Should we go for Lance Stephenson?

jleckie602 · Post #1 » by **jleckie602** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:55 pm

Hey so i was thinking that we should give a good contract for Lance Stephenson and maybe trying him at the 3 position. This dude brings hustle the phoenix style. I think he would be a perfect addition in the off season. And then go after a C of course. Look at a line up like

Dragic
Bledsoe
Stephenson
Plumlee
Frye-Len (or another Free Agent)

What you guys think?

QuickLikeTheo · Post #2 » by **QuickLikeTheo** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:58 pm

I like Stephenson but at the 3? We'd have a super small lineup.

jleckie602 · Post #3 » by **jleckie602** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:04 pm

Hes 6-5 and can hustle, ya a small 3 but i think he would hold at that position strong. Shoot PJ is only 6-6 so only sacrificing an inch and 5 pounds.

JMac1 · Post #4 » by **JMac1** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 7:19 pm

No. I want a shooter more than a slasher at our 3. If we traded Goran or did not resign Bled, then it would be a different story.

Bogyo · Post #5 » by **Bogyo** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 8:40 pm

If we dont resign Bledsoe he should be our primary target. He is a more "ideal" SG than our 2 PGs... But I wouldnt be dissapointed all if we got him

jleckie602 · Post #6 » by **jleckie602** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 9:55 pm

Compared to PJ Tucker, hes not far off, only 3pt % is a lack by a few points. But I believe that would go up in the Suns System. His regular FG% is better then PJ. I can see the 3 working good even if bledsoe stays.

michaelphelps · Post #7 » by **michaelphelps** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 9:55 pm

jleckie602 wrote:Hes 6-5 and can hustle, ya a small 3 but i think he would hold at that position strong. Shoot PJ is only 6-6 so only sacrificing an inch and 5 pounds.

Do you not see that Tucker is the glue to this team? Why do you think Spurs fans like him so much? Because he's from Texas? Yes. But they also know what it takes to win. They have a winning mentality. And so does PJ Tucker.

jleckie602 · Post #8 » by **jleckie602** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:02 pm

michaelphelps wrote:
jleckie602 wrote:Hes 6-5 and can hustle, ya a small 3 but i think he would hold at that position strong. Shoot PJ is only 6-6 so only sacrificing an inch and 5 pounds.

Do you not see that Tucker is the glue to this team? Why do you think Spurs fans like him so much? Because he's from Texas? Yes. But they also know what it takes to win. They have a winning mentality. And so does PJ Tucker.

Who said that PJ tucker would be taken off the team? Dont jump to conclusions lol. Keeping PJ is good.

But explain to me that PJ Tucker is better than Lance Stephenson lol.

WTFsunsFTW · Post #9 » by **WTFsunsFTW** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:25 pm

We need a game changer, not next available player.

thamadkant · Post #10 » by **thamadkant** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:17 pm

Stephenson is not needed....

The Suns have 2 starting PGs, have defensive hustler in Tucker, have slashers in Goodwin and Green.

What they need is a shooter who can play around Bledsoe and Dragic, and make passes to cutters in Goodwin, Green, Tucker etc...

Hayward or bust!!!

Post #11 » by **Miklo** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:25 pm

Yeah if we're going to spend upwards of $7 on a player, I think there's just too much repetition with Dragic/Bledsoe/Stephenson.

He looks pretty good this season but I'm happy with our existing guards - and also skeptical that he could even hold his own defensively at the 3 position against most opponents.

We could definitely use a starting caliber 3 but I don't think he's our guy.

NaturalBuns · Post #12 » by **NaturalBuns** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 12:11 am

I love lance and would love him on our team but its the wrong place and the wrong time we simply just don't need him hes not a good fit.

Phystic · Post #13 » by **Phystic** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 4:18 am

1UPZ wrote:Stephenson is not needed....

The Suns have 2 starting PGs, have defensive hustler in Tucker, have slashers in Goodwin and Green.

What they need is a shooter who can play around Bledsoe and Dragic, and make passes to cutters in Goodwin, Green, Tucker etc...

Hayward or bust!!!

Goodwin hasn't proven anything yet so he shouldn't be added to this thought process. Green is having a very nice year and is shooting the ball very well but he has shown this before only to fall apart. I think he needs to hold it together for a longer period of time before I bank on him as a lasting piece to our puzzle.

As for needing shooters, though I agree to a point, Bledsoe and Dragic can both shoot the ball. Frye is obviously a nice shooter, both Morris brothers can shoot. If we keep Green around he obviously can shoot. If I remember correctly Len has a nice midrange shot. Tucker can hit a spot up three.

Do we honestly think Dragic and Blesoe are a long term back court? I mean they are playing well together but is this a permanent thing? Has anyone ever made a serious run with a duel PG/Combo Guard lineup? As for Hayward or bust... I don't get it. This season...

Hayward: 40% from the field, 28% from 3pt.
Stephenson: 49% from the field, 37% from 3pt.

Now, Hayward IS having a down year shooting the ball but if you look at his averages for his career(44% and 37%) He's really not that great of a shooter. Stephenson is possibly the better passer, definitely the better defensive player,Stephenson has the edge rebounding.

Again, I see why people could like Hayward on our team and he's possibly the better fit at SF(6'8 207lbs) than Stephenson is(6'5, 210lbs) is because of the height differential. But Stephenson being the better defender and longer arms could definitely defend the SF position. There will be nights where he will struggle but in those matchups I don't see Hayward doing a better job. And we should still have Tucker who has the size to play against the bigger SFs in the league.

With the Jazz basically outright saying they will match whatever offer Hayward gets, I don't really see the point in going after him. It locks up our cap. I think Stephenson will be the easier player to snag as the Pacers are more likely to let him walk due to their current cap situation.

EDIT: Typos

Ring_Wanted · Post #14 » by **Ring_Wanted** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:26 am

Lance would be an hell of an option if Bledose was not coming back, but I think it's plausible even with the current backcourt.

Currently we get away with playing PJ at SF because he doesn't need the ball and on offense is happy just shooting corner threes, running when available and crashing the boards to get offensive rebounds and garbage opportunities.

I don't know if Stepehnson can be used as a small forward, but that's not the only solution. This would open the door for Dragic as the super 6th man in the Manu mold that many believe he's best suited for.

I have no problem with the current state of things, but adding a piece of this caliber, while substracting it from a contender no less, looks really enticing. If Dragic buys into it, we'd be set with him, Bledsoe and PJ, plus Marcus-Green sharing the 144 minutes available at pg-sg-sf.

No matter how you cut it, it would be really expensive, but I wouldn't be mad at all if the Suns got him instead of other targets like Haywood, then figuring things out later.

INFORMER-93 · Post #15 » by **INFORMER-93** » Wed Jan 1, 2014 2:46 am

Indiana has invested a lot of time and resources towards mitigating Stephenson's bad character and off the court issues. I love the talent, but he has some serious skeletons in his closet.

Post #16 » by **Qwigglez** » Thu Jan 2, 2014 8:33 am

Not a fan of him really. I think his production is going to seriously drop off next year after he gets his contract, no matter what team he is on.

dorkestra · Post #17 » by **dorkestra** » Thu Jan 2, 2014 3:39 pm

What about a S&T Bledsoe for S&T Stephenson?

Then Suns make offer to Hayward:

Dragic
Stephenson
Hayward
Morris
Plumlee

that looks pretty good to me

JayBenzy · Post #18 » by **JayBenzy** » Thu Jan 2, 2014 5:43 pm

No to stephenson