2021-22 Season/Offseason Speculation

[Barkley6]

The question for me is 1) To TRY TO WIN NOW or 2)TO KEEP SMITH FOR THE FUTURE.

Young can be the perfect fit for a championship caliber team if he comes off the bench and we do not expect super great things from him.
Paul is old and he is not going to last more than 2 seasons at a good level (although he was supposed to be almost done and he has been our MVP, imo). Young could help try to go deep into the PO next year again.

On the other hand, Booker is quite young, as is Ayton, Bridges, Payne, Cam... so Smith could be part of a winning team with great future.

Tough decision.
I would go with the trade if the price is Saric and Smith or even if it includes Crawford, Cam...

Fair points, Although I believe that one of the biggest reasons we couldn't overcome the Bucks in the finals was due to our lack of size whenever Ayton sat, Wherrin they consistently got high percentage shots at/ around the rim, And now we're getting smaller?!?! I mean this trade has us sending out two 6'10 frontcourt players for one 6'7 MAYBE 6'8 in return. Don't get me wrong, I love that he's a really good high IQ positional defender of course and he gets a lot of deflections and is a good passer from the post ( versatility). My only concern is that even with a 7'1 wingspan, He's not known for his athleticism, Nor is he at all a passable rim protector either at 0.4 per game. I also get that we'll most likely do the trade anyways. But I just really do worry that getting smaller is not a recipe for success, especially in the playoffs. Say we go up against the Lakers, Who will he be effective guarding Davis or even Howard? Who does he cover if we play teams with big, athletic frontcourts? At 6'8, It has to be considered a legitimate concern.

Lastly, we give up two potential floor spacers for someone who doesn't really space the floor much at all. I just rather add a vet through the buyout market rather than include Smith personally. As I really think trading him after what he's shown in his time this summer will come back to bite us. But hopefully I'm wrong!

I don't really think we get that much "smaller". Thad would mostly be a backup 4. Then a backup 5 if need be. Our primary backup 5 is McGee, who is big enough and athletic enough (although he has lost some of his hops by now). So basically Thad would be replacing Saric's minutes who can not jump over a newspaper (or ipad for you youngsters) on his good days, and on his bad days he is mostly injured or can not do a decent basketball play on the court. While he might be 2 inches taller than Young, he is not as strong, and not as athletic, and has a smaller wingspan and standing reach. Also, he likely will not play at all this year, even in the playoffs - or just return for the playoffs, which is kinda the same.
Young will be a bit more capable of defending LeBron or Davis or Aaron Gordon or Looney or Gay or Ibaka or KD or Giannis than Saric would be - in my opinion.

About your other post dealing with the salaries / financial problem... yeah, agreed on that... kinda tricky situation to be in with the track record of Sarver... not much we can do about that, huh? Hope and pray

Exactly this. Saric got abused on defense any time he went up against someone with a shred of athleticism. Young may not be a lock down guy at this point, but he is a WAY bigger plus against those guys than Saric ever has been or ever will be.

This may be an unpopular opinion around here, but I'm not fully convinced that Saric is the better player than Kaminsky at this stage. Regardless, they are both very similar profile big men (good shooters, good passers, know the offense well, bad rebounders and defenders) and we have Kaminsky on a cheap deal and likely can continue to have him for the foreseeable future, if we so choose. Plus he's bigger than Saric.

Thad Young is essentially a rich man's Torrey Craig, if you want to think of it that way. Before anyone says Craig is the better shooter, they shoot the EXACT same career percentage, 33.1%. So if you're sad about losing Craig, here is a BETTER version of him.

I don't see that as 'getting smaller' when we have Ayton, McGee and Frank on the roster who are all 6'11''+, not to mention as I said in a previous post, this trade opens up another roster spot, so who is to say we can't sign another big man like Hartenstein to be another big body?

[darealjuice]

I wouldn't personally make the move for Thad Young, but whatever happens, happens. He's a good player that would guarantee to fill our PF hole and make us a very deep team. I don't know where the playing time for him comes from unless he's playing small ball 5 and cutting JaVale out of the rotation, but too much talent isn't a bad thing. I don't know if he's a long-term solution either.

I'm slightly concerned by the prospect of trading Jalen Smith and another first round pick when we're close to having all of our young players off rookie contracts. 3 straight seasons without a first round pick and trading Smith leaves us with no young, cost controlled players to help keep this moving post-CP3 unless. Winning it all now would obviously make all of that less important though.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I wouldn't personally make the move for Thad Young, but whatever happens, happens. He's a good player that would guarantee to fill our PF hole and make us a very deep team. I don't know where the playing time for him comes from unless he's playing small ball 5 and cutting JaVale out of the rotation, but too much talent isn't a bad thing. I don't know if he's a long-term solution either.

I'm slightly concerned by the prospect of trading Jalen Smith and another first round pick when we're close to having all of our young players off rookie contracts. 3 straight seasons without a first round pick and trading Smith leaves us with no young, cost controlled players to help keep this moving post-CP3 unless. Winning it all now would obviously make all of that less important though.

I had a fairly substantial post replying with the reasons why I like Thad's fit before I accidentally deleted. But I'll skip to your concern about not having cost-controlled, high-upside talent on the roster.

I really think the plan is to trade Paul's contract before the 4th year option deadline for another max player, along with all our draft assets, to re-tool around Booker/Ayton/Bridges/Johnson. Our counterparty would I presume be able to decline the team option and benefit from the cap space, in addition to having our picks.

While we don't know what players might fit the bill at that time, here's a list of potential fits who will be under contract for the 2024-25 season:

Best fits: Ben Simmons, Damian Lillard, De'Aaron Fox, Brandon Ingram
If he'll opt in: Paul George, Kawhi, AD, Holiday
Daydreaming only: Giannis, Mitchell, Tatum, Jamal Murray
Not enough talent: Smart w/more from BOS, Dejounte Murray & Derrick White
Yuck: Jimmy Butler

[Ghost of Kleine]

Spoiler:

The question for me is 1) To TRY TO WIN NOW or 2)TO KEEP SMITH FOR THE FUTURE.

Young can be the perfect fit for a championship caliber team if he comes off the bench and we do not expect super great things from him.
Paul is old and he is not going to last more than 2 seasons at a good level (although he was supposed to be almost done and he has been our MVP, imo). Young could help try to go deep into the PO next year again.

On the other hand, Booker is quite young, as is Ayton, Bridges, Payne, Cam... so Smith could be part of a winning team with great future.

Tough decision.
I would go with the trade if the price is Saric and Smith or even if it includes Crawford, Cam...

Fair points, Although I believe that one of the biggest reasons we couldn't overcome the Bucks in the finals was due to our lack of size whenever Ayton sat, Wherrin they consistently got high percentage shots at/ around the rim, And now we're getting smaller?!?! I mean this trade has us sending out two 6'10 frontcourt players for one 6'7 MAYBE 6'8 in return. Don't get me wrong, I love that he's a really good high IQ positional defender of course and he gets a lot of deflections and is a good passer from the post ( versatility). My only concern is that even with a 7'1 wingspan, He's not known for his athleticism, Nor is he at all a passable rim protector either at 0.4 per game. I also get that we'll most likely do the trade anyways. But I just really do worry that getting smaller is not a recipe for success, especially in the playoffs. Say we go up against the Lakers, Who will he be effective guarding Davis or even Howard? Who does he cover if we play teams with big, athletic frontcourts? At 6'8, It has to be considered a legitimate concern.

Lastly, we give up two potential floor spacers for someone who doesn't really space the floor much at all. I just rather add a vet through the buyout market rather than include Smith personally. As I really think trading him after what he's shown in his time this summer will come back to bite us. But hopefully I'm wrong!

I don't really think we get that much "smaller". Thad would mostly be a backup 4. Then a backup 5 if need be. Our primary backup 5 is McGee, who is big enough and athletic enough (although he has lost some of his hops by now). So basically Thad would be replacing Saric's minutes who can not jump over a newspaper (or ipad for you youngsters) on his good days, and on his bad days he is mostly injured or can not do a decent basketball play on the court. While he might be 2 inches taller than Young, he is not as strong, and not as athletic, and has a smaller wingspan and standing reach. Also, he likely will not play at all this year, even in the playoffs - or just return for the playoffs, which is kinda the same.
Young will be a bit more capable of defending LeBron or Davis or Aaron Gordon or Looney or Gay or Ibaka or KD or Giannis than Saric would be - in my opinion.

About your other post dealing with the salaries / financial problem... yeah, agreed on that... kinda tricky situation to be in with the track record of Sarver... not much we can do about that, huh? Hope and pray

I'll definitely agree that being able to finally get off of Sarics' deal ( 3rd yr) is a big plus for us, in addition to having a bit more flexibility towards resigning Shamet ( if a larger than expected bid comes in) and in being able to removing Saric's gross inconsistencies/ lack of athleticism/ bad conditioning/ slow plodding style of play at that position finally. I'll also agree that Thad Young is a much better positional/ disruptive defender than Saric. But what both have in common is in that neither legitimately offer rim protection. And neither are truly reliable floor spacers either. I mean at this stage of Youngs' career, His game / defensive effectiveness is highly predicated upon his good positioning, and his high IQ, and his utilizing his wingspan and quick hands to get deflections. But again, He doesn't really address our frontcourt size issues in regards to rebounding or rim protection. for HIS CAREER, He averages 0.4 blocks! By comparison:
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?player_id2=saricda01&player_id1=youngth01&sum=0&request=1


He offers only slightly better post defense/ shotblocking than Saric. Basically identical rebounding, Worse 3 point shooting and much worse free throw shooting. So there basically similar players in terms of value, Only Young being better defensively due to his relentless/ disruptive style of play. And Saric, the slightly better floor spacer. Now to be clear, The reason that I take issue with the trade is primarily the inclusion of Smith. Especially after recently, When finally recieving actual playing time, His showing to be capable of averaging a double/double in points and rebounds, As well as his potential as an elite shotblocker ( 2.5 blocks) and floor spacer ( 37% from three) on a cost controlled rookie scale contract. I honestly see this deal as having a underlying motivation towards clearing the mistake of Sarics' deal having a 3rd yr! Smith becomes a casualty of our shortsightedness in not at the very least making that 3rd yr a team option or only partially guaranteed! Smith's unique two way skillset is rare for a guy his size. And it basically addresses an innumerable number of issues for us at that position whilst being a cost controlled asset.


Lastly, Smith offers us legitimate size post presence and rim protection against the bigger frontcourt teams that we'll inevitably face in the regular season as well as the playoffs. I also don't expect us to resign Young next season, But rather fully expect us to once again go bargain bin shopping for mediocre replacement options in interest of cost management. Making this trade more or less a 1 yr rental contract dump using our top 10 pick that just recently showed immense potential when finally getting minutes! Furthermore, I feel that if we honestly want to prioritize getting off of Sarics' contract, a much better trade option would be to simply trade Sa eff ic back to Philly for Danny Green! I mean he's 6'6 ( only two inches smaller than Young.....maybe)? But with a 6'10 wingspan. He's still viewed as an excellent defender too. Both Young and Green maintain a 106 defensive rating ( identical). Green even offers slightly better block percentage for a wing too ( 0.8 to Youngs' 0.4). And is a much better shooter and free throw shooter for a 1 yr rental too! His contract is completely non guaranteed for next season also. So we could trade for him and waive him right away for the 10 million in savings without even having to include Smith at all, As Philly ( trade board) has repeatedly expressed interest in reacquiring Saric for their backup center/ floor spacing interests! At most we'd only need to include a protected first or maybe two 2nds, As they have no interesting Smith at all with Reed on their roster already.

Then we'd still achieve the same financial flexibility, without having to surrender Smith's size, unique skillset and sky high potential in the deal.

I just don't like the outgoing value for the limited return on a very likely one yr rental for the underlying purpose of a salary dump!!
But I hope Young, As well as the suns front office proves me wrong on this!

[Barkley6]

Spoiler:

Fair points, Although I believe that one of the biggest reasons we couldn't overcome the Bucks in the finals was due to our lack of size whenever Ayton sat, Wherrin they consistently got high percentage shots at/ around the rim, And now we're getting smaller?!?! I mean this trade has us sending out two 6'10 frontcourt players for one 6'7 MAYBE 6'8 in return. Don't get me wrong, I love that he's a really good high IQ positional defender of course and he gets a lot of deflections and is a good passer from the post ( versatility). My only concern is that even with a 7'1 wingspan, He's not known for his athleticism, Nor is he at all a passable rim protector either at 0.4 per game. I also get that we'll most likely do the trade anyways. But I just really do worry that getting smaller is not a recipe for success, especially in the playoffs. Say we go up against the Lakers, Who will he be effective guarding Davis or even Howard? Who does he cover if we play teams with big, athletic frontcourts? At 6'8, It has to be considered a legitimate concern.

Lastly, we give up two potential floor spacers for someone who doesn't really space the floor much at all. I just rather add a vet through the buyout market rather than include Smith personally. As I really think trading him after what he's shown in his time this summer will come back to bite us. But hopefully I'm wrong!

I don't really think we get that much "smaller". Thad would mostly be a backup 4. Then a backup 5 if need be. Our primary backup 5 is McGee, who is big enough and athletic enough (although he has lost some of his hops by now). So basically Thad would be replacing Saric's minutes who can not jump over a newspaper (or ipad for you youngsters) on his good days, and on his bad days he is mostly injured or can not do a decent basketball play on the court. While he might be 2 inches taller than Young, he is not as strong, and not as athletic, and has a smaller wingspan and standing reach. Also, he likely will not play at all this year, even in the playoffs - or just return for the playoffs, which is kinda the same.
Young will be a bit more capable of defending LeBron or Davis or Aaron Gordon or Looney or Gay or Ibaka or KD or Giannis than Saric would be - in my opinion.

About your other post dealing with the salaries / financial problem... yeah, agreed on that... kinda tricky situation to be in with the track record of Sarver... not much we can do about that, huh? Hope and pray

I'll definitely agree that being able to finally get off of Sarics' deal ( 3rd yr) is a big plus for us, in addition to having a bit more flexibility towards resigning Shamet ( if a larger than expected bid comes in) and in being able to removing Saric's gross inconsistencies/ lack of athleticism/ bad conditioning/ slow plodding style of play at that position finally. I'll also agree that Thad Young is a much better positional/ disruptive defender than Saric. But what both have in common is in that neither legitimately offer rim protection. And neither are truly reliable floor spacers either. I mean at this stage of Youngs' career, His game / defensive effectiveness is highly predicated upon his good positioning, and his high IQ, and his utilizing his wingspan and quick hands to get deflections. But again, He doesn't really address our frontcourt size issues in regards to rebounding or rim protection. for HIS CAREER, He averages 0.4 blocks! By comparison:
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?player_id2=saricda01&player_id1=youngth01&sum=0&request=1


He offers only slightly better post defense/ shotblocking than Saric. Basically identical rebounding, Worse 3 point shooting and much worse free throw shooting. So there basically similar players in terms of value, Only Young being better defensively due to his relentless/ disruptive style of play. And Saric, the slightly better floor spacer. Now to be clear, The reason that I take issue with the trade is primarily the inclusion of Smith. Especially after recently, When finally recieving actual playing time, His showing to be capable of averaging a double/double in points and rebounds, As well as his potential as an elite shotblocker ( 2.5 blocks) and floor spacer ( 37% from three) on a cost controlled rookie scale contract. I honestly see this deal as having a underlying motivation towards clearing the mistake of Sarics' deal having a 3rd yr! Smith becomes a casualty of our shortsightedness in not at the very least making that 3rd yr a team option or only partially guaranteed! Smith's unique two way skillset is rare for a guy his size. And it basically addresses an innumerable number of issues for us at that position whilst being a cost controlled asset.


Lastly, Smith offers us legitimate size post presence and rim protection against the bigger frontcourt teams that we'll inevitably face in the regular season as well as the playoffs. I also don't expect us to resign Young next season, But rather fully expect us to once again go bargain bin shopping for mediocre replacement options in interest of cost management. Making this trade more or less a 1 yr rental contract dump using our top 10 pick that just recently showed immense potential when finally getting minutes! Furthermore, I feel that if we honestly want to prioritize getting off of Sarics' contract, a much better trade option would be to simply trade Sa eff ic back to Philly for Danny Green! I mean he's 6'6 ( only two inches smaller than Young.....maybe)? But with a 6'10 wingspan. He's still viewed as an excellent defender too. Both Young and Green maintain a 106 defensive rating ( identical). Green even offers slightly better block percentage for a wing too ( 0.8 to Youngs' 0.4). And is a much better shooter and free throw shooter for a 1 yr rental too! His contract is completely non guaranteed for next season also. So we could trade for him and waive him right away for the 10 million in savings without even having to include Smith at all, As Philly ( trade board) has repeatedly expressed interest in reacquiring Saric for their backup center/ floor spacing interests! At most we'd only need to include a protected first or maybe two 2nds, As they have no interesting Smith at all with Reed on their roster already.

Then we'd still achieve the same financial flexibility, without having to surrender Smith's size, unique skillset and sky high potential in the deal.

I just don't like the outgoing value for the limited return on a very likely one yr rental for the underlying purpose of a salary dump!!
But I hope Young, As well as the suns front office proves me wrong on this!

[Saberestar]

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There are rumors about Simmons wanting to play in the West, I would bet Kings or Wolves.

Probably Warrios if they want to give up his two young players (+Wiggins) for Simmons and Maxey.

[lilfishi22]

Rich Paul is such a cancer. He gets big deals for big time players who would already be getting a fat deal then for middle of the road players, he can't do jack for them unless the players themselves are already somehow connected to Lebron.

[bwgood77]

I seriously doubt they trade Maxey unless they get a premier PG back. They control him for 7-8 more years.

[AtheJ415]

Rich Paul is such a cancer. He gets big deals for big time players who would already be getting a fat deal then for middle of the road players, he can't do jack for them unless the players themselves are already somehow connected to Lebron.

If you look at the history of his deals, he takes absurd, ridiculous gambles. It's one thing for a player to bet on himself to get big upside, but he'll have a guy sit out and miss on near max deals (Noel, Seraphin, and more) to, if they get maxed, get slightly more. He doesn't understand basic math. I've always assumed Lebron must be guaranteeing to cover these deals on the back end but with the Noel lawsuit maybe not. Either way, he's horribly unqualified for the job he has. Only reason anybody knows who this guy is is because he once sold Lebron a throwback jersey out of his trunk, hence leading him to becoming Lebron's agent. He's dumb.

[bwoolf2]

I seriously doubt they trade Maxey unless they get a premier PG back. They control him for 7-8 more years.

The most likely deal is Portland and I see them demanding Maxey be included, Dame for Simmons and Maxey and whatever else they want to wrap around it makes the most sense for both teams.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Evan Sidery (@esidery) Tweeted:
The Phoenix Suns are not a fluke. What they are is a well-run organization who pressed all the right buttons when needed.

For @basketbllnews, I preview what should be another dominant season from the Suns thanks to a perfect blend of star power and depth: https://t.co/OkgvuniG25

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?s=20

[Bogyo]

I seriously doubt they trade Maxey unless they get a premier PG back. They control him for 7-8 more years.

He wants to go to Cali as per the latest reports.
Kings for something around Fox or Hield, or Warriors for the Wiggins+rookies (or the W's backstab Green and put Simmons in his role and send him and the rookies to Philly - although Philly does not have any PG's left in this scenario, so they would have to flip said rookies for somebody). Also I think Philly is in win now mode too with Joel, so I think they'd prefer some proven pieces next to him. That's more like the Sacramento package. That works either around Hield or Fox.
(I can't see Lakers or Clippers getting into this one).

[bigfoot]

Not sure if there is a needle mover available at PF for the Suns. Suns have Crowder and Johnson right now. Thad Young really isn't better than either of them and costs us assets in the long run. Still, there is a need for a warm body to serve as the 3rd stringer and push Smith. Wonder what Monty could do to help Marquese Chriss?

Paul/Payne/Payton
Booker/Shamet/???
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Smith/Chriss
Ayton/McGee/Kaminsky

I would rather try to fill the SG 3rd stringer spot with two-way players and find a PF with "some" NBA experience.

[Saberestar]

Not sure if there is a needle mover available at PF for the Suns. Suns have Crowder and Johnson right now. Thad Young really isn't better than either of them and costs us assets in the long run. Still, there is a need for a warm body to serve as the 3rd stringer and push Smith. Wonder what Monty could do to help Marquese Chriss?

Paul/Payne/Payton
Booker/Shamet/???
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Smith/Chriss
Ayton/McGee/Kaminsky

I would rather try to fill the SG 3rd stringer spot with two-way players and find a PF with "some" NBA experience.

Did you forget the green font?

Chriss is out of the league for a reason. Well, two reasons...he is a headcase and bad at basketball.

Lowest basketball IQ that I have seen in my **** life... Alex Len is like prime Magic Johnson compared to him.

[Ghost of Kleine]

Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) Tweeted:
Cam pulled up to practice today

#CarolinaFamily https://t.co/Njoc8vBecO

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?s=20

[Years90Suns]

I believe we need Young.
My idea would be to get rid of Crowder, who I do not like as a player (too short, no athletic abilities), to get Young.
Maybe we would be forced to use Smith and or Saric and Smith.

I believe we are going to miss Craig clearly, so another banger would be desirable.

PAUL
BOOKER
BRIDGES
YOUNG
AYTON
-----------
Payne
Shamet
Johnson
XXX
MaGee

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

I believe we need Young.
My idea would be to get rid of Crowder, who I do not like as a player (too short, no athletic abilities), to get Young.
Maybe we would be forced to use Smith and or Saric and Smith.

I believe we are going to miss Craig clearly, so another banger would be desirable.

PAUL
BOOKER
BRIDGES
YOUNG
AYTON
-----------
Payne
Shamet
Johnson
XXX
MaGee

Not interested in Young as a starter. Opposing defenses would dare him to shoot threes every possession. That's not a game you can play with Crowder, who while streaky, doesn't have a confidence problem and will inevitably start draining consecutive threes.

Cam could be an ideal starter with our group, but he didn't look good with our starting unit last year when the chance presented itself. And I'm sure Monty prefers Crowder to set the tone with his toughness.

[bigfoot]

Not sure if there is a needle mover available at PF for the Suns. Suns have Crowder and Johnson right now. Thad Young really isn't better than either of them and costs us assets in the long run. Still, there is a need for a warm body to serve as the 3rd stringer and push Smith. Wonder what Monty could do to help Marquese Chriss?

Paul/Payne/Payton
Booker/Shamet/???
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Smith/Chriss
Ayton/McGee/Kaminsky

I would rather try to fill the SG 3rd stringer spot with two-way players and find a PF with "some" NBA experience.

Did you forget the green font?

Chriss is out of the league for a reason. Well, two reasons...he is a headcase and bad at basketball.

Lowest basketball IQ that I have seen in my **** life... Alex Len is like prime Magic Johnson compared to him.

Cam Payne was bad at basketball too. Chriss is out because he got injured. He was playing well for the Warriors. Bring him in on a non-guaranteed contract to back up Smith. I think throwing away Saric and Smith in a Thad Young trade is a really bad idea.

[Saberestar]

Not sure if there is a needle mover available at PF for the Suns. Suns have Crowder and Johnson right now. Thad Young really isn't better than either of them and costs us assets in the long run. Still, there is a need for a warm body to serve as the 3rd stringer and push Smith. Wonder what Monty could do to help Marquese Chriss?

Paul/Payne/Payton
Booker/Shamet/???
Bridges/Johnson/Nader
Crowder/Smith/Chriss
Ayton/McGee/Kaminsky

I would rather try to fill the SG 3rd stringer spot with two-way players and find a PF with "some" NBA experience.

Did you forget the green font?

Chriss is out of the league for a reason. Well, two reasons...he is a headcase and bad at basketball.

Lowest basketball IQ that I have seen in my **** life... Alex Len is like prime Magic Johnson compared to him.

Cam Payne was bad at basketball too. Chriss is out because he got injured. He was playing well for the Warriors. Bring him in on a non-guaranteed contract to back up Smith. I think throwing away Saric and Smith in a Thad Young trade is a really bad idea.

Payne was never a headcase so the difference between them is huge.

Chriss helped the Warriors with their tanking. They got the #2 pick playing him decent minutes per game. Look how they value him...they are not offering him even a minimum contract.

[Barkley6]

I believe we need Young.
My idea would be to get rid of Crowder, who I do not like as a player (too short, no athletic abilities), to get Young.
Maybe we would be forced to use Smith and or Saric and Smith.

I believe we are going to miss Craig clearly, so another banger would be desirable.

PAUL
BOOKER
BRIDGES
YOUNG
AYTON
-----------
Payne
Shamet
Johnson
XXX
MaGee

Getting rid of Crowder to add Young is like sleeping in a King sized bed with a full sized comforter and pulling it from the left side to the right side and thinking you've done something to cover the whole bed.

In other words, it doesn't help us get deeper, younger or better. We give up a PF and add a PF, so guess what? We still need a good backup PF. At least with giving up Saric and Smith you're trading away a guy who won't play this season, and a guy who likely won't play much this season.