Suns News: October

[Phoenix219]

I have been saying this since the second the trade was finalized. We could have just cut our trash and kept Gortat. He was frustrated by the same things we were as fans; He had to live through that let down. He would have been just as fired up by the new philosophy, new plays, new teammates, new coach, new environment, as anyone else on the team last year. We would have made the playoffs, guaranteed. The first real Center we had in years and we used him to get rid of bad assets, while crediting Nash for his success.

[JCSunsfan]

We were afraid of what he was going to cost to resign. In retrospect, yeah, we would be better off if we had kept him. I imagine that the point in trading him had several factors to it. He was going to cost alot to resign, we probably collected insurance money for Okafor, he was a bit of a distraction in the locker room with his complaining to the press. We also got another pick in a very loaded draft. They were probably angling to get a better player. That may have gone away somewhat with winning, but I am sure the relationships were a bit frayed.

I do not ask that Sarver (or McDonough) make no mistakes. I only ask that they learn from them

[Ring_Wanted]

We didn't use Gortat to get rid of bad assets. We used him to acquire a positive one, and it made all the sense in the world. Shannon Brown and Marshall could have been just cut like Beasley if getting rid of the cancers was the only goal, but it wasn't. The Suns wanted a proper rebuild, but ended up winning too much, although turns out it was not enough.

I don't consider trading Gortat a mistake. Not making a move at the trade deadline to secure the playoffs, on the other hand...

[The Bobster]

I have been saying this since the second the trade was finalized. We could have just cut our trash and kept Gortat. He was frustrated by the same things we were as fans; He had to live through that let down. He would have been just as fired up by the new philosophy, new plays, new teammates, new coach, new environment, as anyone else on the team last year. We would have made the playoffs, guaranteed.

Or maybe not.

Or maybe his statistical line last year was almost exactly what he averaged over three years in Phoenix -
Phx - 182 GP, 30.9 Min, .547 FG%, .676 FT%, 9.3 Reb, 1.5 Blk, 13.3 Pts
Was - 81 GP, 32.8 Min, .542 FG%, .686 FT%, 9.5 Reb, 1.5 Blk, 13.2 Pts

[Phoenix219]

At the very least, that shows his consistancy which is nothing to scoff at. Double Double with 1-2 blocks a game? Veteran ready to play for now?

We rebuilt too quickly and surpassed expectations. They dumped Gortat to save money now, and to pile up more losses. No one expected us to be good last year, or that move wouldn't have been made, IMO.

[Indy]

I was just thinking: Should we have kept Marcin Gortat? Right now you could argue that our worst pair of contracts are the ones we just gave to the Morris brothers. Combined, they're making as much or more than what Marcin got from the Wizards. Wouldn't we be better off with Marcin as our starting center, paying him essentially that same money, with a starting lineup of:

Dragic
Bledsoe
Green
Tolliver/whoever
Gortat?

Depends. Do we get the Marcin that played his tail off last year? Or the shitty one from the previous year with the Suns?

This.

[SDC]

I was just thinking: Should we have kept Marcin Gortat? Right now you could argue that our worst pair of contracts are the ones we just gave to the Morris brothers. Combined, they're making as much or more than what Marcin got from the Wizards. Wouldn't we be better off with Marcin as our starting center, paying him essentially that same money, with a starting lineup of:

Dragic
Bledsoe
Green
Tolliver/whoever
Gortat?

Depends. Do we get the Marcin that played his tail off last year? Or the shitty one from the previous year with the Suns?

This.

why would he play shitty last season? it's his contract year.

[Mori Chu]

He wasn't all that "shitty" in his last year with us, if you look at the stats. Also, we had absolutely nothing to play for, and arguably we wanted to get the highest draft pick possible, so I'm not sure why he would bust his hump for no good reason. He had a resurgence at Washington, but I'm not entirely sure it was due to being on a new team; he might have done the same here if we were doing well out of the gate like we did last year. I acknowledge that that's just speculation and hard to say one way or the other.

[carey]

A little bit of TJ Warren love. I think he'd be higher than 8 if they knew he would play.

8. T.J. Warren

Sharp: It’s always tricky to tell which rookies will have the chance to play real minutes, especially on good teams. That’s why it’s tough to predict future greatness. But if he gets to play, T.J. Warren’s going to be awesome this year. This is probably the most purely basketball-related entry on this list.

You may remember him as the best player on a horrible NC State team, but you’ll eventually know him as a Caron Butler/Paul Pierce-type wing who does nothing but score. Over the summer, Kirk Goldsberry blacked out and compared him to Bernard King, and I couldn’t even disagree.

Warren can finish inside, his midrange game is already better than 85 percent of wings around the league, and he’s got a mix of strength and pure athleticism that will make him a tough matchup for the next decade. Phoenix isn’t the greatest spot for him, because he doesn’t shoot 3s (yet?), but it’s all good. Life finds a way, and so will Warren.

[Mori Chu]

I'm excited about Warren. I'd be way more excited if I knew that he were actually going to play any minutes this year.

[Mori Chu]

I really wish our SF rotation was Green-Warren, but it looks like the FO wants it to be Tucker-Marcus Morris. Ugh.

[Superbone]

Warren will be too good to be ignored.

[Split T]

Imagine if we could morph Warren and Green into the same player. So take Warren and add Green's range and athleticism. Then morph the morris twins into one player and we'd be set, no more log jam at the SF spot and our starting 3/4 would be great

[SwingMan]

Warren will be too good to be ignored.

This - he'll get minutes even if it squeezes 4 & 5.

[In2ition]

Imagine if we could morph Warren and Green into the same player. So take Warren and add Green's range and athleticism. Then morph the morris twins into one player and we'd be set, no more log jam at the SF spot and our starting 3/4 would be great

I heard that the Suns were working with some Mad scientists on just this project. Unfortunately, the lawyers and agents are trying to get double the salary, even if they become one player each.

[INFORMER]

Interesting note from Suns scrimmage:

The scrimmage lineups had the look of a first team and second team with Dragic, Bledsoe, Marcus and Markieff Morris and Miles Plumlee going against Thomas, Green, Tucker, Anthony Tolliver and Earl Barron. Tucker will open the season on a three-game suspension.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/n ... /17525613/

[INFORMER]

Len on the mend

Len returned to scrimmaging during Monday's practice two weeks after he suffered a right pinky fracture, his second in three months.

Len is wearing a brace and taking three-fingered shots but he felt less soreness on catches Monday. Hornacek said Len played through hits on the hands. Len is aiming to play one or two of this week's preseason games. His 7-foot-1 frame would be a much-needed boost for the Suns.

"Sometimes when I go block out guys, I still favor it a little bit," Len said. "I just try to go with my left (hand) instead of my right because I don't want to get hit. I don't want another setback.

"I'm trying to be careful but, at the same time, I want to get one to two games in the preseason just for my conditioning, just to get in game shape. I'm sure I'll be all right. It's not that bad. Just a pinky."

Guard Zoran Dragic did not practice Monday. He has missed nearly a week while resolving a visa issue in Ottawa. He is expected to rejoin the team today.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/n ... /17640399/

[carey]

From D.A.'s power rankings:

13) Phoenix (14): Goran Dragic already 10th all-time on the franchise's list of made 3-pointers, with 332. He'll start the season 17 threes behind ninth-place Joe Johnson.

[carey]

An opponent jersey gets a #Suns player again. T.J. Warren hurt his left thumb when it got caught in a Lakers jersey. It'll be examined Wed.

[Superbone]

2014 Suns Offseason Review: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: Signing Isaiah Thomas, drafting T.J. Warren, Rich Paul, #wewriteouronchapter
The Bad: Eric Bledsoe extension
The Ugly: Drafting Tyler Ennis, Morris Twins extension

How can "Rich Paul, #wewriteouronchapter" be good but "Eric Bledsoe extension" be bad?