Phx-Suns.Net

carey wrote:

iLLmatic wrote:Kevin Love would've been fine with Goran Dragic, not with the shit we have. We need to rebuild this team from the ground up, everyone is tradeable except for maybe Booker, that's it.

Disagree. I like EB-Booker-Warren-Love-Len. A lot.

That lineup is a lot better than what we're trotting out right now. But the frontcourt is really weak defensively. Maybe that's okay in 2016's NBA, but I could imagine that team still needing a lot more to be successful.

To be clear: I'd still do it, though. If we could get Love from Cleveland without giving up Booker, Warren, Len, or our pick this coming summer, I'm in.

I still don't understand why suddenly Love is a problem in Cleveland. Is it because he isn't averaging the same numbers he used to when he was clearly the first option in Minnesota? He is doing pretty decently this year, putting up good numbers while Kyrie was out and taking a step back as Kyrie demands more touches. I was surprised to see that in a few of the games even JR shoots as much or more as Love, but to me that's an example of a) JR's overconfidence/Love's willingness to play within the team and b) the coaching staff's inability to better utilize Love's talents. But whatever it is, I don't see Love as a problem in Cleveland. It may very well be that they need more defense, but Love's offensive and rebounding talents are clear, and far above anybody they could get in any trade. The one thing that makes their situation difficult is the max contract Love got this summer, but I think Cleveland was forced into that signing given the amount of assets they gave up for him. Back when the trade happened, Inf felt strongly (and I agreed) that this was an awful trade for the Cavaliers, and I think this is vindication of that point of view.

However, if the Cavs were in fact frustrated with the Love situation, I still can't imagine them doing this with us. There will be plenty of teams on the market that will make a far superior offer. As someone said, everything mentioned in the trade scenario being discussed going from Phoenix to Cleveland are question marks. With all these question marks, and the fact that Cleveland will take on sizable contracts, I'll be happy to get just a first round pick in a couple of years. If we take back a Mozgov or whatever, I'll just consider that the ticket price for moving our current issues and certainly will not look at him as a prospect that may help us down the line.

i wonder if cleveland will do this

http://basketball.realgm.com/tradecheck ... de/6651474

SDC wrote:i wonder if cleveland will do this

http://basketball.realgm.com/tradecheck ... de/6651474

Doubt it, at least not during the season. Trading Love admits they made a huge mistake, can't see that happening til the summer at the earliest.

iLLmatic wrote:-EB is injury prone.
-Warren has been a disappointment and lacks any sort of consistency. How much of that has to do with the coaching? I don't know.
-Alex Len has been a disappointment and is also injury prone.

Warren a disappointment? So far he has proved an efficient scorer with reliable offensive tricks, nice off the ball movement and is even developing 3pt accuracy. He is not a factor on defense or the boards but unless you were one of those guys tossing Shawn Marion comparisons around, he basically is who we thought he'd be. Do you know how many players his age or under are giving you clear cut better totals and/or %? Davis, Beal, the Freak, Okafor, Porzingis, KAT, Wiggins, Drummond.

Len is a role player. Not what you want from your #5 pick but look around. Not a single guy that was a realistic target is on his way to stardom. That draft was laughable at the top. Again, I don't know what people were expecting. Injury proneness is frustrating, but this guy has potential to become a consistent Portland's RoLo type, only with much better mobility and larger totals. I'll take it. Also there's an outside chance to make him a factor for stretching purposes (while not being a liability at the FT line).

Bledsoe is what he is. He can stuff a stat sheet but if he is your best player you are in trouble. He'll have to prove himself again after another meniscus although if you are going to suffer a real knee injury, this is not the worst by a mile. He has proved you can come back at full strength and since we are losing so much, maybe you could call it a blessing in disguise. After all, a ton of people were pulling for loses and a high draft pick and this basically guarantees it (unless the FO makes a crazy move for a win now piece).

All that being said, of course everbody is tradeable. Patience is a virtue, though.

Ring, I pretty much agree with everything you've said. I think Len has potential to get into the mid-70s in free throw shooting and can develop a usable mid-range game. His release is quick enough for that game to be meaningful, rather than for it simply not hurt.

Good post, Ring.

I get what you guys are saying too, and they can probably get more for him. But Love is only playing 19 mpg. He literally makes more than a million per mpg this year. Yeah.

Indy wrote:I get what you guys are saying too, and they can probably get more for him. But Love is only playing 19 mpg. He literally makes more than a million per mpg this year. Yeah.

He's averaging 32.3 mpg.

Shabazz wrote:

Indy wrote:I get what you guys are saying too, and they can probably get more for him. But Love is only playing 19 mpg. He literally makes more than a million per mpg this year. Yeah.

He's averaging 32.3 mpg.

Well that's a bit different. I was really surprised to see it so I checked it twice. Serves me right for trying to post in the middle of a huge travel/meeting week. Thanks for fixing that Bazz.

My man!

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... -1.2505032

Former NBA All-Star Cliff Robinson, who played on five teams including the Portland Trail Blazers throughout his career, is going into the marijuana game.

Robinson will open a business where he lives in Portland, Ore., under the aptly named Uncle Spliffy - a play on the nickname he earned on the hardwood, Uncle Cliffy.

TheOriginalOriginal wrote:

SDC wrote:i wonder if cleveland will do this

http://basketball.realgm.com/tradecheck ... de/6651474

Doubt it, at least not during the season. Trading Love admits they made a huge mistake, can't see that happening til the summer at the earliest.

they HAVE made a mistake. now, it's time to fix that mistake with TWO players that can really help them-- Chandler and Keef.

Why stop there? Why not trade Chandler and Kieff for Ibaka? Since they clearly are thin and could use more defensive presence and more scorers? Why not offer those two for Chris Bosh, since Miami clearly can't stay healthy and need bodies in the worst way? What about taking on the 10th greatest center of all time Hassan Whiteside in return, since Miami can't resign him to a max anyway?

pickle wrote:Why stop there? Why not trade Chandler and Kieff for Ibaka? Since they clearly are thin and could use more defensive presence and more scorers? Why not offer those two for Chris Bosh, since Miami clearly can't stay healthy and need bodies in the worst way? What about taking on the 10th greatest center of all time Hassan Whiteside in return, since Miami can't resign him to a max anyway?

cleveland is in WIN NOW mode. cleveland isnt looking for young players or draft picks. chandler is (kinda) expensive but has championship experience and is better than mozgov. Kieff is not just a better fit than love, he is a better player, period, at a cheaper price.

and while chandler will be seen as a luxury in cleveland, markieff morris is essential.

Markieff is not a better player than love. At his best, kieff < love at his worst

Markieff is not a better player than love. At his best, kieff < love at his worst

if i need a last second basket, i go to to morris over love.

That's a different question. However, this year I wouldn't want kieff taking any shot.

So ... OKC isn't in win now mode... Got it. And Markieff Morris is better than Kevin Love. Got it. Why are we trying to throw away a guy who is on an absolute basis better than a man that's making nearly 3 times the salary but performs at a lower level again? Remind me please? I still prefer Ibaka, if we absolutely had to get rid of Markieff.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/n ... /79198016/

Suns guard Brandon Knight flew to Los Angeles on Friday morning to visit his agent’s doctor for a second opinion on his groin injury. Knight has been dealing with a groin strain since the Dec. 31 game at Oklahoma City but he aggravated the injury Tuesday night in a home loss to Indiana and did not play Thursday.

Sounds like he will be out at least a few games. Maybe he is trying to find an excuse to stay out even longer. It is probably in our favor that he is out. The only thing he was really doing on the court was tanking any trade value he had left.

I'd rather watch Goodwin force layups and draw fouls than Knight force jumpers. Neither option is great, but at least Goodwin is fun to watch at times.