Around the League: Week 3 10/29-11/4

[Indy]

Why exactly did we let Big Sauce go? Wouldn't he be a better backup center than Holmes, at a low price? And didn't he desperately want to play here and would have been loyal to our franchise if we'd kept him? I don't get it.

Releasing him opened up 5 million in cap room.

For Trevor Ariza. Has that move brought us any joy?

We're only 8 games into the season. Also the moves are independent. You can dislike the Ariza signing, but releasing Williams was absolutely the right move, regardless of what we did with the cap space. The only deal Williams found was a 2-way deal. Paying 5 million to a guy no other team even wants to give an NBA contract to is not smart.

have to agree with this.

[Mori Chu]

Well then tell him you can't pay him $5m but that you would really like to keep him here if he clears waivers. Or don't sign him to the $5m contract in the first place, but keep him for the right salary. My point is, why did we botch it with this guy? He was good, he wanted to be here, no other team wanted him, he was willing to work here for cheap. But we yo-yo him around, giving him a $5m deal he isn't quite worth, then kicking him out rather than actually making good on that deal, then not trying at all to keep him here. Then we sign a backup C in Holmes who is visibly less talented than Williams. I don't get it.

[LazarusLong]

"Then we sign a backup C in Holmes who is visibly less talented than Williams."

With all due respect, I think it's a bit early to make that judgment.
Holmes has played very little in a Suns uniform.
Let's check back at the end of the season and then compare.

[Split T]

Well then tell him you can't pay him $5m but that you would really like to keep him here if he clears waivers. Or don't sign him to the $5m contract in the first place, but keep him for the right salary. My point is, why did we botch it with this guy? He was good, he wanted to be here, no other team wanted him, he was willing to work here for cheap. But we yo-yo him around, giving him a $5m deal he isn't quite worth, then kicking him out rather than actually making good on that deal, then not trying at all to keep him here. Then we sign a backup C in Holmes who is visibly less talented than Williams. I don't get it.

We don't know that we didn't try and sign him after clearing waivers. Perhaps it was Williams choice to move on. If he saw no avenue to playing time here, he could have just made the choice that was best for his career.

[Cap]

Well then tell him you can't pay him $5m but that you would really like to keep him here if he clears waivers. Or don't sign him to the $5m contract in the first place, but keep him for the right salary. My point is, why did we botch it with this guy? He was good, he wanted to be here, no other team wanted him, he was willing to work here for cheap. But we yo-yo him around, giving him a $5m deal he isn't quite worth, then kicking him out rather than actually making good on that deal, then not trying at all to keep him here. Then we sign a backup C in Holmes who is visibly less talented than Williams. I don't get it.

We don't know that we didn't try and sign him after clearing waivers. Perhaps it was Williams choice to move on. If he saw no avenue to playing time here, he could have just made the choice that was best for his career.

Did he not know about the plan to buy out Chandler? Or was he afraid of getting stuck on the bench behind Holmes?

[O_Gardino]

Dudes, the legend of Williams is far greater than his actual talent. I like him too, and I wish him well. But he's not that good. He never played more than half a season at 15mpg for us. Fan favorite for sure, but not someone to lose sleep over. Getting upset about him is like getting upset about Socks Perry.

[Split T]

Well then tell him you can't pay him $5m but that you would really like to keep him here if he clears waivers. Or don't sign him to the $5m contract in the first place, but keep him for the right salary. My point is, why did we botch it with this guy? He was good, he wanted to be here, no other team wanted him, he was willing to work here for cheap. But we yo-yo him around, giving him a $5m deal he isn't quite worth, then kicking him out rather than actually making good on that deal, then not trying at all to keep him here. Then we sign a backup C in Holmes who is visibly less talented than Williams. I don't get it.

We don't know that we didn't try and sign him after clearing waivers. Perhaps it was Williams choice to move on. If he saw no avenue to playing time here, he could have just made the choice that was best for his career.

Did he not know about the plan to buy out Chandler? Or was he afraid of getting stuck on the bench behind Holmes?

You'd have to ask him

[INFORMER]

https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1058541770651377664

This was a sweet move.

In2 nailed it. Mitchell Robinson is a great prospect who is already delivering.

[pickle]

Well then tell him you can't pay him $5m but that you would really like to keep him here if he clears waivers. Or don't sign him to the $5m contract in the first place, but keep him for the right salary. My point is, why did we botch it with this guy? He was good, he wanted to be here, no other team wanted him, he was willing to work here for cheap. But we yo-yo him around, giving him a $5m deal he isn't quite worth, then kicking him out rather than actually making good on that deal, then not trying at all to keep him here. Then we sign a backup C in Holmes who is visibly less talented than Williams. I don't get it.

Didn't we pay him last year? Or did I get my dates wrong...