best for the team to get in the playoffs this year, the benefits of CP3 as a mentor, his contract coming off the books at the right time.... there's long-term upside here that doesn't look that bad against the prospects of bringing kelly back once his deal is up.

I fully do not believe in any CP3 effect of the mentor, nor the effect of sacrificing long term assets for purely depreciating ones when you have two studs under the age of 24 on your roster that should be your primary focus.

You need to build so you're winning when they're both in their RFA contracts first and foremost.

Losing in the first round doesn't make you a future NBA success, having talent around you does. And that's all CP3 would bring unless he does fall off the cliff next year which is highly possible. He's also rubbed every player he's every played with the wrong way due to being such a piece of **** to be a team mate with.

He's a HoF for sure, but he's 35 and can't be a franchise player for a team anymore. OKC has the right idea in trading him away for ANY kind of future asset they can get their hands on and looking to build towards the future. That's what every non LA, GS, or MIL team should be thinking as well in regards to CP3.

Everything else is just first round at best masturbation.

That said if you get him for like a second rounder then sure F it. With one of the best young cores in the NBA the Suns are already way too good to ever tank so for a bag of chips it doesn't sacrifice much to trade for him. But at his salary he will cost more than he's worth to the franchise core of Book and Ayton.

For what it's worth, even if you disagree I would say the exact same thing for the Celtics who I feel like the Suns and Celtics are very similar positions in the current stages as franchises right now. Except the Celtics have to trade Hayward and hope to get something for him like an Oubre to actually have for the future, ect. The Suns are kind of in the right position and just need to gather more assets for their core as they can find them (draft or undervalued player on a team most likely).

i would still just pushback on the view that because kelly is young and chris is old kelly is better for the team's future. in all likelihood kelly wasn't going to be a part of this team's future because of the contract situation and who we have at the position. it's certainly possible he could have been, but he isn't part of this team's core right now. if we know for sure that both kelly & chris won't be on this team in 2023, i don't think it's that wild to say that chris makes you better in the shortterm and puts you in better position for a 2022 play. we probably don't even look at big FA's the next two years regardless, so the opportunity cost of his contract is relatively low.

[Jadoogar]

Why the Suns? he should be trying to get a championship now at this point in his career.

What championship contender can put together the contracts to match his salary and has things the Thunder would want?

[Mr Puddles]

Why the Suns? he should be trying to get a championship now at this point in his career.

You just answered your own question

[kombayn]

Why the Suns? he should be trying to get a championship now at this point in his career.

You just answered your own question

CP3 needs to go the Gary Payton route for his ring. Play two years at Phoenix and get a nice MLE on a contender afterwards.

[Lalouie]

windhorst's latest pod details cp3 and phx and it's worth a listen. too complicated for me to explain

[jsierra1985]

CP3 to the suns better happen at this point. Keep Booker happy and get him a guy that can take over games himself. CP3/Booker backcourt is worth the risk. I could careless about all that hype about draft picks or what he is owed. CP3 in PHX for two years should have the suns in the playoffs with our current young core.

get it done

[Scalabrine]

Rubio just turned 30 last month.

Oubre is a 24 year old just starting his prime putting up about 20 and 6 for them. I hope he sure as hell is more apart of their future than a 35 year old PG who may have his athleticism taken by father time by next season.

It's a pretty obvious take and really easy to see the point here. Odd to call it odd.

Oubre is a UFA looking to get paid. Have to also consider this and not just that hes young

Well I hope they can do better than CP3s contract for the next 5 years in one of the worst markets for free agents in a long time.

Hes got two years left on his deal though...

[Klayforspicy]

If that is what would make Booker happy then its a no brainer. Dude just wants to make the playoffs for once

[sunsbg]

If that is what would make Booker happy then its a no brainer. Dude just wants to make the playoffs for once

He has a decent team now so it's on him as well. You are not a real star if you depend on a 35yo, who will miss 20 games as usual, to put you in the playoffs. Then in two years Paul will be on another team/retired and the Suns will be again in a search for a competent PG, lack of such being the main reason for being so bad for so long.

The team would have made the playoffs if not for Ayton's suspension. They better have a plan to add more good players on cheap contracts in case Paul misses significant time with an injury.

[ThunderBolt]

The team would have made the playoffs if not for Ayton's suspension.

That goes two ways. What if Zion and JJJ don’t have knee injuries? Phx has reason to expect to improve but they are unlikely to make a huge jump without some major move, regardless if it’s Paul or someone else.

[OkcSinceSGA]

Multiple sauces: Rubio to the Clippers.

Hell yeah!

[sunsbg]

The team would have made the playoffs if not for Ayton's suspension.

That goes two ways. What if Zion and JJJ don’t have knee injuries? Phx has reason to expect to improve but they are unlikely to make a huge jump without some major move, regardless if it’s Paul or someone else.

Bringing injured players into the discussion didn't make me more comfortable that a 35yo, often injured player, is the major move required. Good it worked for you last season, but maybe it was just luck. Nobody is against a major move of course, but I'll still prefer keeping our players, who started building chemistry, rather than a declining player, who most likely will miss significant time over next two seasons.

[Jordan45822]

I think Paul realizes both LA teams are pie in the sky (and he not agreeing to a buyout to join them), Miami wants to wait for Giannis, Milwaukee has nothing OKC wants, Same with Philly (well what Philly is willing to offer), and Knicks are picky. So might as well go to a upcoming team with a legit star & young stud for 2 years before going the Gary Payton route to end his career

[sasquatchBob]

Everything else is just first round at best masturbation.

What?

[TheBoi10]

Don't think it will hurt them losing Oubre if it comes to that, Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges played well together in the bubble

[Biff]

Not a fan of this trade and I think we could move Oubre + pick for something we really need. We desperately need a reliable backup to Ayton. Our biggest issue last year was our frontcourt. Ayton missed a ton of games and so did both Baynes and Kaminsky. Baynes is a good backup center but there are some real concerns about his durability. Kaminsky, however, is hot garbage. Can't defend and his shooting is way too streaky to be relied upon as a stretch big.

[celticfan42487]

Everything else is just first round at best masturbation.

What?

Reread my post and if you have to, think about it. It's a very simple point, one of the most fundamental ones about NBA team building of where you don't want to end up.

Actually sorry I guess I'll just say it another way. You don't want to be a treadmill team with no future and waste a young cores years so they force a trade come the end of their contract. This would be the Nets trading their way into one of the worst positions for a franchise, and it's a lesson repeated over and over and over again but Owners never learn.