2021 Playoff and Offseason Speculation - the playoffs. PLAYOFFS????

[bwgood77]

So here's a question.
Had we drafted Doncic, do we still make the trade to get Bridges?

I'm not sure Bridges is seen as needed if we take Luka. Maybe we instead try making a move for SGA?

Bridges is perfect guy with Luka...great defending wing who can hit 3s and spread the floor for him. SGA is less needed with Luka handling the ball.

[GoodBehavior]

So here's a question.
Had we drafted Doncic, do we still make the trade to get Bridges?

I'm not sure Bridges is seen as needed if we take Luka. Maybe we instead try making a move for SGA?

Bridges is perfect guy with Luka...great defending wing who can hit 3s and spread the floor for him. SGA is less needed with Luka handling the ball.

Bridges would not be drafted. You need a versatile forward that can cover both small forward and power forward to allow Luka to switch off defensively based on the assignments. Bridges has had issues guarding power forwards and bigger guards. Ryan would probably try to draft Mo Bamba, which is a position of need had they gone that route.

[bwgood77]

So here's a question.
Had we drafted Doncic, do we still make the trade to get Bridges?

I'm not sure Bridges is seen as needed if we take Luka. Maybe we instead try making a move for SGA?

Bridges is perfect guy with Luka...great defending wing who can hit 3s and spread the floor for him. SGA is less needed with Luka handling the ball.

Bridges would not be drafted. You need a versatile forward that can cover both small forward and power forward to allow Luka to switch off defensively based on the assignments. Bridges has had issues guarding power forwards and bigger guards. Ryan would probably try to draft Mo Bamba, which is a position of need had they gone that route.

I won't be surprised if the ratings are higher even for the remainder of the playoffs and the finals ratings are higher without LeBron.

While there are a lot of LeBron and Lakers fans, there are probably more that have LeBron fatigue. Sure, some of the die hards here on RealGM are LeBron lovers, but most are on the GB...you take all the team forums they would dwarf LeBron and Lakers fans.

Then think about that across the country.

People loved watching the SSOL Suns in the playoffs, and other teams before LeBron started making it every year.

Ratings have been declining for years, especially last year which was the first year the Lakers had won the championship in 10 years, and it was LeBron doing it after a year not making the playoffs.

I am pretty sure the Toronto/GS finals series had a lot better ratings.

And if the Nets make it, the NY market is a lot bigger than the LA market and the combined fans of Harden, Durant and Kyrie probably exceed or possibly dwarf LeBron fans....combine that with a NY team not making it very far in years.

I even think the Bucks making it would draw big ratings with Giannis.

I think people like seeing something new.

[Wilber85]

So here's a question.
Had we drafted Doncic, do we still make the trade to get Bridges?

I'm not sure Bridges is seen as needed if we take Luka. Maybe we instead try making a move for SGA?

Who gives a crap!!!!!!!!!!! What if the Suns drafted MJ?

We just beat the Lakers in the First Round and you still are asking what if's lol. STOP

Thank you. I’m done with the Luka talk. Luka is a fantastic Harden Clone but he sucks on defense. I’m perfectly happy with Ayton. Ayton is dominating and he doesn’t even get set plays on offense or gets to have the ball in his hand every single second. Ship has sailed!

I live in Prosper, TX now and watch Luka a lot cause of my buddies. He is a stud 100% . But he is hard to watch. Guy complains just as much as lebron. I cant stand stars like that who flop, cry, stop playing defense to complain, etc. I am glad we have Ayton!

[Sunsdeuce]

Who gives a crap!!!!!!!!!!! What if the Suns drafted MJ?

We just beat the Lakers in the First Round and you still are asking what if's lol. STOP

Thank you. I’m done with the Luka talk. Luka is a fantastic Harden Clone but he sucks on defense. I’m perfectly happy with Ayton. Ayton is dominating and he doesn’t even get set plays on offense or gets to have the ball in his hand every single second. Ship has sailed!

I live in Prosper, TX now and watch Luka a lot cause of my buddies. He is a stud 100% . But he is hard to watch. Guy complains just as much as lebron. I cant stand stars like that who flop, cry, stop playing defense to complain, etc. I am glad we have Ayton!

He’s just easy to score on because he only plays one side of the court. Never going to argue that he is a legendary offensive player but the greats always played on both ends.

And amen, Ayton is a blessing.

[Flying Colors]

Did KAT ever win a series in the playoffs?

[Barkley6]

Who gives a crap!!!!!!!!!!! What if the Suns drafted MJ?

We just beat the Lakers in the First Round and you still are asking what if's lol. STOP

Thank you. I’m done with the Luka talk. Luka is a fantastic Harden Clone but he sucks on defense. I’m perfectly happy with Ayton. Ayton is dominating and he doesn’t even get set plays on offense or gets to have the ball in his hand every single second. Ship has sailed!

I live in Prosper, TX now and watch Luka a lot cause of my buddies. He is a stud 100% . But he is hard to watch. Guy complains just as much as lebron. I cant stand stars like that who flop, cry, stop playing defense to complain, etc. I am glad we have Ayton!

I'm very glad that Booker has started to complain less and has played a lot better on defense. You can really see that Book wants to be remembered as a great player in this league and he knows he needs to work on his game every year. Some of the defense he played in this series against the Lakers was pretty damn good.

[King4Day]

So here's a question.
Had we drafted Doncic, do we still make the trade to get Bridges?

I'm not sure Bridges is seen as needed if we take Luka. Maybe we instead try making a move for SGA?

Who gives a crap!!!!!!!!!!! What if the Suns drafted MJ?

We just beat the Lakers in the First Round and you still are asking what if's lol. STOP

Cool dick response. Next time, don't respond.

What I was getting at was how vastly different our team would look if we didn't take Ayton.

[King4Day]

Did KAT ever win a series in the playoffs?

They only made it the one time with Butler. I'm pretty sure they got KO'd first round.

[Barkley6]

Okay, so I think I've figured out my offseason game plan (Because what else am I going to do with so many days between games?!), assuming no trades, and CP3 re-signs with the Suns. I know some of you (BW) are worried about what the books look like when Ayton and Mikal are up for their extensions, but I think we cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't want to spend recklessly, but I think we have a championship window right now, and depending on CP3s health, we could win multiple during his tenure here, but we can't do that standing pat. There are moves to be made down the line if needed, but I think we have to learn from our past mistakes the last time we were competing for championships (Trading Marion because we didn't want to pay him was definitely a bad decision, not paying JJ was a bad decision, stocking the bench with Eric Piatkowski and Pat Burke instead of legit NBA rotation players to save cash was a mistake, etc.). You're either motivated by finances, or by winning. If Sarver pays the tax (which he was already said he is willing to do) for two seasons, and we win a championship, I think he'd see that as a worthwhile return on investment.

That said, here's the plan:

Resign -Cam Payne, 3 yrs/$24m

I know some of you are saying that's too low for Payne, but if you look at the salaries for backup PGs handed out in the last few years, that's right in line with what the top end of the market is. It would be an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and unless he's being offered the chance to start somewhere else and run a team, I doubt he turns it down.

Resign - Torrey Craig, 2 yrs/$8 million

Seems like a more than fair price, and is a very tradable contract if he needs to be packaged with someone later on.

Resign - Frank Kaminsky, Vet Minimum

Frank is a nice bench piece, and a decent break glass in case of emergency big. Against some teams he'll get played off the floor, but against others he's shown to be incredibly effective. Not an every night rotation player, but great cover in case of injury and a guy who on his night can get you 12 solid points, a couple assists and some boards. After the experience in Sacramento, I don't think he's looking to leave the Valley anytime soon.

Resign - Abdel Nader, Vet Minimum

In todays NBA, you can never have too much wing depth. Nader is a great energy player, can shoot and defend and already knows our system after being in it for a year. If there were any injuries to Cam, Crowder or Mikal, you could do a lot worse than Nader at the minimum to fill in for them for a spell.

MLE - Kelly Olynyk, 2 years/$19m
He might be a little out of our price range with how incredible he played after arriving in Houston, but he's a guy who is used to winning and has tons of playoff experience. Would fit in seamlessly with our culture and plays the way we want to play. Could serve as a backup 4 or 5, moves the ball well, shoots the ball well and rebounds the ball well. Could play Olynyk at the 4 and Saric at the 5 off the bench (or vice versa) and not lose nearly as much on the boards by having two solid bigs boxing out when Ayton sits.


Pick #29 - Draft a PG. Jared Butler from Baylor is a guy I've seen mocked to the Suns a lot, and he definitely fits the profile of a guy we'd like. Can shoot, create, defend, 3 year player and is a college champion.

Depth Chart:
PG Paul/Payne/Butler
SG Booker/Carter/Nader
SF Bridges/Cam/Craig
PF Crowder/Saric/Smith
C Ayton/Olynyk/Kaminsky

[BobbieL]

Stotts and Blazers parting ways

Clifford and Orlando Magic parting ways.

Lillard wants Jason Kidd or Chauncey Billups to be his head coach

Since there is an article that the Blazers might listen on Dame - some Laker fan came up with Kuzma, KCP and Harrell for Lillard
-- I am sure the Blazers would agree to that trade on the "twelfth of never"

Will be an interesting offseason in the NBA as always - NBA has the best free agent and trading period. Stuff happens!

[SuperSunsFan]

going back to watch the 2006 series man those baggy shorts are absolute eye sores.

[bwgood77]

Okay, so I think I've figured out my offseason game plan (Because what else am I going to do with so many days between games?!), assuming no trades, and CP3 re-signs with the Suns. I know some of you (BW) are worried about what the books look like when Ayton and Mikal are up for their extensions, but I think we cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't want to spend recklessly, but I think we have a championship window right now, and depending on CP3s health, we could win multiple during his tenure here, but we can't do that standing pat. There are moves to be made down the line if needed, but I think we have to learn from our past mistakes the last time we were competing for championships (Trading Marion because we didn't want to pay him was definitely a bad decision, not paying JJ was a bad decision, stocking the bench with Eric Piatkowski and Pat Burke instead of legit NBA rotation players to save cash was a mistake, etc.). You're either motivated by finances, or by winning. If Sarver pays the tax (which he was already said he is willing to do) for two seasons, and we win a championship, I think he'd see that as a worthwhile return on investment.

That said, here's the plan:

Resign -Cam Payne, 3 yrs/$24m

I know some of you are saying that's too low for Payne, but if you look at the salaries for backup PGs handed out in the last few years, that's right in line with what the top end of the market is. It would be an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and unless he's being offered the chance to start somewhere else and run a team, I doubt he turns it down.

Resign - Torrey Craig, 2 yrs/$8 million

Seems like a more than fair price, and is a very tradable contract if he needs to be packaged with someone later on.

Resign - Frank Kaminsky, Vet Minimum

Frank is a nice bench piece, and a decent break glass in case of emergency big. Against some teams he'll get played off the floor, but against others he's shown to be incredibly effective. Not an every night rotation player, but great cover in case of injury and a guy who on his night can get you 12 solid points, a couple assists and some boards. After the experience in Sacramento, I don't think he's looking to leave the Valley anytime soon.

Resign - Abdel Nader, Vet Minimum

In todays NBA, you can never have too much wing depth. Nader is a great energy player, can shoot and defend and already knows our system after being in it for a year. If there were any injuries to Cam, Crowder or Mikal, you could do a lot worse than Nader at the minimum to fill in for them for a spell.

MLE - Kelly Olynyk, 2 years/$19m
He might be a little out of our price range with how incredible he played after arriving in Houston, but he's a guy who is used to winning and has tons of playoff experience. Would fit in seamlessly with our culture and plays the way we want to play. Could serve as a backup 4 or 5, moves the ball well, shoots the ball wellnd rebounds the ball well. Could play Olynyk at the 4 and Saric at the 5 off the bench (or vice versa) and not lose nearly as much on the boards by having two solid bigs boxing out when Ayton sits.


Pick #29 - Draft a PG. Jared Butler from Baylor is a guy I've seen mocked to the Suns a lot, and he definitely fits the profile of a guy we'd like. Can shoot, create, defend, 3 year player and is a college champion.

Depth Chart:
PG Paul/Payne/Butler
SG Booker/Carter/Nader
SF Bridges/Cam/Craig
PF Crowder/Saric/Smith
C Ayton/Olynyk/Kaminsky

Love the Butler pick but will be surprised if he is available at 29. Tankathon's mock has him at 19 and then 16 on their big board. Would be nice to trade up with Saric though.

I like that plan, though I'm not sure we can re-sign Payne, Craig and then sign Olynyk. I think we'd have to decide who to use the MLE exception on between those guys. I don't think we have bird rights on Payne and Craig.

Best case is we trade Saric for a guy that fits better and expires next year and keep Payne and Craig.

JaMychael Green
Tristan Thompson
Serge Ibaka
Favors matches if he picks up the player option...old but a decent backup big.

Then hopefully Jalen Smith if fully ready.

This addresses decent vet bigs to backup Ayton while getting rid of the extra year of Saric while having an expiring which helps the cap with Ayton and Bridges.

Then sign Payne starting at $7 million an Craig at $3 million. Of course these contract stretch into the following season too, so may have to move Crowder but should be easy with 1 year left.

Not planning and thinking of crossing the bridge when you get there can be troublesome. Maybe a team option on Paul in a 3rd year works with a declining salary if he opts out and we re-sign to a longer deal.

[bwgood77]

So Ayton had nearly half (47%) on MVP votes for our team in the playoffs so far. Surprising though of course he really kept us in in in the first 4 games, especially in games 1 and 4 with his 33 boards and 15 for 18 shooting until Paul came back to help in game 4 and Booker stepped up in games 5 and the first half of game 6 along with Crowder to jump out to the lead, while our shooters helped close it out. Will change up the poll.

[bwgood77]

[Barkley6]

Okay, so I think I've figured out my offseason game plan (Because what else am I going to do with so many days between games?!), assuming no trades, and CP3 re-signs with the Suns. I know some of you (BW) are worried about what the books look like when Ayton and Mikal are up for their extensions, but I think we cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't want to spend recklessly, but I think we have a championship window right now, and depending on CP3s health, we could win multiple during his tenure here, but we can't do that standing pat. There are moves to be made down the line if needed, but I think we have to learn from our past mistakes the last time we were competing for championships (Trading Marion because we didn't want to pay him was definitely a bad decision, not paying JJ was a bad decision, stocking the bench with Eric Piatkowski and Pat Burke instead of legit NBA rotation players to save cash was a mistake, etc.). You're either motivated by finances, or by winning. If Sarver pays the tax (which he was already said he is willing to do) for two seasons, and we win a championship, I think he'd see that as a worthwhile return on investment.

That said, here's the plan:

Resign -Cam Payne, 3 yrs/$24m

I know some of you are saying that's too low for Payne, but if you look at the salaries for backup PGs handed out in the last few years, that's right in line with what the top end of the market is. It would be an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and unless he's being offered the chance to start somewhere else and run a team, I doubt he turns it down.

Resign - Torrey Craig, 2 yrs/$8 million

Seems like a more than fair price, and is a very tradable contract if he needs to be packaged with someone later on.

Resign - Frank Kaminsky, Vet Minimum

Frank is a nice bench piece, and a decent break glass in case of emergency big. Against some teams he'll get played off the floor, but against others he's shown to be incredibly effective. Not an every night rotation player, but great cover in case of injury and a guy who on his night can get you 12 solid points, a couple assists and some boards. After the experience in Sacramento, I don't think he's looking to leave the Valley anytime soon.

Resign - Abdel Nader, Vet Minimum

In todays NBA, you can never have too much wing depth. Nader is a great energy player, can shoot and defend and already knows our system after being in it for a year. If there were any injuries to Cam, Crowder or Mikal, you could do a lot worse than Nader at the minimum to fill in for them for a spell.

MLE - Kelly Olynyk, 2 years/$19m
He might be a little out of our price range with how incredible he played after arriving in Houston, but he's a guy who is used to winning and has tons of playoff experience. Would fit in seamlessly with our culture and plays the way we want to play. Could serve as a backup 4 or 5, moves the ball well, shoots the ball wellnd rebounds the ball well. Could play Olynyk at the 4 and Saric at the 5 off the bench (or vice versa) and not lose nearly as much on the boards by having two solid bigs boxing out when Ayton sits.


Pick #29 - Draft a PG. Jared Butler from Baylor is a guy I've seen mocked to the Suns a lot, and he definitely fits the profile of a guy we'd like. Can shoot, create, defend, 3 year player and is a college champion.

Depth Chart:
PG Paul/Payne/Butler
SG Booker/Carter/Nader
SF Bridges/Cam/Craig
PF Crowder/Saric/Smith
C Ayton/Olynyk/Kaminsky

Love the Butler pick but will be surprised if he is available at 29. Tankathon's mock has him at 19 and then 16 on their big board. Would be nice to trade up with Saric though.

I like that plan, though I'm not sure we can re-sign Payne, Craig and then sign Olynyk. I think we'd have to decide who to use the MLE exception on between those guys. I don't think we have bird rights on Payne and Craig.

Best case is we trade Saric for a guy that fits better and expires next year and keep Payne and Craig.

JaMychael Green
Tristan Thompson
Serge Ibaka
Favors matches if he picks up the player option...old but a decent backup big.

Then hopefully Jalen Smith if fully ready.

This addresses decent vet bigs to backup Ayton while getting rid of the extra year of Saric while having an expiring which helps the cap with Ayton and Bridges.

Then sign Payne starting at $7 million an Craig at $3 million. Of course these contract stretch into the following season too, so may have to move Crowder but should be easy with 1 year left.

Not planning and thinking of crossing the bridge when you get there can be troublesome. Maybe a team option on Paul in a 3rd year works with a declining salary if he opts out and we re-sign to a longer deal.

We have Early Bird on Payne, which means we can offer him up to 175% of his previous years salary, or 105% of the league average salary (which was set at $10m for 2020-21) so we can definitely re-sign him using his Early Bird Rights. Could potentially use the BAE on Craig, since we wouldn't have his Bird Rights, which I think comes in around $3.6 a season. And would still have the full MLE to spend on a backup big man.

Moving on from Saric might be a good move, but I also know he's had a tough go of it this season with COVID and injury, and he definitely has shown in flashes he can be a very effective NBA player. I think we wait a year to make that move. We don't need to dump salary this offseason, but need to be in a position to do so next summer when those extensions come due. Then, if the money situation was bad, we'd have Saric, Crowder, Craig, Carter, Olynyk and Payne on very tradable deals (salaries under $12m/per and 1-2 year commitments) to make the necessary space.

[Saberestar]

Okay, so I think I've figured out my offseason game plan (Because what else am I going to do with so many days between games?!), assuming no trades, and CP3 re-signs with the Suns. I know some of you (BW) are worried about what the books look like when Ayton and Mikal are up for their extensions, but I think we cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't want to spend recklessly, but I think we have a championship window right now, and depending on CP3s health, we could win multiple during his tenure here, but we can't do that standing pat. There are moves to be made down the line if needed, but I think we have to learn from our past mistakes the last time we were competing for championships (Trading Marion because we didn't want to pay him was definitely a bad decision, not paying JJ was a bad decision, stocking the bench with Eric Piatkowski and Pat Burke instead of legit NBA rotation players to save cash was a mistake, etc.). You're either motivated by finances, or by winning. If Sarver pays the tax (which he was already said he is willing to do) for two seasons, and we win a championship, I think he'd see that as a worthwhile return on investment.

That said, here's the plan:

Resign -Cam Payne, 3 yrs/$24m

I know some of you are saying that's too low for Payne, but if you look at the salaries for backup PGs handed out in the last few years, that's right in line with what the top end of the market is. It would be an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and unless he's being offered the chance to start somewhere else and run a team, I doubt he turns it down.

Resign - Torrey Craig, 2 yrs/$8 million

Seems like a more than fair price, and is a very tradable contract if he needs to be packaged with someone later on.

Resign - Frank Kaminsky, Vet Minimum

Frank is a nice bench piece, and a decent break glass in case of emergency big. Against some teams he'll get played off the floor, but against others he's shown to be incredibly effective. Not an every night rotation player, but great cover in case of injury and a guy who on his night can get you 12 solid points, a couple assists and some boards. After the experience in Sacramento, I don't think he's looking to leave the Valley anytime soon.

Resign - Abdel Nader, Vet Minimum

In todays NBA, you can never have too much wing depth. Nader is a great energy player, can shoot and defend and already knows our system after being in it for a year. If there were any injuries to Cam, Crowder or Mikal, you could do a lot worse than Nader at the minimum to fill in for them for a spell.

MLE - Kelly Olynyk, 2 years/$19m
He might be a little out of our price range with how incredible he played after arriving in Houston, but he's a guy who is used to winning and has tons of playoff experience. Would fit in seamlessly with our culture and plays the way we want to play. Could serve as a backup 4 or 5, moves the ball well, shoots the ball well and rebounds the ball well. Could play Olynyk at the 4 and Saric at the 5 off the bench (or vice versa) and not lose nearly as much on the boards by having two solid bigs boxing out when Ayton sits.


Pick #29 - Draft a PG. Jared Butler from Baylor is a guy I've seen mocked to the Suns a lot, and he definitely fits the profile of a guy we'd like. Can shoot, create, defend, 3 year player and is a college champion.

Depth Chart:
PG Paul/Payne/Butler
SG Booker/Carter/Nader
SF Bridges/Cam/Craig
PF Crowder/Saric/Smith
C Ayton/Olynyk/Kaminsky

I think we do not need to add Olynyk. That would make the roster too expensive.

I would like to bring back exactly the same roster + a rookie replacing someone that would not want to be back (whoever from Moore, Galloway, Nader...).

[Barkley6]

Okay, so I think I've figured out my offseason game plan (Because what else am I going to do with so many days between games?!), assuming no trades, and CP3 re-signs with the Suns. I know some of you (BW) are worried about what the books look like when Ayton and Mikal are up for their extensions, but I think we cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't want to spend recklessly, but I think we have a championship window right now, and depending on CP3s health, we could win multiple during his tenure here, but we can't do that standing pat. There are moves to be made down the line if needed, but I think we have to learn from our past mistakes the last time we were competing for championships (Trading Marion because we didn't want to pay him was definitely a bad decision, not paying JJ was a bad decision, stocking the bench with Eric Piatkowski and Pat Burke instead of legit NBA rotation players to save cash was a mistake, etc.). You're either motivated by finances, or by winning. If Sarver pays the tax (which he was already said he is willing to do) for two seasons, and we win a championship, I think he'd see that as a worthwhile return on investment.

That said, here's the plan:

Resign -Cam Payne, 3 yrs/$24m

I know some of you are saying that's too low for Payne, but if you look at the salaries for backup PGs handed out in the last few years, that's right in line with what the top end of the market is. It would be an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and unless he's being offered the chance to start somewhere else and run a team, I doubt he turns it down.

Resign - Torrey Craig, 2 yrs/$8 million

Seems like a more than fair price, and is a very tradable contract if he needs to be packaged with someone later on.

Resign - Frank Kaminsky, Vet Minimum

Frank is a nice bench piece, and a decent break glass in case of emergency big. Against some teams he'll get played off the floor, but against others he's shown to be incredibly effective. Not an every night rotation player, but great cover in case of injury and a guy who on his night can get you 12 solid points, a couple assists and some boards. After the experience in Sacramento, I don't think he's looking to leave the Valley anytime soon.

Resign - Abdel Nader, Vet Minimum

In todays NBA, you can never have too much wing depth. Nader is a great energy player, can shoot and defend and already knows our system after being in it for a year. If there were any injuries to Cam, Crowder or Mikal, you could do a lot worse than Nader at the minimum to fill in for them for a spell.

MLE - Kelly Olynyk, 2 years/$19m
He might be a little out of our price range with how incredible he played after arriving in Houston, but he's a guy who is used to winning and has tons of playoff experience. Would fit in seamlessly with our culture and plays the way we want to play. Could serve as a backup 4 or 5, moves the ball well, shoots the ball well and rebounds the ball well. Could play Olynyk at the 4 and Saric at the 5 off the bench (or vice versa) and not lose nearly as much on the boards by having two solid bigs boxing out when Ayton sits.


Pick #29 - Draft a PG. Jared Butler from Baylor is a guy I've seen mocked to the Suns a lot, and he definitely fits the profile of a guy we'd like. Can shoot, create, defend, 3 year player and is a college champion.

Depth Chart:
PG Paul/Payne/Butler
SG Booker/Carter/Nader
SF Bridges/Cam/Craig
PF Crowder/Saric/Smith
C Ayton/Olynyk/Kaminsky

I think we do not need to add Olynyk. That would make the roster too expensive.

I would like to bring back exactly the same roster + a rookie replacing someone that would not want to be back (whoever from Moore, Galloway, Nader...).

We need a backup big man. Desperately. We managed in the Lakers series because Ayton played incredible, but if he misses even 5 games due to injury, we are in serious trouble with only Kaminsky and Saric as our 5 men. Olynyk is a different player to Ayton, but he shoots the ball well, is a capable passer and gets on the glass well. Maybe he's a little too similar to Saric, but Olynyk has played that role on teams that have gone deep into the playoffs. I also love the idea of playing Olynyk and Saric together, letting them swap between the 4 and 5, good ball movement and good effort on the rebounding front when Ayton sits. The problem we have now is that when Saric or Kaminsky comes in for Ayton, we get killed on the boards because it's Saric getting ganged up on by 3 or 4 opposition players because no one else boxes out. Olynyk would change that. If teams go small to counter it, then it's easy to swap one of them for Craig or Cam, but it gives us the ability to match up against bigger teams, and adds shooting and ball movement.

[Saberestar]

Okay, so I think I've figured out my offseason game plan (Because what else am I going to do with so many days between games?!), assuming no trades, and CP3 re-signs with the Suns. I know some of you (BW) are worried about what the books look like when Ayton and Mikal are up for their extensions, but I think we cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't want to spend recklessly, but I think we have a championship window right now, and depending on CP3s health, we could win multiple during his tenure here, but we can't do that standing pat. There are moves to be made down the line if needed, but I think we have to learn from our past mistakes the last time we were competing for championships (Trading Marion because we didn't want to pay him was definitely a bad decision, not paying JJ was a bad decision, stocking the bench with Eric Piatkowski and Pat Burke instead of legit NBA rotation players to save cash was a mistake, etc.). You're either motivated by finances, or by winning. If Sarver pays the tax (which he was already said he is willing to do) for two seasons, and we win a championship, I think he'd see that as a worthwhile return on investment.

That said, here's the plan:

Resign -Cam Payne, 3 yrs/$24m

I know some of you are saying that's too low for Payne, but if you look at the salaries for backup PGs handed out in the last few years, that's right in line with what the top end of the market is. It would be an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and unless he's being offered the chance to start somewhere else and run a team, I doubt he turns it down.

Resign - Torrey Craig, 2 yrs/$8 million

Seems like a more than fair price, and is a very tradable contract if he needs to be packaged with someone later on.

Resign - Frank Kaminsky, Vet Minimum

Frank is a nice bench piece, and a decent break glass in case of emergency big. Against some teams he'll get played off the floor, but against others he's shown to be incredibly effective. Not an every night rotation player, but great cover in case of injury and a guy who on his night can get you 12 solid points, a couple assists and some boards. After the experience in Sacramento, I don't think he's looking to leave the Valley anytime soon.

Resign - Abdel Nader, Vet Minimum

In todays NBA, you can never have too much wing depth. Nader is a great energy player, can shoot and defend and already knows our system after being in it for a year. If there were any injuries to Cam, Crowder or Mikal, you could do a lot worse than Nader at the minimum to fill in for them for a spell.

MLE - Kelly Olynyk, 2 years/$19m
He might be a little out of our price range with how incredible he played after arriving in Houston, but he's a guy who is used to winning and has tons of playoff experience. Would fit in seamlessly with our culture and plays the way we want to play. Could serve as a backup 4 or 5, moves the ball well, shoots the ball well and rebounds the ball well. Could play Olynyk at the 4 and Saric at the 5 off the bench (or vice versa) and not lose nearly as much on the boards by having two solid bigs boxing out when Ayton sits.


Pick #29 - Draft a PG. Jared Butler from Baylor is a guy I've seen mocked to the Suns a lot, and he definitely fits the profile of a guy we'd like. Can shoot, create, defend, 3 year player and is a college champion.

Depth Chart:
PG Paul/Payne/Butler
SG Booker/Carter/Nader
SF Bridges/Cam/Craig
PF Crowder/Saric/Smith
C Ayton/Olynyk/Kaminsky

I think we do not need to add Olynyk. That would make the roster too expensive.

I would like to bring back exactly the same roster + a rookie replacing someone that would not want to be back (whoever from Moore, Galloway, Nader...).

We need a backup big man. Desperately. We managed in the Lakers series because Ayton played incredible, but if he misses even 5 games due to injury, we are in serious trouble with only Kaminsky and Saric as our 5 men. Olynyk is a different player to Ayton, but he shoots the ball well, is a capable passer and gets on the glass well. Maybe he's a little too similar to Saric, but Olynyk has played that role on teams that have gone deep into the playoffs. I also love the idea of playing Olynyk and Saric together, letting them swap between the 4 and 5, good ball movement and good effort on the rebounding front when Ayton sits. The problem we have now is that when Saric or Kaminsky comes in for Ayton, we get killed on the boards because it's Saric getting ganged up on by 3 or 4 opposition players because no one else boxes out. Olynyk would change that. If teams go small to counter it, then it's easy to swap one of them for Craig or Cam, but it gives us the ability to match up against bigger teams, and adds shooting and ball movement.

Olynyk is like Saric or Kaminsky, he plays the same type of basketball.

He is not a good rebounder or shot blocker, he does not intimidate around the rim or does anything different from what Saric or Kaminsky can usually do on the court.

Obviously Saric has been playing bad the last couple of months but I expect him to play better at some point. He has always been a solid player, not worse than Olynyk.

[cberry78]

At the same price, I'd rather have Harrell over Olynyk....possibly over Saric too.

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