Suns Trade For Beal!

[pickle]

When do we start doing that exercise where we assign minutes to our depth chart? After the free agency period?

[Split T]

Haha, I think you can start anytime. Here’s a quick guess:

PG. Booker - 36, Payne - 12
SG. Beal - 36, Gordon - 12
SF. Durant - 12, Watanabe - 16, Okogie - 12, Gordon - 8
PF. KBD - 24, KD - 24
C. Ayton - 32, Eubanks - 16

SF just feels like the position we will patch together with lots of guys. I think Goodwin could take the Payne or Okogie minutes as well. Maybe Metu steals some from Watanabe, KBD, or Eubanks.

That’s a 10-man rotation. I imagine in the playoffs we cut down to 8 or 9. Okogie and Payne seem like the easier cuts.

Booker, Beal, KD - 36
Ayton - 32
KBD - 24
Gordon - 20
Watanabe, Eubanks - 16
Okogie, Payne - 12

That’s what I’m thinking right now.

[pickle]

I’d really prefer to keep our three stars at 32 mpg to be honest, only go to 36 if one out of three is out for whatever reason.

[Split T]

I don’t think that will happen but I wouldn’t be opposed to it. Maybe 34…KD played 33.6 for us last year, Beal played 33.5. Book was just under 36

[Split T]

I will say I feel pretty good about 6 guys in the playoffs right now. Our top 3(Book, KD, Beal) and 3 bench guys(Gordon, KBD, Eubanks). Ayton is a huge question mark, in theory he should be that 4th guy but we’ll see. KBD will probably start and that leaves us with 2 guys on the bench. I kinda see Payne, Okogie, and Yuta as situational guys, but maybe they can combine to be our 8th spot in the playoffs.

[Mori Chu]

Guys like Payne and Okogie are certainly guys you can have in your rotation, even in the playoffs. That was never the problem to me. The problem was needing them to be your 4th best player every night; they can't consistently do that. If all you need is a 7th-8th-9th man, these guys are great for that.

[Shabazz]

I wonder if we don’t have a permanent 5th starter and just go matchup-based. KBD vs Denver’s size and Okogie/Goodwin to chase around the Stephs and D-Foxs, for example

[Drewsprocket]

Guys like Payne and Okogie are certainly guys you can have in your rotation, even in the playoffs. That was never the problem to me. The problem was needing them to be your 4th best player every night; they can't consistently do that. If all you need is a 7th-8th-9th man, these guys are great for that.

It’s gonna be nice to see other roles develop this season and not be so over reliant on our stars to carry us. I think we’ll see some career years for some of these guys who know how to defend.

[Split T]

Guys like Payne and Okogie are certainly guys you can have in your rotation, even in the playoffs. That was never the problem to me. The problem was needing them to be your 4th best player every night; they can't consistently do that. If all you need is a 7th-8th-9th man, these guys are great for that.

Okogie was rough last year in the playoffs. I agree they can play a role, but I’m glad we aren’t reliant on them. If Okogie isn’t gonna make a single shot we don’t have to play him. We’ll have other options.

[Split T]

I wonder if we don’t have a permanent 5th starter and just go matchup-based. KBD vs Denver’s size and Okogie/Goodwin to chase around the Stephs and D-Foxs, for example

I could see that…think having some continuity is good though.

[JeremyG]

Best guess at the moment:

PG: Payne 24, Beal 12, Booker 6, Goodwin 6
SG: Beal 22, Gordon 16, Booker 6, Goodwin 4
SF: Booker 22, Watanabe 18, Durant 4, Bates-Diop 4
PF: Durant 30, Bates-Diop 18
C: Ayton 34, Eubanks 14

Totals:
Payne: 24
Beal: 34
Booker: 34
Durant: 34
Ayton: 34

Bates-Diop: 22
Watanabe: 18
Gordon: 16
Eubanks: 14
Goodwin: 10

[pickle]

Would be interesting to see if Payne can actually handle that many minutes, especially with Vogel as coach.

[Flagrant Fowl]

I'm pretty confident Gordon will have a higher MPG than Payne when the season is over.

[specialsauce]

Gordon at 16 is way too low. Hell be 20-25 at minimum

[ShelC]

He played 30 for the Rockets, 24 for the Clips so I imagine he'll be in that range. There's really no reason Beal, Book and KD should be playing more than 34mpg. With Gordon on board for 24-30 between both backcourt spots and us hopefully having some comfortable leads, we shouldn't be burning guys out.

[JeremyG]

I would expect Gordon to get more minutes in the playoffs. This was just the regular 10-man rotation, though. I do think he'll average more than 16 MPG over the course of the season, since he will likely be starting at various times due to injuries. This would just be on an average night in the regular season when everyone's healthy.

[Shabazz]

I’m having a hard time seeing why Payne should even be in the rotation given the options we have, let alone starting and playing 24 mpg.

[Drewsprocket]

I’m having a hard time seeing why Payne should even be in the rotation given the options we have, let alone starting and playing 24 mpg.

I don’t see where Payne fits. We don’t need his scoring in the backcourt anymore. I think he’s mid season trade bait or injury insurance. Here’s a vague breakdown of minutes if we’re healthy and playing a meaningful game. Okogie and Goodwin Will provide perimeter defense. In the regular season we will see a some run from the 10-12 guys. I think the minutes at the 4 spot will be interesting.
Ayton 29 Eubanks 19
Bates-Diop 24 Watanube 24
KD 30 Okogie 18
Book 32 Gordon 16
Beal 32 Gordon 8 / Goodwin 8

[Superbone]

I’m having a hard time seeing why Payne should even be in the rotation given the options we have, let alone starting and playing 24 mpg.

Well, you know what they say. No Payne, no gain. Let's just see how the rotations work themselves out in training camp. These things have a way of working themselves out. If he brings enough and provides what others can't, he'll get time. I like that he'll have pressure on him to perform.

[Flagrant Fowl]

I’m having a hard time seeing why Payne should even be in the rotation given the options we have, let alone starting and playing 24 mpg.

I don’t see where Payne fits. We don’t need his scoring in the backcourt anymore. I think he’s mid season trade bait or injury insurance. Here’s a vague breakdown of minutes if we’re healthy and playing a meaningful game. Okogie and Goodwin Will provide perimeter defense. In the regular season we will see a some run from the 10-12 guys. I think the minutes at the 4 spot will be interesting.
Ayton 29 Eubanks 19
Bates-Diop 24 Watanube 24
KD 30 Okogie 18
Book 32 Gordon 16
Beal 32 Gordon 8 / Goodwin 8

I think it was Split who said that he thinks we're going to run a lot more this season, and I agree. Payne fits into that. Not 20+ MPG, but I think he's going to get a solid 5-8 minutes per half to do spark plug stuff with the bench players. He can be a difference maker in that role, the problem for him has been staying healthy. I'm fine with giving him a shot at it, but also OK if a deal to move him for a better piece comes along.