Suns News: Week 1 10/27-11/2

[LazarusLong]

Luke Babbitt is a paler version of Rhyno ... if the right offer comes along, Anderson might be moved.

[INFORMER]

Sure. No one is untradeable. But Luke Babbitt is barely a legitimate NBA player. He does not make Anderson more expendable.

[pickle]

i think to be fair, you still need a big man inside to bang bodies. anthony davis is great but he's razor thin...

They have Asik, a better-than decent defensive center. This frees Davis for more time at the four. They also like Alexis Ajinca, so there's some depth in the post. (Perhaps the Suns might look at Ajinca ...)

yeah LL... i was responding to xylus' comment that they don't necessarily need ryan anderson to be a defensive presence with davis behind him. i guess i skipped a thought or two in my original post. if NO runs a lineup with asik, davis, and ryan anderson, his lack of foot speed will make it difficult to match up with opposing wing players. if it's just ryan anderson and davis on the court while asik sits, they do have some defense and rebounding issues.

i'm pretty high on asik and think that he and davis together will be greater than the sum of the parts, at least in terms of defense.

[Shabazz]

Anderson is actually a pretty good rebounder.

[pickle]

that's what i remember from his orlando days, but then he just averaged 6 last year. am not sure whether that's due to his injuries, NO's style of play, or regression...

[LazarusLong]

To probably state the obvious, the Pels could be the most intriguing team in the West. N.O. has enough talent at every position to be very competitive, and everybody's next great player in Davis. They can run, hit outside shots, go big or small, and play some defense, especially in the paint. Does Monty Williams have the coaching chops to make the right moves?

[Wally_West]

https://twitter.com/paulcoro/status/526881939416809472

[carey]

To probably state the obvious, the Pels could be the most intriguing team in the West. N.O. has enough talent at every position to be very competitive, and everybody's next great player in Davis. They can run, hit outside shots, go big or small, and play some defense, especially in the paint. Does Monty Williams have the coaching chops to make the right moves?

No. It's weird, I was buying all the Monty stock early on. I've soured on him quickly. Some of it isn't his fault. The Pels brass basically mandated that they make the playoffs as soon as possible because of Mr. Benson's failing health. That combined with the early emergence of Davis had them fast forward the rebuilding plan.

I think most of the moves they've made have been questionable. They traded Nerlens Noel & a 2014 1st for Holiday. That pick had a lot of value and they could have had Elfrid Payton or another decent prospect with it. Then this Summer they turn around and trade their 2015 1st for Asik. That's 3 years in a row they traded their 1st rounder. They also pulled a Suns/Beasley and bid against themselves for Tyreke Evans who is a bad fit for the team. Ryno is making $8.5Mil to come off the bench for them. I guess that's near the going rate for a valuable 6th man though.

Anyway, I think as their roster is constructed a lot of things will have to break their way to make the playoffs. Monty needs to end the Rivers at PG experiment. He needs to also stop trying to play Holiday, Gordon, & Evans all at the same time. I think they will realize at some point that a small ball line-up with Davis at C works best for them, kind of like when the Suns put Amare at C and just ran though as constructed they don't currently have the shooters for that system.

[Ring_Wanted]

I think most of the moves they've made have been questionable. They traded Nerlens Noel & a 2014 1st for Holiday. That pick had a lot of value and they could have had Elfrid Payton or another decent prospect with it.

I think just one pick and something minor would have been enough for Jrue. He was an allstar but it is clear that there is a number of other PG above his level. Still a pretty nice piece to have, but not at a premium, in assets, at least. Money is a different story. Imagine if that pick was in 2014 and this year they are putting Nerlens Noel on the floor alongside Davis. Plus Anderson.

Then this Summer they turn around and trade their 2015 1st for Asik.

Actually I like this move. Not under the light of a third pick traded, true, but Asik is a top role player and those make you win games every season.

The only thing is that the way they are currently built, they are not doing so around Davis, but with Davis around. Reke makes no sense (and I really like him). Gordon did. If Gordon fails, you suck it up and wait to spend again, while having a core that is not even in its prime. I think using two picks to acquire Jrue-Asik would have been a good move.

But yes, That's 3 years in a row. Four picks, if you want to count Rivers.

I totally agree with the rest of your post. Health, shooting, fit are their issues, just like we have our own. Maybe Davis actually has the monster season he is supposed to drop and pushes them farther than one would think.

[Mori Chu]

NO needs to surround Davis with a ton of great shooters. Not a bunch of ball-stopping chucker idiots like Rivers, Evans, Gordon, ... They also need to get serious and hire a real coach.

[INFORMER]

None of those guys are chuckers.


And Asik was sorely needed pickup for them.

[Ring_Wanted]

Agreed.

[INFORMER]

Zach Lowe classifies the Suns as "Potential Interlopers":

Everyone’s favorite regression candidate is hoping to survive Channing Frye’s departure by slotting Markieff Morris into his starting spot and banking on Anthony Tolliver and Marcus Morris to fend off the trickle-down effect at power forward.

Markieff Morris doesn’t have Frye’s range, but he might shoot more 3s as a starter than he did as a post-up scorer in reserve. If he catches the ball at the top of the arc with the defense scrambled, Morris can drive and dish in the mold of a skinny Diaw. He can both trail the Suns’ go-go fast break and (almost) run with the three-headed point guard monster of Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, and Isaiah Thomas.

The Suns have the goods to hang in again, even though they won’t catch the league off-guard. They defended well with the Markieff Morris–Miles Plumlee big-man duo, they might get a full season out of Bledsoe, and Alex Len will get a shot at backup center. They’ll feel Frye’s loss at some point, but this is a deep team with some positional flexibility. Don’t be shocked if its games 81 and 82 matter.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-r ... cavaliers/

[INFORMER]

BK may be a fit. Indy maybe.

Houston. Move Ennis for Nick Johnson, Clint Capela, and a 2nd round pick.

[OE32]

I wonder if everyone knows something I don't. I was under the impression we really valued Ennis; otherwise, we wouldn't have drafted him.

If we trade Ennis, I'd be shocked if it was for someone who wasn't either on a rookie contract or about to be signed to a rookie contract. I'd be just as shocked if he were traded alone ("traded down," as it were). But I don't know McD's mind. Maybe it was an attempt to extort the Raptors. It's been suggested.

[LazarusLong]

"NO needs to surround Davis with a ton of great shooters. Not a bunch of ball-stopping chucker idiots like Rivers, Evans, Gordon, ... They also need to get serious and hire a real coach."

We'll see if Williams can coach with this group. I'm not a big Rivers fan, but Gordon has stretches where he can take over a game. He's erratic and injury-prone, but he's definitely got talent.

I like Tyreke at small forward where he can better showcase his athleticism. He was misused in Sacramento. The right coach can harness this guy.

[Xylus]

What is Tyreke's appropriate role? He's a real anomaly in this league, a 1-3 tweener.

[SDC]

I wonder if everyone knows something I don't. I was under the impression we really valued Ennis; otherwise, we wouldn't have drafted him.

If we trade Ennis, I'd be shocked if it was for someone who wasn't either on a rookie contract or about to be signed to a rookie contract. I'd be just as shocked if he were traded alone ("traded down," as it were). But I don't know McD's mind. Maybe it was an attempt to extort the Raptors. It's been suggested.

the macdo selected him as insurance if bledsoe doesnt resign with the suns. then he added IT, and the suns seemed ready to move on from bleds (or so some of us thought).

the mcdo was really doing well in the PR battle, with many around the league thinking 12 mil/yr was a more than reasonable offer. then at the last minute, he caved. nobody knows why, but my guess is that he got a call from lebron, who did some arm-twisting+ "no better friend, no worse enemy" talk.

[carey]

my guess is that he got a call from lebron, who did some arm-twisting+ "no better friend, no worse enemy" talk.

Lol. Whut?

[Indy]

Lol. Whut?

Classic.