Game Day: Suns (29-25) @ Twolves (11-42), Fri 2/20/15

[SDC]

Because he's not Jason Kidd's style of PG. Look who they traded for...two pass first PGs that can't shoot. And oh yea, the Bucks have been spot on with their decision making in recent years.

you gotta ask the clippers that same question too re bledsoe.

we dont know enough to see if ennis is a bad outside shooter in the nba (he may be, but we havent seen enough nba games from him yet). i think milwaukee gave knight up for the lakers pick and ennis is just icing on the cake. and milwaukee has to trade for a pg because they are losing one themselves.

[INFORMER]

Because he's not Jason Kidd's style of PG.

I think you're assuming a lot there. Knight was one of the first players Kidd talking about looking forward to coaching. I think he really likes Knight. He just probably loves MCW.

Also, don't underestimate the impending new contract. That's the biggest factor in all this IMO.

Look who they traded for...two pass first PGs that can't shoot.

That's a gross (and largely inaccurate) generalization. Tyler Ennis is light years ahead of MCW in the jump shot department.

And oh yea, the Bucks have been spot on with their decision making in recent years.

Actually, they've been great at evaluating young talent (except in bailing on Tobias Harris). It's their decision-making in free agency that has been abysmal.

[INFORMER]

Yea, because who wants talent.

Sdc does have a point. The Clips couldn't find much of a deal for Bledsoe, and it was probably because GMs didn't want to pay him. It was hip to fawn over him when he had multiple years left on his deal, but when it came to giving up something for him or showing him the money, that love cooled real fast.

The Suns are not getting Knight at a good time. His body of work is limited, and it will be even more limited in terms of evaluating him as a Sun. And yes, it is important to know how a guy fits in your system, culture expectations, etc. Of course you add guys through free agency without knowing how they fit necessarily, but then again you're not giving up assets for them like in this situation with Knight.

[Mori Chu]

I still don't get why you trade for a guy 30 games before his contract ends. Why not just sign that same player as a free agent? Because we can offer him a 5-year deal, you say? Why not just offer him a handsome 4-year deal if we want him so much, while not needing to give up a bunch of assets in a trade? We've already established that Milwaukee wasn't going to break the bank for the guy, so outbidding them might not have been hard. And doesn't the 5-year thing only really matter if you're going to max the guy out or nearly do so?

You might say, the guy won't come here as an FA; we need those 30 games to convince him to like it here and woo him and try him out. Do you really? Chase after the guy at 12:01am on the first day of free agency, make him a big offer, tell him how much he means to the team. We got Dragic that way. We got IT that way. Plenty of teams get good players that way. I just don't get giving up assets for a rental, unless it's a max player. And I like Brandon Knight, but he is not a max player.

[INFORMER]

Yeah, I know Phoenix is a top free agent destination for the stars of the league, but they can land a Brandon Knight easily. And with the abundance of point guards in the league, it's not like they would have had a lot of competition. But whatever.

[virtual9mm]

Yeah, I know Phoenix is a top free agent destination for the stars of the league, but they can land a Brandon Knight easily. And with the abundance of point guards in the league, it's not like they would have had a lot of competition. But whatever.

This is a very good point. I wonder if the Suns would have been better off waiting until July and then threatening to dangle a large RFA contract to Knight to reduce Milwaukee's leverage. That being said, there is something to be said for controlling the RFA through the process. The question is whether it was worth the admittedly high cost.

[Ring_Wanted]

The key here is that acquiring Knight now allows the team to spend on a second free agent. That opportunity is essentially what did cost the Suns the LAL pick. Well, that and 30 games to fight for the playoffs, wether you consider it naive or not.

[virtual9mm]

The key here is that acquiring Knight now allows the team to spend on a second free agent. That opportunity is essentially what did cost the Suns the LAL pick. Well, that and 30 games to fight for the playoffs, wether you consider it naive or not.

http://hoopshype.com/free_agency_2015.htm

1. Lebron/PO - won't happen
2. Love/PO - long shot, possible? Perfect fit in PHX
3. LMA/UFA - have no idea, I'd guess it won't happen
4. Kawhi Lenard/RFA - won't happen
5. Marc Gasol/UFA - if MEM implodes over the summer? Long shot.
6. Tim Duncan/UFA - won't happen
7. Dragic/PO - lol, I think he goes to LAL
8. Rajon Rondo/UFA - bad fit, won't happen
9. DWade/UFA - won't happen
10. DeAndre Jordan/UFA - possible, Suns would have to move Len
11. Brook Lopez/PO - possible, but would we want him?
12. Greg Monroe/UFA - definitely a potential target
13. Al Jefferson/PO - possible, but too old for McD
14. Reggie Jackson/RFA - unlikely
15. Jimmy Butler/RFA - definitely a potential target
16. Monta Ellis/PO - not a real fit
17. Paul Millsap/UFA - definitely would be a potential target but too old
18. Hibbert/UFA - not a real fit?
19. Deng/PO - possible but too old
20. Knight/RFA - Suns will keep him
21. Afflalo/PO - with Knight on board, no need
22. David West/PO - don't see him fitting into youth movement
23. Jeff Green/PO - perhaps a wild card? Not worth a max contract
24. Omer Asik/UFA - possible but he's getting into his late 20s?
25. Thaddeus Young/UFA - possible but not an upgrade over Morris?
26. Wes Matthews/RFA - think POR would keep him
27. Tobias Harris/UFA - real possibility but worth something close to a max?
28. Eric Gordon/PO - I would laugh if this happened
29. Manu/UFA - no way
30. Patrick Beverly/RFA - no need

So, the Suns are getting long shots at Love, LMA and Gasol, a great shot at Greg Monroe and start getting into Jeff Green, Omer Asik and Tobias Harris territory. Is this worth the LAL pick? I would think not...the real prize has to be Knight.

[Ring_Wanted]

It is what it is. I am not saying there is a Steve Nash waiting to happen, but DeAndre, Tobias, Butler, Kawhi, Millsap, Jefferson, Mathews and Monroe would make a difference and would listed to the right offer, I am sure. It's just that we won't be the only ones with cap space and that the biggest prices are restricted.

You can add Kanter and KJ McDaniels to the list, by the way.

And about the age factor, if you want to win you need vets. I am not opposed at all to going after 29-30 year old players if they make sense. Lack of leadership, experience and IQ have been huge issues for the Suns this year.

[TOO]

I'd like Monroe/Len next to each other, sticking the MoBros back together on the 2nd unit. Monroe would add much need interior scoring and rebounding. Seeing as Dragic was the main guy to push the tempo, I think Monroe is a better fit than he was before.

Selfishly I want Butler, but I think Monroe is a good fit.

[carey]

You forgot Draymond Green who I think is target number 1 for a number of reasons.

[ShelC]

I think moving the Lakers pick was a calculated risk. They could honestly land Dragic/Rondo and Love/Monroe. Now you're looking at a pretty competitive team.

Then again, the Knicks, Lakers, Miami (depending on Dragic) could all make max offers to Knight. Do we match?

I think you make a hard push for Monroe, first FA call at 12:01, then try and work out some kind of S+T with the Morri and Tucker. That would still be a nice haul as opposed to losing Monroe outright and Markieff would be a nice complement to Drummond up front Tucker is an SVG type of guy and Marcus...well, he gives them some additional depth. Question is whether they want that money long term.

Also Virtual, some of your listings are off. Harris is a RFA, Matthews is an UFA

[JCSunsfan]

Yeah, I know Phoenix is a top free agent destination for the stars of the league, but they can land a Brandon Knight easily. And with the abundance of point guards in the league, it's not like they would have had a lot of competition. But whatever.

They like maintaining control. It might also cost less.

[cbesch5]

You forgot Draymond Green who I think is target number 1 for a number of reasons.

Going into the off-season, I think our targets should be Draymond Green, Greg Monroe #1 and #1b. Jimmy Butler would be great, but I don't know enough about him to know if he is a SF/SG or a pure SG. I think our focus needs to be on landing a Top Tier SF or PF. This is also why I am on the Harris bandwagon, I think he would be a very good fit here. So I guess if I had to rank my FA preferences:

Green
Monroe
Harris
Butler

Honestly though, I am doubtful of any of them being signed by the Suns.

[Mori Chu]

Draymond Green is becoming so overrated. I watch a decent amount of Warriors games here in the Bay Area, and I like the guy, but all the talk about him being a possible max guy or near-max guy? Bleh. He's a supporting role player who's doing really well this season in a particular role in GState. I just don't believe he's a guy you throw money at and bring in and suddenly he's changed your team and you're going to the Finals.

Below are the kinds of guys I'd go after, focusing on SF position as highest priority. I'm just going on the assumption that Markieff Morris is our starting PF for the next 3-4 years and that it makes no sense to chase after another expensive PF right now. I'd most like to see us get Tobias Harris, followed by maybe Jeff Green. I like Jimmy Butler a lot, but I think the Suns have committed to a starting guard rotation of Bledsoe and Knight. What I really wish we could do would be to somehow unload Bledsoe and then nab Butler, and start Knight at PG and Butler at SG. Drool.

15. Jimmy Butler/RFA - definitely a potential target
23. Jeff Green/PO - perhaps a wild card? Not worth a max contract
26. Wes Matthews/RFA - think POR would keep him
27. Tobias Harris/UFA - real possibility but worth something close to a max?

[Sunsfan4life]

He's an RFA. So they wanted the right to match any offer he got.

[TOO]

If we sign Draymond Green I might not watch another Suns game until he's gone. One of if not the most overrated player in the NBA. Seeing him as many times as I have, there is no way on earth is he worth a max or near max deal. He's not a great shooter or defender. He is a good rebounder and really good setting moving screens though.

[Split T]

Butler is plenty big enough to play the 3.

[Shabazz]

If we sign Draymond Green I might not watch another Suns game until he's gone. One of if not the most overrated player in the NBA. Seeing him as many times as I have, there is no way on earth is he worth a max or near max deal. He's not a great shooter or defender. He is a good rebounder and really good setting moving screens though.

He's a really good defender. Not sure what you're watching. Very good passer, too.

[TOO]

Good passer yes, very good defender? Nah. I've seen pretty much every Dubs game this year and the have 2 good defenders, Klay and Iggy. He competes on D, but he's not really good there. We also dont need another glue guy at SF, and thats what he is.