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[Revived]

I'm still waiting to see how CP3 makes us better over Rubio. I think we underrated Rubio's leadership.

Same. Hopefully CP3 puts up better numbers than Rubio did last season when he averaged 13 and 9 on 36% shooting from 3 and 53% TS shooting. Rubio really shined playing in Monty Williams system and alongside Booker.

I was definitely one of the ones who thought we shouldn’t have made the trade and should’ve ran the bubble team back (bringing back Ricky, Oubre and Baynes) to give it a shot in a season where Ayton doesn’t suspended for the first 25 games. I didn’t think the Rubio swap was worth it due to CP3’s age and injury concerns.

I hope I’m wrong though and CP3 is able to do better than Rubio did last season. I’m already pleased with all the leadership and talking CP3 is doing with Ayton, hopefully that continues plus good production on the court.

Rubio is a good player but we got a great one to replace him. No need to overthink it.

In this era thera are so many great players at PG/SG, and that is why being good can not guarantee you an starting spot in the league anymore.

Everyone knows already who is Rubio and what he brings to a team and we saw that his value around the league is really low (he was traded basically for free to the Wolves) because of the high competition at his position. Not his fault, but it is what it is.

CP3 give us much more possibilities on offense, his pull up jumper will be huge for us. Just the threat of it puts a lot of pressure on defenders.

Our ceiling as a team is much higher now and in the next future.

Yeah let’s hope you’re right. If this was 25 or even 30 yr old CP3 then I’d easily agree with you. But it’s not and that’s where my doubts are.

I don’t agree that Rubio is just some scrub. NBA is all about fits imo. Some guys fit better with some teams than others do. I’m not talking about athletic freaks like KD, Lebron etc but the others. And Rubio seemed to find his niche here and turned his career around playing alongside Booker (best scorer he’s ever had as a teammate). Considering how well he did with him, I personally thought it was too quick to give up on it after just one season. Team chemistry is extremely valuable and we had that last season imo.

Either way, I don’t think it can be declared a great trade until we see them play with CP3 and they perform better. If the season spirals downward, then making such significant changes to a team that ended up just half a game out of playoffs in the tough Western conference will look foolish. Just my 2 cents.

[Saberestar]

Mavs beat the Bucks twice. Grizzlies beat the TWolves twice.

TWolves start Rubio in 3rd game while DLo doesn't play. TWolves beating Dallas.

I think Rubio makes a team better than DLo does. I know many were very disappointed when we didn't get DLo last summer and ended up with Rubio, but he really does make a difference. I think many saw that last year despite not having a very good record. We were just so much more competitive.

Seems like people forgot exactly how bad we were and how we got blown out so bad as much as they complain about players in preseason losses with the roster and depth we have compared to lineups we had not only last year but especially in years past where we were absolutely blown out routinely.

At the end of the day we had a losing record and no one was really happy with the team before the bubble.

I trust James Jones and Monty Williams, they have shown a lot of knowledge and they have improved a lot our team move after move in less than two seasons.

They were all behind trading Rubio + Oubre for CP3 and they know closely all three players.

[Saberestar]

Same. Hopefully CP3 puts up better numbers than Rubio did last season when he averaged 13 and 9 on 36% shooting from 3 and 53% TS shooting. Rubio really shined playing in Monty Williams system and alongside Booker.

I was definitely one of the ones who thought we shouldn’t have made the trade and should’ve ran the bubble team back (bringing back Ricky, Oubre and Baynes) to give it a shot in a season where Ayton doesn’t suspended for the first 25 games. I didn’t think the Rubio swap was worth it due to CP3’s age and injury concerns.

I hope I’m wrong though and CP3 is able to do better than Rubio did last season. I’m already pleased with all the leadership and talking CP3 is doing with Ayton, hopefully that continues plus good production on the court.

Rubio is a good player but we got a great one to replace him. No need to overthink it.

In this era thera are so many great players at PG/SG, and that is why being good can not guarantee you an starting spot in the league anymore.

Everyone knows already who is Rubio and what he brings to a team and we saw that his value around the league is really low (he was traded basically for free to the Wolves) because of the high competition at his position. Not his fault, but it is what it is.

CP3 give us much more possibilities on offense, his pull up jumper will be huge for us. Just the threat of it puts a lot of pressure on defenders.

Our ceiling as a team is much higher now and in the next future.

Yeah let’s hope you’re right. If this was 25 or even 30 yr old CP3 then I’d easily agree with you. But it’s not and that’s where my doubts are.

I don’t agree that Rubio is just some scrub. NBA is all about fits imo. Some guys fit better with some teams than others do. I’m not talking about athletic freaks like KD, Lebron etc but the others. And Rubio seemed to find his niche here and turned his career around playing alongside Booker (best scorer he’s ever had as a teammate). Considering how well he did with him, I personally thought it was too quick to give up on it after just one season. Team chemistry is extremely valuable and we had that last season imo.

Either way, I don’t think it can be declared a great trade until we see them play with CP3 and they perform better. If the season spirals downward, then making such significant changes to a team that ended up just half a game out of playoffs in the tough Western conference will look foolish. Just my 2 cents.

You have made good points here but I did not say that Rubio is some scrub, I said that CP3 is better and give us a much higher celing as a team.

We will see. It is gonna be an exciting season.

[bwgood77]

Mavs beat the Bucks twice. Grizzlies beat the TWolves twice.

TWolves start Rubio in 3rd game while DLo doesn't play. TWolves beating Dallas.

I think Rubio makes a team better than DLo does. I know many were very disappointed when we didn't get DLo last summer and ended up with Rubio, but he really does make a difference. I think many saw that last year despite not having a very good record. We were just so much more competitive.

Seems like people forgot exactly how bad we were and how we got blown out so bad as much as they complain about players in preseason losses with the roster and depth we have compared to lineups we had not only last year but especially in years past where we were absolutely blown out routinely.

At the end of the day we had a losing record and no one was really happy with the team before the bubble.

I trust James Jones and Monty Williams, they have shown a lot of knowledge and they have improved a lot our team move after move in less than two seasons.

They were all behind trading Rubio + Oubre for CP3 and they know closely all three players.

I agree....even though I was hesitant about the trade, more because of the long term prospect after Paul's 2 years and potentially taking a step back and not having a competent PG again, I am way more excited now, mainly because of Paul, but also because our depth.

As much as people are whining about some of our bench players and stuff, I love having those vets in Moore and Galloway who are career solid 3pt shooters..our 3 pt shooting stunk last year...everyone was between like 34-36.1% outside of Cam and Carter.

Paul and Booker surrounded by solid 3 pt guys who don't hesitate, Bridges now not hesitating, and Paul able to hit 3s, and sometimes Booker (he may be among our worst 3 pt shooters unless he suddenly improves his game %)....should open things up for Ayton and any other inside players.

And if Rubio is improperly used in Minny, and Paul is leaving in 2 years, we could go after Rubio again...not many teams may be interested, and I doubt he'd hold anything against us.

I think Rubio is also still improving...and even though a downgrade from Paul, with our young players growing the next 2 years, another vet guy like Rubio will be much better than it was the first time around, because we likely have more depth and better bench.

and the Rubio/Booker/Mikal/Cam/Ayton was already among the league's best...

My main point was Rubio not starting in Minny and probably being a better team guy that lifts teammates than DLo.

[sunskerr]

Nets are looking legit. Two stars surrounded by a lot of upper tier role players who are spread out over the G/F/C positions, and shooting.

Also, 538 projections were released and they seem to like us a lot https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2021-nba-predictions/

[Qwigglez]

I really liked Rubio and didn't want us to trade him, but for CP3 it made sense. I will say though after CP3's two years here, if he doesn't have any more fuel in the tank, we can just sign Rubio again in the summer of 2022.

[matt131]

Nets are looking legit. Two stars surrounded by a lot of upper tier role players who are spread out over the G/F/C positions, and shooting.

Also, 538 projections were released and they seem to like us a lot https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2021-nba-predictions/

Dang! 5th in the West. I'm not sure we'll be that good since it looks like it'll take us some time to gel, but I would be over the moon with the 5th seed.

[bwgood77]

Nets are looking legit. Two stars surrounded by a lot of upper tier role players who are spread out over the G/F/C positions, and shooting.

Also, 538 projections were released and they seem to like us a lot https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2021-nba-predictions/

So by projected record, they have us as the 5th seed, though 5th-8th are separated by 2 games. They have the next best team 6 games back though. The Warriors they have a lot lower than I would have guessed, though I guess without Klay they won't be nearly as good as I originally thought.

[sunskerr]

Nets are looking legit. Two stars surrounded by a lot of upper tier role players who are spread out over the G/F/C positions, and shooting.

Also, 538 projections were released and they seem to like us a lot https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2021-nba-predictions/

So by projected record, they have us as the 5th seed, though 5th-8th are separated by 2 games. They have the next best team 6 games back though. The Warriors they have a lot lower than I would have guessed, though I guess without Klay they won't be nearly as good as I originally thought.

It's going to be close in the west this year regardless of which teams are in the mix. I pretty much agree with their assessment of the Warriors - a lot of it comes down to how good Draymond is. But even then, past Kelly Oubre, there isn't very much going on with the roster. It's similar to our depth the past 2-3 years. Oubre will have to take the leap to all star for them to have a chance I think.

[bwgood77]

Aleksej Pokuveski, one of my last picks in the dynasty draft put up a nice 12 pts, 13 reb, 2 steals, 2 3s, and 1 assist tonight.

[Saberestar]

Mavs beat the Bucks twice. Grizzlies beat the TWolves twice.

TWolves start Rubio in 3rd game while DLo doesn't play. TWolves beating Dallas.

I think Rubio makes a team better than DLo does. I know many were very disappointed when we didn't get DLo last summer and ended up with Rubio, but he really does make a difference. I think many saw that last year despite not having a very good record. We were just so much more competitive.

Seems like people forgot exactly how bad we were and how we got blown out so bad as much as they complain about players in preseason losses with the roster and depth we have compared to lineups we had not only last year but especially in years past where we were absolutely blown out routinely.

At the end of the day we had a losing record and no one was really happy with the team before the bubble.

I trust James Jones and Monty Williams, they have shown a lot of knowledge and they have improved a lot our team move after move in less than two seasons.

They were all behind trading Rubio + Oubre for CP3 and they know closely all three players.

I agree....even though I was hesitant about the trade, more because of the long term prospect after Paul's 2 years and potentially taking a step back and not having a competent PG again, I am way more excited now, mainly because of Paul, but also because our depth.

As much as people are whining about some of our bench players and stuff, I love having those vets in Moore and Galloway who are career solid 3pt shooters..our 3 pt shooting stunk last year...everyone was between like 34-36.1% outside of Cam and Carter.

Paul and Booker surrounded by solid 3 pt guys who don't hesitate, Bridges now not hesitating, and Paul able to hit 3s, and sometimes Booker (he may be among our worst 3 pt shooters unless he suddenly improves his game %)....should open things up for Ayton and any other inside players.

And if Rubio is improperly used in Minny, and Paul is leaving in 2 years, we could go after Rubio again...not many teams may be interested, and I doubt he'd hold anything against us.

I think Rubio is also still improving...and even though a downgrade from Paul, with our young players growing the next 2 years, another vet guy like Rubio will be much better than it was the first time around, because we likely have more depth and better bench.

and the Rubio/Booker/Mikal/Cam/Ayton was already among the league's best...

My main point was Rubio not starting in Minny and probably being a better team guy that lifts teammates than DLo.

Who knows how he will play in a couple years...too early to think about it.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Gobert and Kuzma big extensions.

To those who were worried about Kelly Oubres pending FA.. you were right. Things are breaking perfectly for him and he's got to absolutely get paid next summer if he's ok this year. Good for him but I'm happy the suns won't be in the fun overpay or lose for nothing scenario.

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[nevetsov]

Gobert and Kuzma big extensions.

To those who were worried about Kelly Oubres pending FA.. you were right. Things are breaking perfectly for him and he's got to absolutely get paid next summer if he's ok this year. Good for him but I'm happy the suns won't be in the fun overpay or lose for nothing scenario.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Imagine if he ends up earning more than Book

[spanishninja]

https://www.nba.com/news/top-15-players-under-age-25

Article on top stars under 25. Booker is on there of course but Ayton isn't even listed, even in the honorable mention. If this doesn't motivate him I don't know what will.

[spanishninja]

Gobert and Kuzma big extensions.

To those who were worried about Kelly Oubres pending FA.. you were right. Things are breaking perfectly for him and he's got to absolutely get paid next summer if he's ok this year. Good for him but I'm happy the suns won't be in the fun overpay or lose for nothing scenario.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

Imagine if he ends up earning more than Book

Book, Towns, and Jokic are among the best star "deals" in the league nowadays.

[SlovenianDragon]

https://www.nba.com/news/top-15-players-under-age-25

Article on top stars under 25. Booker is on there of course but Ayton isn't even listed, even in the honorable mention. If this doesn't motivate him I don't know what will.

he should have enough motivation by now he just needs to put it to use.

I thought he was going to tear up the league when i saw this:

Watch on YouTube

[sunskerr]

https://www.nba.com/news/top-15-players-under-age-25

Article on top stars under 25. Booker is on there of course but Ayton isn't even listed, even in the honorable mention. If this doesn't motivate him I don't know what will.

I mean all those guys ARE better than him...If his improvement is poor/marginal this year we'll be saying we should have signed Wood to that bargain deal and traded Ayton for an asset...Well I already said that so I'll be the first to say "I told you so". I really hope he figures it out on offense but I'm not holding my breath. I just think the things we want him do, the things we as fans are saying he should do more, like score more and use moves to attack the rim are things that he actually doesn't have in his skill set right now.

He IS a good player right now though, but with his current offensive skill set (can't shoot 3s, 40% mid range jumper, weak face up game, no handle) he is capped out. It's not so much a matter of going to him more as it is a matter of him learning how to do those things. He NEEDS to learn how to do those things in order to constantly pressure the defense.

[Revived]

Gobert and Kuzma big extensions.

To those who were worried about Kelly Oubres pending FA.. you were right. Things are breaking perfectly for him and he's got to absolutely get paid next summer if he's ok this year. Good for him but I'm happy the suns won't be in the fun overpay or lose for nothing scenario.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

The same could be said about Ayton too right?

His stats are always good even though many times it feels like empty stats. The Suns would have to extend for the max or whatever he wants simply because of how bad it will look to let him walk after drafting him #1 overall in a draft with a guy who has turned into a top 5 player in the league. Sarver knows he has no other choice but to save face even if Ayton doesn’t improve all that much this season.

Even though their two totally different players, another big man C getting paid is fantastic news for Ayton who is eligible for an extension 6 months from now.

[WeekapaugGroove]

Gobert and Kuzma big extensions.

To those who were worried about Kelly Oubres pending FA.. you were right. Things are breaking perfectly for him and he's got to absolutely get paid next summer if he's ok this year. Good for him but I'm happy the suns won't be in the fun overpay or lose for nothing scenario.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

The same could be said about Ayton too right?

His stats are always good even though many times it feels like empty stats. The Suns would have to extend for the max or whatever he wants simply because of how bad it will look to let him walk after drafting him #1 overall in a draft with a guy who has turned into a top 5 player in the league. Sarver knows he has no other choice but to save face even if Ayton doesn’t improve all that much this season.

Even though their two totally different players, another big man C getting paid is fantastic news for Ayton who is eligible for an extension 6 months from now.

Ayton is extension eligible next summer but won't be a RFA until 2022. But yeah it's a big year for Ayton because I'm sure he'd love to lock down that big extension. Even though the suns don't have to pay him next summer if they aren't sold on paying him they would be wise to move him before being forced into that decision the following year.

Now hopefully he balls out and it's a no brainier for the suns.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

[Revived]

Gobert and Kuzma big extensions.

To those who were worried about Kelly Oubres pending FA.. you were right. Things are breaking perfectly for him and he's got to absolutely get paid next summer if he's ok this year. Good for him but I'm happy the suns won't be in the fun overpay or lose for nothing scenario.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

The same could be said about Ayton too right?

His stats are always good even though many times it feels like empty stats. The Suns would have to extend for the max or whatever he wants simply because of how bad it will look to let him walk after drafting him #1 overall in a draft with a guy who has turned into a top 5 player in the league. Sarver knows he has no other choice but to save face even if Ayton doesn’t improve all that much this season.

Even though their two totally different players, another big man C getting paid is fantastic news for Ayton who is eligible for an extension 6 months from now.

Ayton is extension eligible next summer but won't be a RFA until 2022. But yeah it's a big year for Ayton because I'm sure he'd love to lock down that big extension. Even though the suns don't have to pay him next summer if they aren't sold on paying him they would be wise to move him before being forced into that decision the following year.

Now hopefully he balls out and it's a no brainier for the suns.

Sent from my SM-G986U using RealGM mobile app

I think if he doesn’t get an extension next summer (regardless of how he plays this season) he’s gonna start angling for a trade to go somewhere else. Not sure what a potential trade market will look like for him.

I don’t think the Suns would trade him or not re-sign him though because of how bad it “looks”. It’s not about doing the smart thing, Sarver is way too prideful to admit he ****ed up the first time ever the team got the top overall pick. I think the Suns will re-sign no matter how he plays this season.

But yeah let’s hope this is all a moot point and Ayton becomes a more impactful player that contributes to winning.