Devin Booker underwent hand surgery and is out six weeks

[bajanguy008]

Ammm....
What's going on with you guys today ?!?

I feel like I'm reading my soccer forum

[Superbone]

Ammm....
What's going on with you guys today ?!?

I feel like I'm reading my soccer forum

Soccer forum?! How insulting. Better watch it bajanguy008, if that's your real name. I've got my eyes on you!

[specialsauce]

I hadn't seen that there was a video of Booker getting into a fight. If so, that completely changes my take, and I retract my statement about his race being a factor.

I retract it, but you guys demanding an apology won't receive one. You can be big kids and handle somebody saying something wrong and then taking it back. Don't get indignant about it.

You’re accusing me of racial profiling. Your take is totally out of line and you have no clue what you’re talking about. If you won’t apologize, It more shows the type of person you are. I feel sorry for your students. That’s all I have to say.

The video has only one thing to do with it. Even without the video I would be suspicious, and it has absolutely nothing to do with his color.

[Superbone]

I'll just say it.

I kind of wonder whether people would assume Booker got into a fight or trouble etc. if he were white.

For the record, Marty didn't accuse you directly Saucy. And I agree that this is not a black or white issue in any way besides the fact that Booker is of mixed race anyway. And the fighting video even though he is not shown throwing punches doesn't help his case. The injury type should absolutely factor into how he injured his hand. You are just bringing information to the table that the average lay person doesn't know Saucy and I for one appreciate that.

On the other hand, I'm not going to assume anything about the situation and for the time being, I'm going to take the facts presented at face value unless I find out otherwise.

[specialsauce]

I'll just say it.

I kind of wonder whether people would assume Booker got into a fight or trouble etc. if he were white.

For the record, Marty didn't accuse you directly Saucy. And I agree that this is not a black or white issue in any way besides the fact that Booker is of mixed race anyway. And the fighting video even though he is not shown throwing punches doesn't help his case. The injury type should absolutely factor into how he injured his hand. You are just bringing information to the table that the average lay person doesn't know Saucy and I for one appreciate that.

On the other hand, I'm not going to assume anything about the situation and for the time being, I'm going to take the facts presented at face value unless I find out otherwise.

Thanks Bone. That’s a fair take.

[BlaCkAdDa]

For the record, Marty didn't accuse you directly Saucy. And I agree that this is not a black or white issue in any way besides the fact that Booker is of mixed race anyway. And the fighting video even though he is not shown throwing punches doesn't help his case. The injury type should absolutely factor into how he injured his hand. You are just bringing information to the table that the average lay person doesn't know Saucy and I for one appreciate that.

Ditto
Let's chill...

[bajanguy008]

Ammm....
What's going on with you guys today ?!?

I feel like I'm reading my soccer forum

Soccer forum?! How insulting. Better watch it bajanguy008, if that's your real name. I've got my eyes on you!

Lol
Would have said this before - yes Bajan i.e from the island Barbados so as much as finally getting ESPN at home from like 12/13yrs old lead to NFL and NBA becoming my favourite sports
Like most Caribbean people I still follow "football" and cricket

[Mori Chu]

For what it's worth, on the most recent Bill Simmons podcast, they talk a fair bit about the current state of the Suns and our offseason. They mention the Booker hand injury. Simmons specifically wonders whether Booker did something silly like getting into a fight or accident and mentions the social media video of him riding with no hands.

https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simm ... in-oconnor

[In2ition]

For what it's worth, on the most recent Bill Simmons podcast, they talk a fair bit about the current state of the Suns and our offseason. They mention the Booker hand injury. Simmons specifically wonders whether Booker did something silly like getting into a fight or accident and mentions the social media video of him riding with no hands.

https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simm ... in-oconnor

I thought Bill was a dick about the Suns. He's following the current national line of thinking and makes weird assumptions, imo. A lot like, "why should they even try?" and "Shouldn't they just be getting another high lottery pick?" Of course, his Celtics are the deepest and most talented team ever and walk on water. Booo! I think the Celtics are overrated.

[Mori Chu]

I thought his take on Booker's contract was mostly dumb. He thought we shouldn't have maxed him out and should have made him play out the season to earn it. That kind of thinking is how Sarver used to do things, never showing them he valued them and wanted them to stay. It made players mad and made them want to leave. There's no question Booker is worth the max. Nobody needs to see another season from him to know that. Signing him was a complete no-brainer. It just showed that Simmons doesn't pay much attention to the Suns. I can't totally blame him, since we are one of the league's worst teams.

I do think his Celtics are going to be great this season. I think they'll easily win the #1 seed in the East and also go to the NBA Finals, where they'll lose to the Warriors.

[Superbone]

Ammm....
What's going on with you guys today ?!?

I feel like I'm reading my soccer forum

Soccer forum?! How insulting. Better watch it bajanguy008, if that's your real name. I've got my eyes on you!

Lol
Would have said this before - yes Bajan i.e from the island Barbados so as much as finally getting ESPN at home from like 12/13yrs old lead to NFL and NBA becoming my favourite sports
Like most Caribbean people I still follow "football" and cricket

That's new to me. I didn't know that a Bajan was one from Barbados. I'm sure you said it before but it didn't register for me the first time. I do know we're glad to have you here.

[bajanguy008]

Ammm....
What's going on with you guys today ?!?

I feel like I'm reading my soccer forum

Soccer forum?! How insulting. Better watch it bajanguy008, if that's your real name. I've got my eyes on you!

Lol
Would have said this before - yes Bajan i.e from the island Barbados so as much as finally getting ESPN at home from like 12/13yrs old lead to NFL and NBA becoming my favourite sports
Like most Caribbean people I still follow "football" and cricket

That's new to me. I didn't know that a Bajan was one from Barbados. I'm sure you said it before but it didn't register for me the first time. I do know we're glad to have you here.

Yea kool
Yes that is "island talk" lol , the correct term is Barbadian which you would be more likely to have heard/known

[Superbone]

Ammm....
What's going on with you guys today ?!?

I feel like I'm reading my soccer forum

Soccer forum?! How insulting. Better watch it bajanguy008, if that's your real name. I've got my eyes on you!

Lol
Would have said this before - yes Bajan i.e from the island Barbados so as much as finally getting ESPN at home from like 12/13yrs old lead to NFL and NBA becoming my favourite sports
Like most Caribbean people I still follow "football" and cricket

That's new to me. I didn't know that a Bajan was one from Barbados. I'm sure you said it before but it didn't register for me the first time. I do know we're glad to have you here.

Yea kool
Yes that is "island talk" lol , the correct term is Barbadian which you would be more likely to have heard/known

Nope. That one is new to me too. I'm guessing somebody from Baja would also be Bajan.

[Ring_Wanted]

Simmons is crazy if he truly believes the Suns (or any other franchise in their position) can afford to delay getting their (almost) lone bright spot to commit.

But honestly it doesn't surprise me. The franchise has (deservedly) run out of credit and the global perception is basically 'Suns=clowns", like the Sacramento Kings (or how the Warriors used to be seen; or the Celtics for a good chunk of the 90s and 00s, while we are at it).

Under that light, basically all you are getting is lazy and superficial analysis. Just move on.

[Shabazz]

I listened to the Podcast. They're missing a very basic point. If you let your star get to restricted free agency, another team can come in with an offer for 3 years with a player option after year 2. Sure, you can match that, but then you only have your star under contract for 2 years instead of 5.

[Ring_Wanted]

I listened to the Podcast. They're missing a very basic point. If you let your star get to restricted free agency, another team can come in with an offer for 3 years with a player option after year 2. Sure, you can match that, but then you only have your star under contract for 2 years instead of 5.

Great point. In the end, the new CBA has not solved the issue of small market franchises being in better shape to keep stars. You need to be able to give your guy way way more per year than any other team, and for longer than one extra year.

[Hermen]

I listened to the Podcast. They're missing a very basic point. If you let your star get to restricted free agency, another team can come in with an offer for 3 years with a player option after year 2. Sure, you can match that, but then you only have your star under contract for 2 years instead of 5.

Great point. In the end, the new CBA has not solved the issue of small market franchises being in better shape to keep stars. You need to be able to give your guy way way more per year than any other team, and for longer than one extra year.

Even then they can sign the contract and force their way out anyway. Or just take less money with another team. It's not easy (and probably should not be done anyway) to keep players where they don't want to be.

[pickle]

I thought his take on Booker's contract was mostly dumb. He thought we shouldn't have maxed him out and should have made him play out the season to earn it. That kind of thinking is how Sarver used to do things, never showing them he valued them and wanted them to stay. It made players mad and made them want to leave. There's no question Booker is worth the max. Nobody needs to see another season from him to know that. Signing him was a complete no-brainer. It just showed that Simmons doesn't pay much attention to the Suns. I can't totally blame him, since we are one of the league's worst teams.

I do think his Celtics are going to be great this season. I think they'll easily win the #1 seed in the East and also go to the NBA Finals, where they'll lose to the Warriors.

Bill Simmons is not a sports journalist in the traditional sense so he just states his opinion from his obviously biased position and doesn't really make the effort to corroborate anything before mouthing off. When he first did this on ESPN page 2 it was fresh, in particular his style of linking basketball to pop culture and using sports fan approaches to evaluating basketball players. One of his gimmicks that I particular enjoyed was his annual player rankings where if one team called another and offered player A for player B, who says no... and the player whose team says no ranks a little higher. Those perspectives were fun and fresh.

Now that he's an established presence in US sports media I think he's taking that role a little too much for granted and now just says random stupid things, so him having a lazy take on the Suns doesn't surprise me. I have maybe 3 or 4 basketball related podcasts I listen to, and Simmons' one is always the last one once I've caught up to all the others.

Having said that, the Booker signing is perhaps not completely beyond questioning. I obviously understand the angle where we don't want to alienate our star player who has said he wants to be in Phoenix and lead the team to the playoffs and has (besides the one fight and being unhappy about team releasing Ulis) been a model citizen. On the other hand, to an outsider who mildly follow the NBA by watching some games when he has time, what's so different from Booker getting a max and Wiggins getting a max, other than Booker hitting threes?

There's also some talk that if the Suns held off signing Booker until the next summer then we would have more cap space to work with to lure a good free agent before finally inking him. I think that's more of a reasonable argument.

I do hope that Booker can start focusing more on his defense though... at least get to Kyle Korver level competence and stop always being listed as bottom 2 or 3 at his position.

[ShelC]

Never liked Simmons. Think he's a smarmy douche who got too big for himself. Now he's trying to stay relevant in a sense. If he would've stuck to the fanboy angle he would've lasted longer, but he took/takes himself too seriously.

With Booker- I'm sure if we had a competent, experienced GM and were winning the past few years, McD could've sat Booker down and explained the cap ramifications and laid out a plan for his extension plus free agency. Maybe Booker would've understood and trusted the FO. But it doesn't seem like McD communicates well (the Ulis thing) and Booker probably doesn't have a lot of confidence in the org in general from his time here so getting the extension done on our part was the sound move.

[O_Gardino]

The only people who think we shuldn't have signed Booker this early are the people who think Booker isn't that good.