The TJ Warren Thread!

[bwgood77]

It's funny you say Chriss has Low BBIQ. Seems quite the opposite to me. He just hasn't received quite as much education as the rest of our guys.

Not advocating, but I'd put TJ on the the top of the list to be traded. From an outside GM looking in, he looks like a can't miss contributor, that if packaged with a pick, would deflect immediate criticism. Going to wad some panties around here if/when it happens. This 'playing the youngsters to see what we have' is also a way to display our assets to the rest of the league.

He is a candidate for trade if we draft Jackson, just like Bledsoe is a candidate for trade if we draft Ball or Fultz. I am not sure it needs to happen right away. Its probably worth making sure the young guys have the goods.

Yeah, there is really no need to trade Warren given his value in relation to likely trade value. Guys getting ready to go into second contract and RFA have limited trade value (eg, Noel) and with 3 pt shooting so highly valued (along with wing defense), I'd be surprised if he had value. But even with Jackson, I'd much rather have a rotation with those two rotating at the 3, than have Dudley or DJJr there. Bender and Chriss are more suited for the frontcourt in the future to rotate along with one or two of our other bigs. It seems like you'd still want to keep that young core to rotate in and out.

Dudley actually may hold more value in trade given reasonable short term contract, and his leadership and ability to hit 3s.

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

Suns fans had been clamoring about the potential of 23-year-old small forward T.J. Warren, seeing more than an efficient scorer who had a habit of making energy plays offensively, whether it was crashing the offensive glass or making backdoor cuts.

Going through the usual struggles of fighting for a role as a rookie two seasons ago after being selected 14th in the 2014 draft, Warren was looking at his first full season of significant contribution last year before foot surgery ended his second season 47 games in.

Still, fans had high expectations for Warren, and what he showed them at the beginning of this season proved they were right to be hopeful. His breakout season was in full effect, and while not viewed as an elite young player in the same ways as teammate Devin Booker, Warren’s scoring numbers were rare in his first 11 games.

[Saberestar]

Read on Twitter

[Mulhollanddrive]

Need to rest him so he doesn't add a few $ to his contract.

I'm thinking $15m or less would be a good deal, worst case it's at least movable.

Better player than Len and he's probably going to get that range.

[Saberestar]

Need to rest him so he doesn't add a few $ to his contract.

I'm thinking $15m or less would be a good deal, worst case it's at least movable.

Better player than Len and he's probably going to get that range.

I think it is gonna be difficult to sign him at $15M per year.

Oladipo just signed an $84M/4 years contract last summer and he has similar value around the league IMO.

Hopefully they can work some contract extension in the summer under $20M per year.

I want him here for many years, I love his playing style and quiet personality.

[jcsunsfan]

Need to rest him so he doesn't add a few $ to his contract.

I'm thinking $15m or less would be a good deal, worst case it's at least movable.

Better player than Len and he's probably going to get that range.

I think it is gonna be difficult to sign him at $15M per year.

Oladipo just signed an $84M/4 years contract last summer and he has similar value around the league IMO.

Hopefully they can work some contract extension in the summer under $20M per year.

I want him here for many years, I love his playing style and quiet personality.

They are going to have to make some decisions. You can't have eventually Booker at the max. Warren, Knight, Len, Bledsoe, Chandler and Dudley all in the mid-teens. With the new cap at $104 million, it means the average player salary has to be $7 million.

[Saberestar]

Need to rest him so he doesn't add a few $ to his contract.

I'm thinking $15m or less would be a good deal, worst case it's at least movable.

Better player than Len and he's probably going to get that range.

I think it is gonna be difficult to sign him at $15M per year.

Oladipo just signed an $84M/4 years contract last summer and he has similar value around the league IMO.

Hopefully they can work some contract extension in the summer under $20M per year.

I want him here for many years, I love his playing style and quiet personality.

They are going to have to make some decisions. You can't have eventually Booker at the max. Warren, Knight, Len, Bledsoe, Chandler and Dudley all in the mid-teens. With the new cap at $104 million, it means the average player salary has to be $7 million.

I do not count Knight and Chandler long term here.
And Dudley expires before we need to give Booker the max.

I do not think we are gonna have problems with the cap, we are in good shape in that regard.

[bwgood77]

Need to rest him so he doesn't add a few $ to his contract.

I'm thinking $15m or less would be a good deal, worst case it's at least movable.

Better player than Len and he's probably going to get that range.

I think it is gonna be difficult to sign him at $15M per year.

Oladipo just signed an $84M/4 years contract last summer and he has similar value around the league IMO.

Hopefully they can work some contract extension in the summer under $20M per year.

I want him here for many years, I love his playing style and quiet personality.

They are going to have to make some decisions. You can't have eventually Booker at the max. Warren, Knight, Len, Bledsoe, Chandler and Dudley all in the mid-teens. With the new cap at $104 million, it means the average player salary has to be $7 million.

Bledsoe, Chandler and Dudley's current contracts will all have expired by the time we have to re-sign Booker. Len won't get a max. Of course most all of us hope Knight is dealt. We should almost always have 4-5 guys on rookie contracts, and maybe more for a while with extra 1st rounders in the coming years, and then another few around the minimum. I can't imagine McD is going to let too many of his draft picks just leave, particularly when playing well. If we can't pay our own guys who add value market value, that's a problem.

I'm just curious to see if Sarver has turned to corner in extending guys before they hit RFA, instead of waiting until the last minute leaving their futures in question as long as possible. It's not good for the players or fans.

[Frank Lee]

I could see us extending TJ then trading him. Great insurance from him walking or subject of a bidding war. Of course, the $$ amount will be set by his new team. However, i also see very little 'have to' reasons to deal Warren. I think drafting Jackson is a valid option, and see him as a back up to Warren until it is clear who fits/contributes better.

[nevetsov]

The fact that we have been playing both TJ and DJJ simultaneously at the wing spots makes me think that we are testing the compatibility of the two moving forward. If they can make it work by playing two natural SFs together, which really in today's positionless NBA should be less of an issue given one is a defensive specialist and the other a capable offensive player, then I can see us drafting JJ and rolling with:

Bledsoe, Ulis
Booker, Warren/JJ
Warren/JJ, Jones Jr
Chriss, Bender
Len(?), Williams

With a veteran leadership group of:
Price, Dudley, Chandler, and maybe a vet wing.

We retain all our assets and see how it all comes together. Can always move the pieces next season once we evaluate where we are at.

[LukasBMW]

I'd rather sign TJ then Max Bledsoe again. Less risky.

[MathiasPW]

[quote="nevetsov"

With a veteran leadership group of:
Price, Dudley, Chandler, and maybe a vet wing.[/quote]

Vet wing = welcome back PJ!

[Damkac]

I hope Suns will resign him ASAP. He may not score as much as Booker but he is much much more consistent. Very underrated player, can't believe some posters consider trading him. Losing him would be a big mistake.

[jcsunsfan]

With a veteran leadership group of:
Price, Dudley, Chandler, and maybe a vet wing.

Vet wing = welcome back PJ!

Oh please no! We have too many players already.

[Zelaznyrules]

I hope Suns will resign him ASAP. He may not score as much as Booker but he is much much more consistent. Very underrated player, can't believe some posters consider trading him. Losing him would be a big mistake.

He's probably been more consistent if you're just talking about shooting percentage but all things considered I'd say Devin has been a much more consistent player this season. There may be reasons for TJ's disappearances but just looking at performance, he's been very inconsistent. For the season, Devin Booker, more than 3 years younger than TJ, has failed to score at least 10 points on 3 occasions (finishing with 7,8,9). TJ, since returning from injury on 12-17 has failed to score double figures 16 times (with game totals of 2, 0, 4, 0, 2, 9, 8, 4, 4, 8, 6, 6, 8, 4, 0, 8).

But I have no desire to see him moved. As long as his issues this season had nothing to do with who was "top dog", I'd love to see him play out his career in Phoenix. IMO he's capable of being the best scorer on a decent team so pairing him with a player like Booker is a win/win all the way around.

[Damkac]

He's probably been more consistent if you're just talking about shooting percentage but all things considered I'd say Devin has been a much more consistent player this season. There may be reasons for TJ's disappearances but just looking at performance, he's been very inconsistent. For the season, Devin Booker, more than 3 years younger than TJ, has failed to score at least 10 points on 3 occasions (finishing with 7,8,9). TJ, since returning from injury on 12-17 has failed to score double figures 16 times (with game totals of 2, 0, 4, 0, 2, 9, 8, 4, 4, 8, 6, 6, 8, 4, 0, 8).

But Booker shoots a lot more. TJ is more effective. He didn't had 5/20 fg type games unlike Booker.

[Zelaznyrules]

He's probably been more consistent if you're just talking about shooting percentage but all things considered I'd say Devin has been a much more consistent player this season. There may be reasons for TJ's disappearances but just looking at performance, he's been very inconsistent. For the season, Devin Booker, more than 3 years younger than TJ, has failed to score at least 10 points on 3 occasions (finishing with 7,8,9). TJ, since returning from injury on 12-17 has failed to score double figures 16 times (with game totals of 2, 0, 4, 0, 2, 9, 8, 4, 4, 8, 6, 6, 8, 4, 0, 8).

But Booker shoots a lot more. TJ is more effective. He didn't had 5/20 fg type games unlike Booker.

Sure, like I said, TJ has probably been more consistent as far as shooting percentage goes but Warren has had similar bad nights too. In fact, he's had games this season where he's gone 5 for 14, 4 for 17, 2 for 11, 0 for 5, 2 for 11, 0 for 3, 1 for 3, 4 for 11, 4 for 11, 2 for 6, 2 for 6, 4 for 11, 3 for 10, 1 for 4, 2 for 6 and 0 for 3.

Booker's had even worse nights than the ones I quoted for TJ but consider that he's played most of the season with turf toe and a sprained ankle. That ankle really killed his shooting percentage down the stretch where he went 22 for 81 over a 4 game period. And also, he's had to do this while being the primary focus of the defense each night. I love Warren but what Booker is doing is almost unheard of especially given his age and the lineup each night.

[Damkac]

But TJ also had his "RIP Girlfriend" injury

[Zelaznyrules]

But TJ also had his "RIP Girlfriend" injury

The joke aside I really wish we knew what happened with TJ. I usually accept the company line but I find it so difficult to just swallow the official story on this one. Anyway, prior to that injury or whatever it was (and I'm including his last two games as part of his injured time), he was our best player.

He played solid defense and was a consistent scorer and with Bledsoe still trying to come back from his surgery and Booker struggling with his turf toe, Warren was almost our only real threat most nights. And he closed out the season well too going for double digits in 22 of his final 23 games, matching his early season performance. I just wish we understood what happened in between those two stretches. I'd feel a lot better about his future with the Suns if we really knew what happened and how likely a future recurrence might be.

[lilfishi22]

Would be great if an actual inside had some info on this