Welcome to the New Suns

[Shabazz]

More off the bounce juice than I thought and some creative passing in this video.

[Shabazz]

[Shabazz]

[Shabazz]

[Wally_West]

I wonder what the press conference going to look for these guy? Is it going to be all them at once or in groups? Lol

[AmareIsGod]

Damn. What a free agency! All within the first hour or two. What say you Suns fans!? Day 1 grade?

[Shabazz]

Suns swapped out Hollinger's 15th (Jock) and 27th (Biz) best free agent centers for his 9th and 10th. Nice bit of business.

https://theathletic.com/4613936/2023/06 ... ltl-lopez/ (numbers are his projected FA values)

9. Drew Eubanks, 26, Portland: $5,074,457
He’s a bit undersized and doesn’t shoot 3s, but Eubanks plays hard enough to make an impact as a backup five and should finally get paid for it after five seasons on minimum contracts. Eubanks is a credible rim runner, but the real key for him has been his progression as a rim protector: Eubanks swatted 5.7 percent of opponent shots last season, ranking seventh in the entire league. Granted, Portland’s defense provided a lot of opportunities for rim protection, but he still had an impressive defensive season.

Eubanks can re-sign in Portland via early Bird rights: the Blazers have a tax crunch but also a glaring need for size and ought to bring him back. If not, Eubanks should have a market around the taxpayer midlevel exception of about $5 million.

10. Chimezie Metu, 26, Sacramento: $4,772,973
A tweener who fell out of favor in the playoffs, Metu quietly had the best year of his career while playing bits and pieces of 66 games. He finished with a 63.9 percent true shooting mark while mostly abandoning shooting 3s in favor of rim runs. Metu can really jump and shot 81 percent in the restricted area — league sources say that’s good — but he still can short out on plays when his path to the rim is blocked.

This valuation might be a bit on the high side, as it seems to me Metu will be more popular as a minimum contract for teams looking for a fifth big. He’s undersized in the middle and would add a lot to his selling proposition if he shot 3s well enough to play the four, but that hasn’t happened yet.

[ShelC]

Definitely feels like these guys will bring some more juice than retreads like Ross and Warren at the end of last year. Guys like KDB and Eubanks playing on bad/middling teams should be excited to play with our Big 3(4) and looking to prove themselves on a winning team. I'm sure that was a selling point too. And Yuta could be a lefty CamJ at a fraction of the price. Metu is probably our 5th big but has elite athleticism and a good touch. Much better FT shooter than Biz if he's needed on the floor. Some sneaky offense, but hopefully we won't be relying too much on it.

[Shabazz]

Hollinger on our other signings:

Small forwards: https://theathletic.com/4607636/2023/06 ... -forwards/

11. Keita Bates-Diop, 27, San Antonio: $9,017,363
Meet the most deeply under-the-radar free agent of the summer. Bates-Diop signed a two-way in San Antonio three years ago after washing out in Minnesota, hardly played his first year, and snuck up on us from there.

Last year, for a miserable Spurs team, Bates-Diop was … kinda good? He shot 39.4 percent from 3, albeit on limited volume, and 55.7 percent inside the arc. He’s a solid rebounder, held up fine defensively (to the extent anyone on the Spurs did, anyway), and has become a very crafty operator around the basket despite meh athleticism. Realistically the 3-point shooting is likely to regress, but Bates-Diop could flourish on a better team as a jack-of-all-trades type backup at either forward spot.

Entering his prime seasons, Bates-Diop would be a strong value pickup for teams offering the taxpayer or room exception. The Spurs also have full Bird Rights on him and ample cap room, so they could bring him back, but they also have other priorities at the forward spot with Jeremy Sochan and Keldon Johnson.

minimum SFs

19. Ish Wainright, 28 (team option) (restricted), Phoenix
One interesting dilemma in Phoenix is whether the Suns should pick up Wainright’s team option for the minimum. He’s an undersized four who is more of a defense-and-energy guy with the rare combo of steal and block rates both above 2.0 percent. Last season, he also shot a quasi-respectable 32.9 percent from 3 on decent volume; if he can get that to the mid-30s he could have some real staying power as a rotation player. The rest of his offensive game is very limited, however, so the Suns might want to turn elsewhere for more punch.

In theory, Phoenix could also decline the option and make Wainright a restricted free agent, but there is no advantage to doing so versus just picking up the option.

20. Yuta Watanabe, 28, Brooklyn
Watanabe had a breakout year in Brooklyn, shooting 44.4 percent from 3, but the Nets’ crowd at the forward position makes it seem unlikely he’s back. A solid defender with a limited offensive repertoire beyond the catch-and-shoot game, Watanabe would be a good pickup as a fourth forward who can fill in at either spot, although he’s probably more comfortable at the three.

One obvious place to look for him on a minimum deal would be Phoenix. The Suns will likely need to sign several minimum deals to fill out their roster this summer, and Watanabe could be reunited with Kevin Durant and again play off him for open 3s.

(Craig is the #22 SF, T-Ross #25)

Shooting Guards: https://theathletic.com/4601685/2023/06 ... in-reaves/

10. Josh Okogie, 24, Phoenix: $9,339,014
BORD$ tends to want to pay non-shooters more than the market does; in a related story, Okgoie signed for the minimum in Phoenix last summer after Minnesota decided not to retain him. Money is tight for the Suns this summer, and they have no Bird rights on Okogie, so that could limit his options for a return.

Will he have a market beyond the Suns? He should, given his defense, energy and open court play; at his age, an uptick in shooting can’t be ruled out either. However, Okogie’s lack of shooting played him off the floor in the second round against Denver — going from starting the first four games to a DNP in Game 6 — and that may spook some bidders. I’d bet on him getting something for the taxpayer or biannual exception as a fourth wing.

19. Damion Lee, 30, Phoenix: $4,818,430
I was surprised to see Lee only get the minimum after helping the Warriors to the championship in 2022. He pieced together another solid season as a backup two who can make an open shot (44.5 percent from 3!) and won’t make mistakes. Phoenix may have a tough time bringing him back since the Suns are without Bird rights, but I’d expect him to get a raise to the biannual or taxpayer exception this summer.

[Shabazz]

Yuta career lowlight:

[Shabazz]

[Drewsprocket]

Yuta career lowlight:

Nice offensive foul.

[pickle]

I too am less than impressed by these lowlight type videos. It should be enough to applaud the offensive player’s athletic prowess (despite the clear left hand clear out) without diminishing what the defensive player tried to do, which is to put his body in the way of a physically intimidating attack to the rim. Many years ago when people put together a Brandon Knight video package showing him getting posterized I felt the same. If everyone got out of the way the game devolves into an all star game.

[Split T]

I like that Yuta challenged it. Still an amazing dunk by Ant

[MightyMoog]

Eubanks is going to be the starting center by the end of the year. Yuta's release looks quick which is great. I'm less impressed by Diop.

[ShelC]

After sleeping on it a bit, I think I'm sobering up on these signings. We got the guys we were rumored to be interested in but it seemed pre-planned and leaked, especially with Yuta and KBD. Maybe it was a way to get fans excited, similar to the draft, rather than be let down while other "name" players were being signed. We only had minimum deals to offer so these might've been the best options for us; they could also could just as easily be 8th-9th-10th guys we're expecting to be major contributors/starters. And because the names were leaked and we struck early it feels like "we got our guys!". Maybe with Book, Beal, KD and DA they'll suffice and be better than what we had last year post-trade. But these aren't exactly proven, winning vets turning down more money and playing time elsewhere taking minimum deals to play with our stars.

[pickle]

I think that’s a bit bleak. These guys may be 8th and 10th men on other teams but for the minimum we would’ve gotten 13th through 15th men instead so this was a big win. Another positive is the fact that every FA we inked so far is under 30 and it’s not totally batshit crazy to think that at least a couple of them might still improve. I’m quite happy with KBD and Yuta and Eubanks.

[Mori Chu]

After sleeping on it a bit, I think I'm sobering up on these signings. We got the guys we were rumored to be interested in but it seemed pre-planned and leaked, especially with Yuta and KBD. Maybe it was a way to get fans excited, similar to the draft, rather than be let down while other "name" players were being signed. We only had minimum deals to offer so these might've been the best options for us; they could also could just as easily be 8th-9th-10th guys we're expecting to be major contributors/starters. And because the names were leaked and we struck early it feels like "we got our guys!". Maybe with Book, Beal, KD and DA they'll suffice and be better than what we had last year post-trade. But these aren't exactly proven, winning vets turning down more money and playing time elsewhere taking minimum deals to play with our stars.

I am going the other way on this one. I called my doctor because it'd been four hours and my "excitement" hadn't subsided yet.

One thing I was watching for is, did we actually get a 5th starter in all of this? And it seems like the answer is yes, in Diop. Seems like a very serviceable PF and really much better than you should be able to get with such low cap room. The other thing I asked myself is, are there #6-8 guys here, or just guys who ought to be your 9-12th man (as I feel most of our bench was last season)? And I do think several of these guys can count as 6th men. Retaining Okogie is huge. Yuta seems like he'll bring great energy and shooting off the bench and great synergy with KD. Eubanks seems like another steal as a backup big.

The other thing I find interesting about these signings is that they all work with or without Ayton. I was convinced we would need to trade DA in order to get any depth, but we've filled out depth just fine already. So I actually am just fine with keeping DA for now. Pretty surprised we were able to get this deep without giving away DA for a couple of rotation pieces.

Maybe I'm just being a homer but I really like the signings we made. I'm excited for the new season to start.

[JeremyG]

Eubanks is going to be the starting center by the end of the year.

Omg how much are you willing to bet on this?

[ShelC]

After sleeping on it a bit, I think I'm sobering up on these signings. We got the guys we were rumored to be interested in but it seemed pre-planned and leaked, especially with Yuta and KBD. Maybe it was a way to get fans excited, similar to the draft, rather than be let down while other "name" players were being signed. We only had minimum deals to offer so these might've been the best options for us; they could also could just as easily be 8th-9th-10th guys we're expecting to be major contributors/starters. And because the names were leaked and we struck early it feels like "we got our guys!". Maybe with Book, Beal, KD and DA they'll suffice and be better than what we had last year post-trade. But these aren't exactly proven, winning vets turning down more money and playing time elsewhere taking minimum deals to play with our stars.

I am going the other way on this one. I called my doctor because it'd been four hours and my "excitement" hadn't subsided yet.

One thing I was watching for is, did we actually get a 5th starter in all of this? And it seems like the answer is yes, in Diop. Seems like a very serviceable PF and really much better than you should be able to get with such low cap room. The other thing I asked myself is, are there #6-8 guys here, or just guys who ought to be your 9-12th man (as I feel most of our bench was last season)? And I do think several of these guys can count as 6th men. Retaining Okogie is huge. Yuta seems like he'll bring great energy and shooting off the bench and great synergy with KD. Eubanks seems like another steal as a backup big.

The other thing I find interesting about these signings is that they all work with or without Ayton. I was convinced we would need to trade DA in order to get any depth, but we've filled out depth just fine already. So I actually am just fine with keeping DA for now. Pretty surprised we were able to get this deep without giving away DA for a couple of rotation pieces.

Maybe I'm just being a homer but I really like the signings we made. I'm excited for the new season to start.

Could be the case all around. I'm just in wait and see mode. We know what Okogie can and can't do, especially on offense. KBD couldn't average double figures on a bad Spurs team last year but did seem to come on later in the year when he got minutes. Watanabe's shooting looks legit, but if he's working best with our starters, it leaves us thin on the bench where Payne might be our only other scoring threat and isn't exactly reliable. I guess our stars will have to do the heavy lifting on offense, but that's what they're here for.