2023 Suns General Offseason/PostSeason News Thread

[JeremyG]

And maybe he is just delusional. I mean he has seen how unreliable Paul and Payne are, and still hasn't gotten a third point guard option. He saw Giannis and Brook Lopez eat us alive, but still hasn't tried to find a big that can play with Ayton. These are issues that have plagued the Suns for years without being addressed.

Some tried to sell Durant as an answer to the big next to Ayton, but that isn't his game, and we saw in the Denver series, we couldn't even match Aaron Gordon's physicality. And Gordon is hardly the gold standard of physical play at the 4 spot.

Exactly. That's what I'm afraid of--he always seems to think the roster is just fine.

[Superbone]

And maybe he is just delusional. I mean he has seen how unreliable Paul and Payne are, and still hasn't gotten a third point guard option. He saw Giannis and Brook Lopez eat us alive, but still hasn't tried to find a big that can play with Ayton. These are issues that have plagued the Suns for years without being addressed.

Some tried to sell Durant as an answer to the big next to Ayton, but that isn't his game, and we saw in the Denver series, we couldn't even match Aaron Gordon's physicality. And Gordon is hardly the gold standard of physical play at the 4 spot.

Exactly. That's what I'm afraid of--he always seems to think the roster is just fine.

Yep. I think we all see this. I hope it's just talk. I don't think Ishbia is one to accept the status quo. There will be changes. It'll be interesting to see what they are. Even if the big 4 are still here.

[Split T]

In 2 playoff series against us, Aaron Gordon averaged 11/4 and shot 43%…he was 13/5 and shot 45% this year. I don’t think we had a problem matching his physicality.

[INFORMER]

It wasn't about his scoring; he was basically relegated in Denver's offense being the dunker and catch and shoot opportunities. He brought a physicality on the defensive end, in competing for loose balls, etc. It made a difference.

[Split T]

He did make things difficult for KD while defending him

[SunsSince92]

As imperfect as CP3 is, waiving him for nothing will be a setback for the team. He was good at setting up others in our offense and he was a pesky defender who generated a lot of steals. Starting some scrub like Cam Payne is not a winning strategy. Obviously we would be trying to use his salary slot to go get other players, but we don't really get $30m to work with. We'd just be getting some exceptions back, so we will be really restricted in terms of how we can improve the team. It very well may be that what we get back for losing CP3 is worse than keeping CP3 would have been. Lot of pressure on the front office to get this right.

Sorry Mori, you're living in the past. "Starting some scrub like Cam Payne" won us our only games against the Nuggets, and he was our best player in Game 6. But this isn't about him; I'm fine with sending CamPayne packing too.

The steals Paul gets are just two possessions compared the other 80 or so possessions where he can't keep guys in front of him. We don't need him to set anyone up; the offense is basically going to be Book or Durant creating, and with the new regime, probably feeding Ayton in the post regularly. We don't need a ball dominant PG anymore.

Most importantly: PAUL CAN'T STAY ON THE COURT. That isn't an imperfection; it's a non-starter. Whatever you think Paul brings to the table is negated by him either being unavailable or hampered by an injury come playoff time.

I don't disagree with much of what you're saying. I do worry that we are placing a lot of confidence in a guy (Durant) who has proven to be even less reliable than Paul when it comes to staying on the court over the past 3 years. Sure he and Book will create their own offense but if Durant goes down at some point (inevitable) we need another option that we can go to. As Mori says, are we really going to acquire someone we can trust in those situations in a trade for Paul? I'm not so sure.

[SunnyOrange]

I don't disagree with much of what you're saying. I do worry that we are placing a lot of confidence in a guy (Durant) who has proven to be even less reliable than Paul when it comes to staying on the court over the past 3 years. Sure he and Book will create their own offense but if Durant goes down at some point (inevitable) we need another option that we can go to. As Mori says, are we really going to acquire someone we can trust in those situations in a trade for Paul? I'm not so sure.

Mmmmh. I don't want to be debbie downer or something of the like, but I do believe if KD goes down come playoff time, we are probably screwed not matter what our off-season moves are

[INFORMER]

But what team can win it all missing one of their two top players?

[INFORMER]

Another name to keep in mind is Ty Jerome. I wouldn't be surprised if we brought him back.

[SunsSince92]

Another name to keep in mind is Ty Jerome. I wouldn't be surprised if we brought him back.

I wouldn't be averse to bringing him back as our 3rd option at PG.

[Kryptonic]

Not sure how I feel about these Harden rumors... He reminds me of Vinny "The Microwave" Johnson with how hot and cold he is.

[SunsSince92]

Not sure how I feel about these Harden rumors... He reminds me of Vinny "The Microwave" Johnson with how hot and cold he is.

No to Harden. Why would we want to add another serial playoff choker?

[Split T]

I put zero stock in the Harden rumors…even Ramona said she wasn’t reporting. She’s just connecting dots(really she’s just trying to get clicks)

[ShelC]

I don't want Harden.

[Drewsprocket]

Nah.

[JeremyG]

I would sign Harden for the MLE. But no sign-and-trade for big money.

[Mori Chu]

I would sign Harden for the MLE. But no sign-and-trade for big money.

The MLE is probably our one good shot to improve the roster. I don't think we can afford to blow it on Harden.

[ShelC]

[Superbone]

[Superbone]