Trade & FA Ideas & Discussion

[MrMiyagi]

God, I can't wait until October so we can stop this endless back and forth over nothing. Hell, I'd rather be complaining about Brandon Knight bricking long 2s than "WE NEED TO TRADE/SIGN ESTABLISHED TALENT!!!!!! (Always some magic bullet player who couldn't carry his own team to the Finals or even Playoffs)" and "WE NEED TO TANK BECAUSE THE GUY IN NEXT YEAR'S DRAFT IS THE NEXT SUPERSTAR!!!!!! (Which will change by the time June 2018 rolls around)".

All I really want is to watch some fun basketball this season. The end of last season was incredibly fun. Adding Jackson and more Bender should increase that fun factor. Will we win a bunch? Probably not. Will we lose a bunch? Most likely. But I don't care, so long as I can stay tuned for an entire game, see some great plays and have fun.

[NaturalBuns]

I don't see the point in trading knight. All the good FAs are off the market only rotational players left. Suns are not killing for cap space and knight is at a all time low for value.

He's considered negative value no point in trading him. He has shown flashes in Det,Mil barely PHX:

I hate his bad play as anyone else but at least let his value go up.

[MrMiyagi]

I don't see the point in trading knight. All the good FAs are off the market only rotational players left. Suns are not killing for cap space and knight is at a all time low for value.

He's considered negative value no point in trading him. He has shown flashes in Det,Mil barely PHX:

I hate his bad play as anyone else but at least let his value go up.

Again, he's consider by fans to be "negative value", but there are probably more than a few GMs who would love to take Knight, let him average 20ppg and seem like a genius for "reviving" Brandon Knight, even though he's the player he always was and always will be.

His per36 numbers last year were pretty much in line with most of his career numbers, with a drop in shooting percentages.

[Revived]

I don't see the point in trading knight. All the good FAs are off the market only rotational players left. Suns are not killing for cap space and knight is at a all time low for value.

He's considered negative value no point in trading him. He has shown flashes in Det,Mil barely PHX:

I hate his bad play as anyone else but at least let his value go up.

Again, he's consider by fans to be "negative value", but there are probably more than a few GMs who would love to take Knight, let him average 20ppg and seem like a genius for "reviving" Brandon Knight, even though he's the player he always was and always will be.

His per36 numbers last year were pretty much in line with most of his career numbers, with a drop in shooting percentages.

I don't think this is true. Just in the last 6 months there have been too many reputable reporters like Stein, Woj, Lowe etc who have reported that the Suns have been trying to trade Knight but to no avail.

There are reports that teams want an asset in return to take on Knight similar to what the Lakers did with D'Angelo Russel to dump Mozgov.

If Chriss or Bender have a really disappointing sophomore season and the Suns feel confident they can add someone worthwhile in free agency with Knight's salary off the books then I can see the Suns attaching Chriss or Bender at some point to get rid of Knight.

But it will take that. No team will give up assets for Knight and nor will they take Knight for free.

[NaturalBuns]

I don't see the point in trading knight. All the good FAs are off the market only rotational players left. Suns are not killing for cap space and knight is at a all time low for value.

He's considered negative value no point in trading him. He has shown flashes in Det,Mil barely PHX:

I hate his bad play as anyone else but at least let his value go up.

Again, he's consider by fans to be "negative value", but there are probably more than a few GMs who would love to take Knight, let him average 20ppg and seem like a genius for "reviving" Brandon Knight, even though he's the player he always was and always will be.

His per36 numbers last year were pretty much in line with most of his career numbers, with a drop in shooting percentages.

Good source outlets have reported before that around the league knight shows negative value. But I agree with everything else you said and that's why I hold onto him. For now at least

[Qwigglez]

I hope we just stand pat unless an offer comes around that gives us future assets. We should go into the season with Bledsoe leading the group, and if we aren't playing well (most likely we aren't) then try and trade him before the deadline. I'd actually prefer we trade him maybe in December at the latest, this way we can start Brandon Knight for a couple months and try and trade him before the deadline too. I am not giving up any assets to trade Knight though, none at all. Not even a 2nd round pick. He's still fairly young and I believe if we traded Bledsoe and started Knight he may play well.

[Mulhollanddrive]

We have $12m to reach the salary floor and 2 positions left.

8 of our 10 man rotation have 3 seasons experience or less.

[Frank Lee]

Good points tossed out there. Yet no one bothered to answer my question(s)

What are McDos 3 top trades and what are his 3 top FA signings?

You see, this is the problem. Sure, he drafted well with Booker and Warren, and looks to found talent in Ulis, may be Bender and Chris and Jackson... but he slowly gutted this team by letting legitimate NBA talent leave with no replacements. TheGORTAT, Dragic, Frye, Morris1, Morris2, Tucker, Thomas all left with nothing but paper coupons for dice roll draft night. Don't dissect this with the reasons they left... they still were here one day and not another....with no one of memorable value taking their places. Not even indirectly via trade.

No substantial trades were made, no significant FA signings. (Come on... DUDLEY at PF??? really ???....for example) Drafting is a given if you dont trade away your picks.... the real talent as a GM is constructing a team using picks, trades, and FAs that comes together under the right coaching staff to win games and make the playoffs. You get closer each year and just hope the window doesn't close on the very important pieces(i.e. Nash) without suitable replacement groomed to take over. A constant blend of youth and experience.... but experience that actually contributes. McDo has not done this... or at least yet. He could still yank a rabbit out of his asshat by dealing Bled and/or one of the 'saintly' youth brigade with picks etc etc... For whatever reasons he has been unable to secure an all-star caliber player from the free market. Perhaps its a subtle black listing of Sarver, or a stain on McD for his past mishandling of players, or the stubborn 'have to win/fleece' all deals attitude. Equally likely its the losing/non playoff/bad team syndrome that deters players. Don't be surprised when the current batch of youngsters get tired of it before their second contracts ...Players want to win.

Its dirty water down the drain now. We are left with this makeshift roster with huge question marks that still needs attention and improvement. It is no surprise that teams like Utah, Denver, and Minny has passed us by. (and yes @tJ... Sacramento has a kiddie core that rivals ours, look closer without the shades)

This has been a shoddy rebuild. And we are left with very little options but to develop a bunch of kids. IMO, McD has painted himself into a corner by focusing more on collecting assets than building a roster. He has more than once acquired players at positions where we already have solid talent, because he got a deal. Add in unproven rookie coaches to the mix and we end up with ONE GIANT GROWING PAIN in the A**.

Is McDo out thinking himself?

It likely too late for this year. Guess we just sit back and clank clank clank down the road. But it very well could be Commander McDos last harrah... and if the results are the same, it should be.

[Saberestar]

Yeah, I think that McDonough didn't receive an extension because Sarver (and probably the fans too) wants to see a real improvement this next season.

If our team is terrible and we win around 25 games next season McDonough will be gone IMO.
But if our team plays competitive basketball and our young core improves and we win 35-40 games, McDonough will be saved.

[Damkac]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=y8v25nqw
Who says no?

[Qwigglez]

Spoiler:

Good points tossed out there. Yet no one bothered to answer my question(s)

What are McDos 3 top trades and what are his 3 top FA signings?

You see, this is the problem. Sure, he drafted well with Booker and Warren, and looks to found talent in Ulis, may be Bender and Chris and Jackson... but he slowly gutted this team by letting legitimate NBA talent leave with no replacements. TheGORTAT, Dragic, Frye, Morris1, Morris2, Tucker, Thomas all left with nothing but paper coupons for dice roll draft night. Don't dissect this with the reasons they left... they still were here one day and not another....with no one of memorable value taking their places. Not even indirectly via trade.

No substantial trades were made, no significant FA signings. (Come on... DUDLEY at PF??? really ???....for example) Drafting is a given if you dont trade away your picks.... the real talent as a GM is constructing a team using picks, trades, and FAs that comes together under the right coaching staff to win games and make the playoffs. You get closer each year and just hope the window doesn't close on the very important pieces(i.e. Nash) without suitable replacement groomed to take over. A constant blend of youth and experience.... but experience that actually contributes. McDo has not done this... or at least yet. He could still yank a rabbit out of his asshat by dealing Bled and/or one of the 'saintly' youth brigade with picks etc etc... For whatever reasons he has been unable to secure an all-star caliber player from the free market. Perhaps its a subtle black listing of Sarver, or a stain on McD for his past mishandling of players, or the stubborn 'have to win/fleece' all deals attitude. Equally likely its the losing/non playoff/bad team syndrome that deters players. Don't be surprised when the current batch of youngsters get tired of it before their second contracts ...Players want to win.

Its dirty water down the drain now. We are left with this makeshift roster with huge question marks that still needs attention and improvement. It is no surprise that teams like Utah, Denver, and Minny has passed us by. (and yes @tJ... Sacramento has a kiddie core that rivals ours, look closer without the shades)

This has been a shoddy rebuild. And we are left with very little options but to develop a bunch of kids. IMO, McD has painted himself into a corner by focusing more on collecting assets than building a roster. He has more than once acquired players at positions where we already have solid talent, because he got a deal. Add in unproven rookie coaches to the mix and we end up with ONE GIANT GROWING PAIN in the A**.

Is McDo out thinking himself?

It likely too late for this year. Guess we just sit back and clank clank clank down the road. But it very well could be Commander McDos last harrah... and if the results are the same, it should be.

I actually think we may be gunning for free agents next offseason but we'll see since I thought we have been going after some this offseason.

[Waylay13]

Good points tossed out there. Yet no one bothered to answer my question(s)

What are McDos 3 top trades and what are his 3 top FA signings?

You see, this is the problem. Sure, he drafted well with Booker and Warren, and looks to found talent in Ulis, may be Bender and Chris and Jackson... but he slowly gutted this team by letting legitimate NBA talent leave with no replacements. TheGORTAT, Dragic, Frye, Morris1, Morris2, Tucker, Thomas all left with nothing but paper coupons for dice roll draft night. Don't dissect this with the reasons they left... they still were here one day and not another....with no one of memorable value taking their places. Not even indirectly via trade.

Frank the issue with this statement is that you are acting like we were going somewhere with these players. We had one season in which we had 48 wins and missed the players and this was just one of them in the last 7 years of missing the playoffs. At which point of holding water do you say that this isnt working at and step back and try to rebuild. One thing that has become clear of late quality free agents are not going to teams that are not in competition for a championship. it isnt a matter of money because the team that drafts them have the advantage over every else. So the key is to dip into the lottery find a couple players which to build your team around and get out and sign other fill in the blanks in your team.

[Frank Lee]

yes I do think we were going somewhere with Dragic and theGORTAT.... I thought we are going somewhere with Dragic and Bledsoe as the back court.... y'all act like that wasn't a good team. It was dubbed an anomaly.... we will never know will we?

Just look at the results since then.

As I said… It's dirty water down the drain now. And we are essentially back to square one, hoping for another high pick To save our A**.

Our hopes and McDs job rely on Booker and the chance that a couple 20 yr olds become something more than role players 2 yrs from now.

That's not a safe bet. But hey, we are used to the 'Wait'l next year' mindset

[Waylay13]

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=y8v25nqw
Who says no?

So let me see if I understand what you are asking for in this trade you want to clear Brandon Knight bad contract by bring in Ryan Anderson who makes more for the same time for a player that doesnt bring anything more then Chriss? I think I would rather keep that space so that we can resign Booker in a couple years.

[Mulhollanddrive]

It's not consistant to expect 10-15 more wins by having 80% of your rotation with 3 years or less experience.

[JJ13]

Good points tossed out there. Yet no one bothered to answer my question(s)

What are McDos 3 top trades and what are his 3 top FA signings?

You see, this is the problem. Sure, he drafted well with Booker and Warren, and looks to found talent in Ulis, may be Bender and Chris and Jackson... but he slowly gutted this team by letting legitimate NBA talent leave with no replacements. TheGORTAT, Dragic, Frye, Morris1, Morris2, Tucker, Thomas all left with nothing but paper coupons for dice roll draft night. Don't dissect this with the reasons they left... they still were here one day and not another....with no one of memorable value taking their places. Not even indirectly via trade.

No substantial trades were made, no significant FA signings. (Come on... DUDLEY at PF??? really ???....for example) Drafting is a given if you dont trade away your picks.... the real talent as a GM is constructing a team using picks, trades, and FAs that comes together under the right coaching staff to win games and make the playoffs. You get closer each year and just hope the window doesn't close on the very important pieces(i.e. Nash) without suitable replacement groomed to take over. A constant blend of youth and experience.... but experience that actually contributes. McDo has not done this... or at least yet. He could still yank a rabbit out of his asshat by dealing Bled and/or one of the 'saintly' youth brigade with picks etc etc... For whatever reasons he has been unable to secure an all-star caliber player from the free market. Perhaps its a subtle black listing of Sarver, or a stain on McD for his past mishandling of players, or the stubborn 'have to win/fleece' all deals attitude. Equally likely its the losing/non playoff/bad team syndrome that deters players. Don't be surprised when the current batch of youngsters get tired of it before their second contracts ...Players want to win.

Its dirty water down the drain now. We are left with this makeshift roster with huge question marks that still needs attention and improvement. It is no surprise that teams like Utah, Denver, and Minny has passed us by. (and yes @tJ... Sacramento has a kiddie core that rivals ours, look closer without the shades)

This has been a shoddy rebuild. And we are left with very little options but to develop a bunch of kids. IMO, McD has painted himself into a corner by focusing more on collecting assets than building a roster. He has more than once acquired players at positions where we already have solid talent, because he got a deal. Add in unproven rookie coaches to the mix and we end up with ONE GIANT GROWING PAIN in the A**.

Is McDo out thinking himself?

It likely too late for this year. Guess we just sit back and clank clank clank down the road. But it very well could be Commander McDos last harrah... and if the results are the same, it should be.

TRADES:
1) Bledsoe for Dudley was brilliant
2) Goran for two future firsts would never happen today (look at offers for Bled)
3) Markieff for lottery pick which helped us get Chriss

Really don't care about the FAs we lost. We were never getting lebron. I didn't want Aldridge or Griffin. Who else was there we should have put big $$$ down on?

[jcsunsfan]

I don't see the point in trading knight. All the good FAs are off the market only rotational players left. Suns are not killing for cap space and knight is at a all time low for value.

He's considered negative value no point in trading him. He has shown flashes in Det,Mil barely PHX:

I hate his bad play as anyone else but at least let his value go up.

Again, he's consider by fans to be "negative value", but there are probably more than a few GMs who would love to take Knight, let him average 20ppg and seem like a genius for "reviving" Brandon Knight, even though he's the player he always was and always will be.

His per36 numbers last year were pretty much in line with most of his career numbers, with a drop in shooting percentages.

I would like to think this, I really would, but it is not true. NY wanted a first to take Knight. I think the only solution right now is sit down and have a come to Jesus conversation with him and play him as our third guard through December. Ulis and Reed aren't going anywhere anyway.

[WeekapaugGroove]

yes I do think we were going somewhere with Dragic and theGORTAT.... I thought we are going somewhere with Dragic and Bledsoe as the back court.... y'all act like that wasn't a good team. It was dubbed an anomaly.... we will never know will we?

Just look at the results since then.

As I said… It's dirty water down the drain now. And we are essentially back to square one, hoping for another high pick To save our A**.

Our hopes and McDs job rely on Booker and the chance that a couple 20 yr olds become something more than role players 2 yrs from now.

That's not a safe bet. But hey, we are used to the 'Wait'l next year' mindset

Hold on a second... you honesty believe that squad of Gortat, Goran, and Scola as the core was one they should have "built" around?? Seriously? They where coming off a 25 win season and had arguably one of the most depressing rosters in Suns history.

Also on the Dragic Bledsoe team from the following year. They absolutely tried to to "go somewhere" with that duo in the back court and came into the 2014-2015 season trying to win with those guys. Personally I think one of the biggest mistakes of McD's tenure was made that summer because he did exactly what you are saying you wanted them to do and he didn't identify that Goran wasn't going to be happy in that set up. They either should have moved Bledsoe or Goran that summer (probably Goran since he only had 1 year left on his deal and his value at it's absolute peak that summer).


I don't mind people criticizing McD and hell I have some major complaints but the two examples you used are ridiculous.

[jcsunsfan]

yes I do think we were going somewhere with Dragic and theGORTAT.... I thought we are going somewhere with Dragic and Bledsoe as the back court.... y'all act like that wasn't a good team. It was dubbed an anomaly.... we will never know will we?

Just look at the results since then.

As I said… It's dirty water down the drain now. And we are essentially back to square one, hoping for another high pick To save our A**.

Our hopes and McDs job rely on Booker and the chance that a couple 20 yr olds become something more than role players 2 yrs from now.

That's not a safe bet. But hey, we are used to the 'Wait'l next year' mindset

Hold on a second... you honesty believe that squad of Gortat, Goran, and Scola as the core was one they should have "built" around?? Seriously? They where coming off a 25 win season and had arguably one of the most depressing rosters in Suns history.

Also on the Dragic Bledsoe team from the following year. They absolutely tried to to "go somewhere" with that duo in the back court and came into the 2014-2015 season trying to win with those guys. Personally I think one of the biggest mistakes of McD's tenure was made that summer because he did exactly what you are saying you wanted them to do and he didn't identify that Goran wasn't going to be happy in that set up. They either should have moved Bledsoe or Goran that summer (probably Goran since he only had 1 year left on his deal and his value at it's absolute peak that summer).


I don't mind people criticizing McD and hell I have some major complaints but the two examples you used are ridiculous.

That team had a lot of things just fall right that year. Dragic played out of his mind. He was playing at a pace that was unsustainable physically except for maybe a player like Westbrook. Gerald Green hit how many game winning shots? It was unreal. Something he never did before and never did after. Plumlee was looking like the center of the future. Remember all of the talk about his "footwork and IQ". Where did that guy go? He did not do that in Indy. He hasn't been anywhere close since. And the problem with all of it was that Dragic and Bledsoe were still unhappy with their roles even though they were winning. IT coming the next year did not help this situation, but it was not the cause.

That team was a mirage. It was fools gold. They played insanely above their ability for a moment and then reverted to the norm.

[WeekapaugGroove]

yes I do think we were going somewhere with Dragic and theGORTAT.... I thought we are going somewhere with Dragic and Bledsoe as the back court.... y'all act like that wasn't a good team. It was dubbed an anomaly.... we will never know will we?

Just look at the results since then.

As I said… It's dirty water down the drain now. And we are essentially back to square one, hoping for another high pick To save our A**.

Our hopes and McDs job rely on Booker and the chance that a couple 20 yr olds become something more than role players 2 yrs from now.

That's not a safe bet. But hey, we are used to the 'Wait'l next year' mindset

Hold on a second... you honesty believe that squad of Gortat, Goran, and Scola as the core was one they should have "built" around?? Seriously? They where coming off a 25 win season and had arguably one of the most depressing rosters in Suns history.

Also on the Dragic Bledsoe team from the following year. They absolutely tried to to "go somewhere" with that duo in the back court and came into the 2014-2015 season trying to win with those guys. Personally I think one of the biggest mistakes of McD's tenure was made that summer because he did exactly what you are saying you wanted them to do and he didn't identify that Goran wasn't going to be happy in that set up. They either should have moved Bledsoe or Goran that summer (probably Goran since he only had 1 year left on his deal and his value at it's absolute peak that summer).


I don't mind people criticizing McD and hell I have some major complaints but the two examples you used are ridiculous.

That team had a lot of things just fall right that year. Dragic played out of his mind. He was playing at a pace that was unsustainable physically except for maybe a player like Westbrook. Gerald Green hit how many game winning shots? It was unreal. Something he never did before and never did after. Plumlee was looking like the center of the future. Remember all of the talk about his "footwork and IQ". Where did that guy go? He did not do that in Indy. He hasn't been anywhere close since. And the problem with all of it was that Dragic and Bledsoe were still unhappy with their roles even though they were winning. IT coming the next year did not help this situation, but it was not the cause.

That team was a mirage. It was fools gold. They played insanely above their ability for a moment and then reverted to the norm.

Definitely was a mirage and I think a lot of people kind of knew that when it happened. In some ways it's easy to say overachieving that season was kind of bad for them long term but realistically I'm not sure if it really was since even if they had sucked it's no guarantee they would have ended up with a better player than Warren. The top of that draft has been so damn star crossed with injuries that they might be in the same spot. Plus the following year had they sucked again they might have actually ended up with a worse player than Booker unless they landed Zinger or Towns.