2020 Preseason Speculation - Lineup battles underway

[Revived]

Apparently Oubre took a jab at Sarver. Kinda disappointing

Please link for our viewing pleasure

It's in the wiretap, and he was actually on a radio show where they flat out asked him a leading question...something like "How does it feel to work for an owner like Joe Lacob who is willing to spend money to win championships?" or something like that. But his answer wasn't the best...something like "You hit the nail on the head...it's nice to be playing for an owner that is willing to invest in his team and put a good product on the court instead of just worrying about perception."

Meanwhile, Sarver is actually spending almost up to the luxury tax amount, where the Warriors were just at last year. They just got screwed because of the Klay injury. They are a lot richer too.

Eh Sarver wouldn’t actually pay the luxury tax this season and he won’t again unless it’s a guarantee the team is gonna be good. That’s why they released Okobo. This jersey thing is also insanely unprofessional. A ****** jersey costs like $100-$200 and they couldn’t let Oubre keep it? Especially after they used his face to market the whole thing till he got traded?

Lacob is paying $84M just for this season to add Oubre to the team. I can guarantee Sarver would never even spend half that for a player like Oubre if the roles were reversed.

Sarver is also laying off employees and deducting paychecks from employees at the arena. Meanwhile Joe Lacob donated $1M back in March to help their employees. Lacob also paid for an all exclusive trip for every single Golden State Warriors employee to make the trip to Cleveland for one of their finals games.

I’m sorry but Lacob and Sarver aren’t in the same universe when it comes to being a good owner. I don’t even like Lacob all that much with his “light years ahead” comments but there is no comparison between him and Sarver. Sarver is one of the worst owners to work for and countless employees have spoke to that over the last 15 years. I personally know few friends who worked for the Suns back in 2005-2007 and they all swear it was the worst job they’ve had in their lives due to horrible culture they had in their corporate offices (although at least the team was great then).

[Revived]

Oubre, who appeared in a recent promotional picture for the Suns as they showcased this season's City Edition jersey, said he did not get to keep his jersey, as the organization traded him for veteran Chris Paul soon thereafter.

"Of course not -- they didn't let me keep that, man," Oubre said. "It had my last name on it, but I think they're going to take the stitching out and give it to CP3."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30376429/golden-state-warriors-kelly-oubre-jr-thrilled-play-owner-joe-lacob-actually-cares-organization

So is Oubre now the 15th or 16th former Suns player to leave while dogging the franchise on his way out? This isn’t normal guys, most or all other teams when they trade someone, the player just thanks the team and fans and then moves on without speaking or hinting at anything bad about their former team.

For the Suns, this has become the norm. Can’t remember exactly but I think Warren said something negative about the team/front office on his way out as well (iirc).

[Mr Puddles]

Rubio and Kelly have a right to feel slighted!! They both put blood, sweat and tears into an organization, both being keys to changing the culture and altering our path, just to be traded away!! They have a right to to feel slighted!!!

That's part of the business. They've got a job where they're getting paid 10s of millions of dollars a year and being traded away is one of the few 'inconveniences' this high paying job carriers with it. Sorry to hear there are parts of your 8 figure a year job you don't like. There's parts of my job as well that I don't enjoy, but you suck it up and act professional because at the end of the day you're getting a payday out of it.

NBA players acting slighted because they're traded are akin to actors complaining that they have to do boring promotion events and interviews. It comes with the job, they know this beforehand, and no one is forcing them to become NBA players - if you don't want a job that carries the risk of being traded, there are plenty of 9 to 5's out there.

That being said, the organization is clearly showing bad personnel management. The jersey thing seems petty and unnecessary.

[collidingNeurons]

Rubio and Kelly have a right to feel slighted!! They both put blood, sweat and tears into an organization, both being keys to changing the culture and altering our path, just to be traded away!! They have a right to to feel slighted!!!

That's part of the business. They've got a job where they're getting paid 10s of millions of dollars a year and being traded away is one of the few 'inconveniences' this high paying job carriers with it. Sorry to hear there are parts of your 8 figure a year job you don't like. There's parts of my job as well that I don't enjoy, but you suck it up and act professional because at the end of the day you're getting a payday out of it.

NBA players acting slighted because they're traded are akin to actors complaining that they have to do boring promotion events and interviews. It comes with the job, they know this beforehand, and no one is forcing them to become NBA players - if you don't want a job that carries the risk of being traded, there are plenty of 9 to 5's out there.

That being said, the organization is clearly showing bad personnel management. The jersey thing seems petty and unnecessary.

don't think anyone feels particularly sorry for them. They and we know they have a charmed life, but pay scale and having a decent job doesn't mean you stop having feelings and both of them seemed fully bought into the Suns and probably felt they had a big hand in changing the culture of the team and were looking forward to continuing that, I don't fault them for feeling disappointed or betrayed since I don't have any idea what they were being told about their futures, but I am sure when Kelly signed his extension and Ricky signed his contract both were told they were in the plans, so it's normal to feel something when a year later that suddenly changed even knowing better than we do it's a business. The whole jersey thing just felt petty to me, like all sides can afford the cost of it and it was likely symbolic for everyone and probably meant more to Kelly as a souvenir than it did to the Suns

But as someone else said, this grumbling when a player leaves is becoming way too common with the Suns and now under two different GMs and that's a problem, players are friends with each other, share the same agents and they talk, Reputations matter and once tarnished it takes a lot of good will to reverse than and squabbling over a jersey as minor as that seems just adds potential bad PR

[Revived]

I wonder Allonzo Trier is a target to replace Okobo roster spot. Probably can be bad for the minimum.

[jcsunsfan]

Rubio and Kelly have a right to feel slighted!! They both put blood, sweat and tears into an organization, both being keys to changing the culture and altering our path, just to be traded away!! They have a right to to feel slighted!!!

That's part of the business. They've got a job where they're getting paid 10s of millions of dollars a year and being traded away is one of the few 'inconveniences' this high paying job carriers with it. Sorry to hear there are parts of your 8 figure a year job you don't like. There's parts of my job as well that I don't enjoy, but you suck it up and act professional because at the end of the day you're getting a payday out of it.

NBA players acting slighted because they're traded are akin to actors complaining that they have to do boring promotion events and interviews. It comes with the job, they know this beforehand, and no one is forcing them to become NBA players - if you don't want a job that carries the risk of being traded, there are plenty of 9 to 5's out there.

That being said, the organization is clearly showing bad personnel management. The jersey thing seems petty and unnecessary.

don't think anyone feels particularly sorry for them. They and we know they have a charmed life, but pay scale and having a decent job doesn't mean you stop having feelings and both of them seemed fully bought into the Suns and probably felt they had a big hand in changing the culture of the team and were looking forward to continuing that, I don't fault them for feeling disappointed or betrayed since I don't have any idea what they were being told about their futures, but I am sure when Kelly signed his extension and Ricky signed his contract both were told they were in the plans, so it's normal to feel something when a year later that suddenly changed even knowing better than we do it's a business. The whole jersey thing just felt petty to me, like all sides can afford the cost of it and it was likely symbolic for everyone and probably meant more to Kelly as a souvenir than it did to the Suns

But as someone else said, this grumbling when a player leaves is becoming way too common with the Suns and now under two different GMs and that's a problem, players are friends with each other, share the same agents and they talk, Reputations matter and once tarnished it takes a lot of good will to reverse than and squabbling over a jersey as minor as that seems just adds potential bad PR

They did it when Colangelo was running the team too. Sarver just gives them petty things to complain about. It’s petty.

[Saberestar]

I wonder Allonzo Trier is a target to replace Okobo roster spot. Probably can be bad for the minimum.

Gambo said on the radio that we are not signing anyone else for now.
We are OK having a roster spot available waiting for some opportunity.

[jcsunsfan]

I wonder Allonzo Trier is a target to replace Okobo roster spot. Probably can be bad for the minimum.

Gambo said on the radio that we are not signing anyone else for now.
We are OK having a roster spot available waiting for some opportunity.

Yeah, now how about an opportunity like AD has a falling out with his agent for having LeBrons interest more in mind than AD’s and he dumps the Lakers and comes and plays for his old fav coach Monty Williams so that he can make Rich Pail, LeBron and the Lakers pay.

Dreaming is free.

[Frank Lee]

Not going to miss the theatrics from the Oob. He’s prolly sore he won’t have any reason to wear his cowboy outfit. May be he’ll design ‘Capt Stubing’ attire for the bay.

I don’t go far into the back room drama. So we have an ass for an owner. Just 3 months ago he was a cheap ass. So there has been some improvement. And just for comparison, examine Rubio’s exit ... one tweet and a simple thank you note. Not some heart stringing pseudo soul self promoting narcissistic BS. Thanks for playing Kelly. Pick up your check at the door. You’s the enemy now. Bonvoyage

[SSOL]

Why do people here stand up for Sarver? He is unequivocally awful.

[NTB]

I have a question for you fellow Suns fans. According to b-ref and nba.com stats, we finished the season 12th on offense and 17th on defense. Today, I was just talking to my friend about Suns and told him we can be a team with 5th best offense and AT LEAST 15th best defense. (Tbh, I could even go further and say 10th best defense but that's just me and my optimistic approach)

So do you think these targets are possible or am I being too optimistic and overhyping the team?

I say 5th best offense for several reasons:

- We have EVERYONE on the team (except Jones which is 3rd string C bench warmer) shoots +35% from three. (Spacing paradise and if some of our players go cold, others can backup)
- We have at least 3 elite passers in CP3, Saric and Booker.
- We have 2 of the most gifted CLUTCH players in CP3 and Booker.
- We were already very good at drawing fouls (also converting them, we were best team in the NBA with 83% FT) and I think that won't change much especially if Ayton gets better in that area.
- We can score from anywhere on the court (at the rim, low post, high post, mid range, from three, even from logo :p)
- We were the best team in NBA in assists with 27.2 per game and I don't think it will get worse with many more shooters added and CP3.

Reasons for AT LEAST 15th best defense:

- Except Booker and Saric (Saric is not that bad actually) almost everyone on our roster is above average defender.
- Wings that can switch in Crowder, Mikal, Cam
- Everyone has very long wingspan.
- We were already 17th best defense last season. It shouldn't be an unrealistic target.

Our only weakness is rebounding as we finished 21st in total rebounding per gamelast season as we usually play wings at 4. Maybe Smith can help there but I don't think we will improve our rebounding that much. The other weakness is health concerns mostly for CP3.

What do you think?

[BobbieL]

Why do people here stand up for Sarver? He is unequivocally awful.

I don't stand up for Sarver but Oubre made a statement about Lacob and he hasn't really seen if what he said was true

Maybe the fact that the Warriors are basically paying 80m (might be less with the Klay injury knocking off some salary. Who knows.

Sarver has been a bad owner - we all know it. But for Oubre to be shocked by the trade makes no sense unless he truly was on a remote island without cell phone service,

[Djedefre]

Why do people here stand up for Sarver? He is unequivocally awful.

Walking abomination for this franchise.

What's so difficult in informing players befittingly about their status? Like, you're in the final phase of negotiating a deal with some other team: wouldn't it be just elementary decency to inform a player x that he'll likely be traded. They simply can not find such things out on social media. That is unacceptable. So basic things, ffs. If (as a FO) you're not capable of communicating with your players, maybe you should step down and let someone else do the job. Players are not commodity, never were and never will be. This malpractice is a serious tarnishment on the franchise's name.

[alamin330]

What is Kelly crying about? Seems to me he’s bitter.
It’s his own fault. He tried to get cute. Took a 2 year deal instead of a long term deal. Made people nervous. Then he wants to get even cuter and not play in the bubble.
I feel the reason Baynes and Kelly aren’t back is because those guys are more about self then the team. They don’t fit the culture

[NTB]

Why do people here stand up for Sarver? He is unequivocally awful.

Walking abomination for this franchise.

What's so difficult in informing players befittingly about their status? Like, you're in the final phase of negotiating a deal with some other team: wouldn't it be just elementary decency to inform a player x that he'll likely be traded. They simply can not find such things out on social media. That is unacceptable. So basic things, ffs. If (as a FO) you're not capable of communicating with your players, maybe you should step down and let someone else do the job. Players are not commodity, never were and never will be. This malpractice is a serious tarnishment on the franchise's name.

Almost everyone learns they are getting traded on social media. It is how it is. Maybe their agents should be faster than Woj/Shams to tell their players about the move.

[Frank Lee]

Why do people here stand up for Sarver? He is unequivocally awful.

Walking abomination for this franchise.

What's so difficult in informing players befittingly about their status? Like, you're in the final phase of negotiating a deal with some other team: wouldn't it be just elementary decency to inform a player x that he'll likely be traded. They simply can not find such things out on social media. That is inacceptable. So basic things, ffs. If (as a FO) you're not capable of communicating with your players, maybe you should step down and let someone else do the job. Players are not commodity, never were and never will be. This malpractice is a serious tarnishment on the franchise's name.

GMs job or owners job? You tell me. Y’all snifflers are mountaining this molehill. Nobody here knows the chronological and proximal details. It’s also a big ‘so what’ to the 99.9ers.



On the cusp of the most promising off season week we’ve had in decades, some still have to seek out grumbling material. There is no news here. It’s borderline Gossip. Sure Sarver is a tool sometimes, but to think some players are not is naive.



We live in the information world, and sometimes, there is just too much of it. Just keep your bike helmets on and you’ll be alright.

[matt131]

Joe lacob net worth: $1.2 Billion
Estimated worth of GSW: $4.6 billion

Robert Sarver net worth: $400 million
Estimated worth of Suns: $1.625 billion

Of course Lacob is willing to pay more.

In no way am I defending Sarver. In my opinion, if you're not rich enough to spend the kind of money it takes to win, then don't be an NBA owner. However, it does make sense that one of these guys is able to spend more than the other. I'm not sure that's exactly the area in which to compare them.

It seems like Sarver may just be kind of a butt head, and if that's the case, sure, you don't have to like him. But could you imagine if you got moved to another job and then publicly bashed your previous boss? It would look kinda bad on you. Everyone in their life has had a crappy boss. Unfortunately for most of us, we're not making 18 million bucks, so it's a bit more annoying to deal with. Not saying Sarver isn't petty or terrible with relationships. I just also think it's massively unprofessional to talk about your previous employment publicly like that. 99.99999% of people in this world would take oubre's position and salary over their own. People work for minimum wage and have things happen to them that is worse than not getting to keep their fashion shoot clothing lol. Perspective, he needs a bit of it. As they say, this is a business

But yes, maybe there is a way for us to prepare players a bit better if they get traded. Not sure how, but it's an idea to think about. However, I find it very, very hard to believe that Oubre didn't know he was up for a possible trade with his 2 year contract or that he didn't know he was in trade rumors that literally all of the NBA fandom knew about.

I loved his energy and highlight plays nd the fact that he made Suns basketball fun. We will definitely miss that this year, even if we are winning more games. He made going to the games immensely fun. He deserves credit for that for sure.

[King4Day]

Apparently Oubre took a jab at Sarver. Kinda disappointing

why is that disappointing? Most Suns fans i know can't stand him and he is not nearly the first ex player to do that

I more so mean that after this offseason that sarver is still seen in a negative light. I’m sure he’s bitter and that’s fair but it just puts a little damper on the off-season.
It means even while things were good, he had a bad impression of this organization. Probably was on his way out after all.

[Barkley6]

What is Kelly crying about? Seems to me he’s bitter.
It’s his own fault. He tried to get cute. Took a 2 year deal instead of a long term deal. Made people nervous. Then he wants to get even cuter and not play in the bubble.
I feel the reason Baynes and Kelly aren’t back is because those guys are more about self then the team. They don’t fit the culture

Here's the problem with that...IF we weren't on what would eventually turn out to be an 8 game win streak and if we didnt have to go 8-0 to have a shot, I believe Kelly would have played toward the end.

But if I'm Monty, and I have a hot team that's now won 3,4,5 games in a row, and we are IN the hunt, do I want to disrupt what has worked by going to a guy coming off a long term injury? Who might take take time to adjust? Who might disrupt my rotations? No. Absolutely not. If we had made the playoffs, we probably would have seen Oubre, but in that environment that I described above? You couldn't afford the risk.

[King4Day]

Apparently Oubre took a jab at Sarver. Kinda disappointing

Please link for our viewing pleasure

Sorry I usually do but am on my iPad and have issues copying and pasting.