2022 Trade Deadline Talk

[pickle]

I think Thad would’ve been better than Craig, but someone did ante up a first rounder and took on all 14 mil of his salary so that’s not a price I would’ve paid, so I’m ok with that. Very happy with Craig and Holiday. Am intrigued to see if Holiday can be a long term piece.

[Split T]

I’d say we’ve got 7 guys who are pretty locked into playoff minutes, plus at least one other guy that might rotate around.

Starters: Paul/Book/Bridges/Crowder/Ayton

Bench locks: The Cams

Backup C: McGee or Craig depending on situation.

I think it’s likely we’ll probably play a 9th guy as well and that would most likely be either Craig or Shamet(depends if we need rebounding/defense/size or shooting/ball handling)

So in order(of importance and tiered)

1. Paul
2. Booker

3. Bridges
4. Ayton

5. Crowder
6. Johnson

7. Payne

8. McGee
9. Craig
10. Shamet

11. Biyombo
12. Holiday

13. Kaminsky
14. Payton(or Nader)
15. Saric

[Oatmeal]

I think Thad would’ve been better than Craig, but someone did ante up a first rounder and took on all 14 mil of his salary so that’s not a price I would’ve paid, so I’m ok with that. Very happy with Craig and Holiday. Am intrigued to see if Holiday can be a long term piece.

Thad Young has been doodoo this year, Craig is a better fit imo.

[SunsRIt]

I like what we brought in. I think they shored up what needed to be shored up.

[pickle]

I think Thad would’ve been better than Craig, but someone did ante up a first rounder and took on all 14 mil of his salary so that’s not a price I would’ve paid, so I’m ok with that. Very happy with Craig and Holiday. Am intrigued to see if Holiday can be a long term piece.

Thad Young has been doodoo this year, Craig is a better fit imo.

I'm quite happy with the moves we made, so let me be very clear on that.

I don't think it's fair to rate Thad Young based on the fact that Pop didn't allow him off the bench. He's a bigger player, standing 6'8 with plus length and decent bulk, so I think if he were to play at the 4 he'd provide more rebounding for us, which was a big problem last year. Try as he might, Crowder is undersized for the 4 spot and I don't think McGee and Bizzy can play alongside Ayton. For that alone I think Thad fits a need a bit more than Craig does. Also Thad is a decent facilitator in the high post, so he would've been perfect for what we needed. But he's not available, and that's okay. We know what Craig is and I'm intrigued by Holiday. Can't believe he fell through the cracks.

[Oatmeal]

I was big on Holiday is draft year and also thought he may be a target after the way he went at the Suns the other day, just seemed like a fit.

[BlaCkAdDa]

Remember when we used two first to get rid of Kurt Thomas...is Thad any better at this pojtb..SA made like bandits

[specialsauce]

BYE ABDEl!!!!!!!!


Oh sweet Jesus GOODBYE

[Split T]

Remember when we used two first to get rid of Kurt Thomas...is Thad any better at this pojtb..SA made like bandits

Important to note that while Toronto gave up a 1st, they got back the Pistons 2nd, which right now would be 31st. So they dropped from 20 to 31 to get Thad and they saved some money.

[Split T]

From ESPN trade grades:

Suns: A-

After Craig averaged 12 MPG off the bench during last season's run to the NBA Finals, the Suns found themselves missing him this year. So, with the Pacers headed toward the draft lottery, they were able to bring him back at the deadline.

Craig had started 14 games and averaged a career-high 20.3 MPG in Indiana. His role will likely be smaller in Phoenix because the Suns are already flush at forward with starters Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder and reserve Cam Johnson, but there's a place for Craig in the rotation to defend physical combo forwards when Bridges and Crowder are resting.

Some 16 months after Phoenix drafted Smith 10th overall, he didn't figure into the team's long-term plans after having his third-year option declined. Smith has played more this season and there was briefly concern the Suns wouldn't be able to re-sign him this summer after a six-game stretch where he averaged 15.8 PPG and 10.2 RPG, but he's since been usurped in the rotation by journeyman center Bismack Biyombo.

One small but telling aspect of this deal is Phoenix's willingness to take on Craig's guaranteed salary for 2022-23, when the Suns are just $14 million below the luxury-tax line before re-signing restricted free agent Deandre Ayton. It's good news that didn't affect Phoenix's ability to add at the deadline. Alternatively, if the Suns are desperate to cut their tax bill over the summer, Craig will surely have value to another team.

Pacers: B+

Although Craig had played well, he didn't factor into the Pacers' long-term plans at age 31. Getting some value in return is the right move, especially now that Indiana looks likely to use cap space this summer. The Pacers will also get the rest of the season to look at Smith, though -- like the Suns -- they'll be limited to paying him the value of his declined option ($4.7 million) as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

[ShelC]

[Indy]

BYE ABDEl!!!!!!!!


Oh sweet Jesus GOODBYE

lol

[Indy]

I’d say we’ve got 7 guys who are pretty locked into playoff minutes, plus at least one other guy that might rotate around.

Starters: Paul/Book/Bridges/Crowder/Ayton

Bench locks: The Cams

Backup C: McGee or Craig depending on situation.

I think it’s likely we’ll probably play a 9th guy as well and that would most likely be either Craig or Shamet(depends if we need rebounding/defense/size or shooting/ball handling)

So in order(of importance and tiered)

1. Paul
2. Booker

3. Bridges
4. Ayton

5. Crowder
6. Johnson

7. Payne

8. McGee
9. Craig
10. Shamet

11. Biyombo
12. Holiday

13. Kaminsky
14. Payton(or Nader)
15. Saric

I would have a really hard time putting Jae and Cam in a different tier than Mikal and Ayton.

[Split T]

That’s fair…some of the tiers don’t really have much space between them. I think you could say that either Bridges or Ayton is our 3rd most important player…I don’t think either is way ahead of Cam or Jae, but I don’t think you can really argue that they are our 3rd most important player. From game to game, ya Cam or Jae could be 3rd most important, but not as consistently as Mikal or Deandre.

[Indy]

I guess it feels like the last month, I don't know who is going to be most impactful between those 4.

[Wormwood]

The Suns two moves were small, and largely stayed off the national radar. Most of the "trade grades" didn't even look at them.

I get the Holiday one. Yeah, he's the 4th PG on the team, and he's not even that good, and only debatably better than Payton. We get it.

But Craig? He moves the needle. Why?

Because Jae has a broken hand, and can't shoot for ****. Craig's also a better rebounder, shot blocker, and runs the floor better than Crowder. Crowder is less prone to mental lapses on defense. Both have a ridiculous motor.

I've been fairly unhappy with Crowder this year. Too slow to deal with faster 3s, too small to deal with taller 4's, and fairly useless on offense other than buying into the .5 system. He's shooting .393 from the field, and .339 from three. Ouch.

We still need an upgrade at PF, and I expect (well, hope with evidence) Craig will go back to something close to the numbers he posted last year with the Suns. If that happens, I would expect to see Crowder's minutes go down significantly, along with Mikal's a little.

I think Monty is too loyal to push crowder out of the starting line up, or maybe he tells him to take some time off to let his hand heal up. But Crowder's been our weak link all season, and this helps a bit. It also adds another high energy player who "fits" our system off the bench. If we can just get Payne back, and find a better 2-guard than Shamet on the buyout market, the bench mob is just going to murder other teams.

[pickle]

Holiday is a big upgrade over Payton. He’s not the fourth string by any means and I’d love to see him develop under Paul for a couple of years. I just hope he’s not too expensive to keep.

I love Craig but he’s not a better rebounder than Crowder. He’s longer than Crowder and is a more opportunistic offensive rebounder but overall Crowder is better at positioning and is bulkier so he is a much better defensive rebounder which is our bigger problem to be honest.

I certainly hope the depth can push everyone’s minutes down a bit. Don’t expect Craig to be an earth mover tho. His presence is so that when we dig into the bench and in late game situations where we have a sizable lead and want to rest the starters that things don’t go to shit.

[Indy]

Holiday is a big upgrade over Payton. He’s not the fourth string by any means and I’d love to see him develop under Paul for a couple of years. I just hope he’s not too expensive to keep.

I love Craig but he’s not a better rebounder than Crowder. He’s longer than Crowder and is a more opportunistic offensive rebounder but overall Crowder is better at positioning and is bulkier so he is a much better defensive rebounder which is our bigger problem to be honest.

I certainly hope the depth can push everyone’s minutes down a bit. Don’t expect Craig to be an earth mover tho. His presence is so that when we dig into the bench and in late game situations where we have a sizable lead and want to rest the starters that things don’t go to shit.

i agree with every word of this.

[djy2j]

Fine with keeping Ish over Nader. I know the contracts are different but Ish brings just as much (or little) as Nader did. Nader just can't stay healthy. ISh is an easier player to root for any how.

Happy they brought Craig back. I'm sure he's happy to be back also.

[Split T]

Ish doesn’t take up an actual roster spot, so he was never an option to waive in order to bring in Holiday