Suns News: Week 17 2/15-2/21

[carey]

Two games this week and then they are off for 9 days.

Last Week's Games

vs. Oklahoma City LOSS 122-106
vs. Golden State LOSS 112-104

This Week's Games

Friday, February 19th vs. Houston 9:30PM EST
Sunday, February 21st vs. San Antonio 5:00PM EST


Suns Stories

Trade Deadline 2016, Ranking Suns Movable Parts: http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/ ... ght-booker
Watch as Booker finishes 3rd and vows to be back: http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/ ... -to-splash

[carey]

When we play on Friday, Knight will have missed an entire month. Do you think he makes it back this season? Only 28 games left.

[Ring_Wanted]

If he gets healthy he needs to play. It's not like he'll hurt the tanking anyway. Too bad no other guy is closer to being a PG, otherwise this would be a perfect chance to make him the 6th man.

[Superbone]

Nice long interview with Jerry Colangelo on the AZSports app. Again mentions how nobody in the Suns org ever contacted him. Also talked about how he would deal with a hypothetical bad apple that started playing hard after a coaching change.

[Furlanfufi]

Bone, what did Jerry said?

[Superbone]

Bone, what did Jerry said?

I don't remember the details, to be honest with you. It was kind of hard to follow since Jerry now works for the 76ers organization and he's not allowed to talk about specific players and situations on other teams.

It was a fun listen though. They played the Godfather music when he came on and referred to him as the Godfather of Phoenix.

[carey]

Gambo is saying they like MIrza and want to weigh re-signing him next year. We don't have his bird rights so he'd have to fit under the cap (which is no problem.) The problem will be if we sign another FA and then try to fit Mirza under the cap because we won't be able to go over the cap to sign him. I like the guy, but he's 30-years-old, doesn't defend, and really is only useful when he's hot from three.

[Mori Chu]

I'd be fine with keeping Mirza around as long as we don't break the bank on him. He's basically delivered what was promised / hoped for this year after overcoming a few weeks at the start of the season when he was a bit out of shape.

[Sunsfan4life]

Can anyone post the espn insider article on grading the deadline deals? Also deadline winners n losers or atleast relay the suns part

[OE32]

Gambo is saying they like MIrza and want to weigh re-signing him next year. We don't have his bird rights so he'd have to fit under the cap (which is no problem.) The problem will be if we sign another FA and then try to fit Mirza under the cap because we won't be able to go over the cap to sign him.

I like the idea of keeping Telly.

I like the guy, but he's 30-years-old, doesn't defend, and really is only useful when he's hot from three.

Which is quite often. What's great about Mirza is how quickly he can pull up - similar to Frye, except that Mirza has deeper range and worse D. Teams have to respect that shot. I don't think we were excited at the prospect of adding a 2nd round pick for Mirza. We already have 4 picks in the top 35 this year. What are we, the Sixers?

[carey]

Can anyone post the espn insider article on grading the deadline deals? Also deadline winners n losers or atleast relay the suns part

Phoenix Suns: B+

This trade presents one of the toughest challenges possible to the philosophy of grading.

Looking strictly at what we knew entering this morning, for the Suns to land a pick that's likely to land in the middle of the first round for the disgruntled Morris is a huge win.

On the other hand, had you told me last June that Phoenix would trade Morris for expiring contracts and a pick that can't fall in the top eight, I probably would have been mildly disappointed. At that point, Morris looked like a key part of the Suns' core. He was coming off a successful season as a starter at age 25 and just beginning one of the league's best contracts, paying him an average of $8 million as the cap rises dramatically.

Of course, a lot has happened over the last eight months, starting with the trade of twin brother Marcus. That and other events led to the point where a Markieff Morris trade was inevitable. He couldn't continue in Phoenix after publicly demanding a trade, mailing in the first half of the season, throwing a towel at Jeff Hornacek and most recently fighting on the bench with teammate Archie Goodwin during the Suns' last game before the deadline.

Whatever the return, Phoenix was better off as an organization without Morris. So the Suns have to be thrilled that someone was able to offer them a pretty good first-round pick. Washington would pick 12th if the season ended today, and while Morris might lift the Wizards into playoff contention, it's hard to see this selection falling much lower than about 16th.

Phoenix also wipes the books clean after this season. Blair will be a free agent, while Humphries' $4.6 million salary is non-guaranteed. This summer isn't really the time for the Suns to be players in free agency, not coming off this train wreck of a season, but the flexibility is a positive for Phoenix.

Washington Wizards: D

For the Wizards, this deal is a calculated risk.

Let's start with what this deal is not. It is not a change of strategy from their pursuit of Kevin Durant. In fact, the Durant possibility surely added a level of urgency to making a move. Washington has enough wiggle room under the projected 2016-17 salary cap to add Morris' salary and still have space for a max offer to Durant, presuming the Wizards lose their first-round pick to the Suns in this deal.

Essentially, Morris becomes the other free agent(s) Washington could have signed before or after Durant. It helps that Morris' contract was already structured to maximize cap space this summer. The Suns chose to have his salary descend to $7.4 million in 2016-17 before returning to $8 million in 2017-18 and $8.6 million the following season.

If the Wizards are to have real hope of signing Durant, they surely have to finish the season in more impressive fashion than their below-.500 first half. And that's where they hope Morris can help. As disastrous as his season has been, Morris has shown since Phoenix fired Hornacek that the talent is still there, averaging 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists in five games under interim coach Earl Watson.

Morris fits Washington's desire to get more floor spacing and athleticism out of the power forward position. He's a below-average 3-point shooter (32.4 percent) but still enough of a threat that opponents must chase him out to the line, particularly because Morris can put the ball on the ground and make the occasional play for himself or teammates.

The bigger factor in the short-term success or failure of this deal will be Morris' defense. In part because of the smaller lineups they've played, the Wizards have slipped from fifth in defensive rating in 2014-15 to 21st so far this season. When engaged, Morris can be a plus defender at power forward; he ranked sixth defensively in ESPN's Real Plus-Minus last year but has dropped to 56th this season because of his inadequate effort.

There might be an opening for Washington in the postseason. The Miami Heat's playoff chances will take a hit if Chris Bosh misses an extended period due to his health, while the Detroit Pistons have likely hurt their chances with a busy trade deadline. (The Charlotte Hornets are the other contender who clearly helped their playoff odds by adding Courtney Lee.) But the Wizards are three games out and haven't played nearly as well as the nine teams ahead of them so far this season.

Having focused on the "calculated" portion of the trade, let's talk about the risk. As good as Morris' contract looks when he's motivated and effective, it could become a millstone if he continues to misbehave on and off the court. (Compared to the felony assault charges he and his brother are facing, Morris' on-court foibles look trivial.)

Teams could excuse Morris' poor relationship with the Phoenix organization as a product of the team going back on its word that the twins would play together if they signed below-market extensions. If Morris can't coexist with Washington, he might not maintain his value.

Despite his skills and his great contract, I don't personally think Morris is worth the trouble he brings. That's why despite the potential benefits, I don't like this trade for the Wizards.

[Superbone]

Telly is fun to watch. I don't mind keeping him around.

[carey]

Just in case you want to see some official front office spin. He did not appear on Burns & Gambo today because the trade call did not go through while the show was on the air. I expect him to be on between 2 and 3 AZ time tomorrow.

[youtube][/youtube]

[Ring_Wanted]

Telly is fun to watch. I don't mind keeping him around.

I don't mind either, as long as he is nothing more than our third PF. He should be playing behind Leuer.

[Superbone]

Wow, you can really tell a huge weight has been lifted from McDonough's shoulders in that interview. He seemed to have a lot more pep in his step, so to speak.

[Superbone]

Check out Earl Watson's interview on Doug & Wolf:

http://arizonasports.com/player/?a=319227

I think we have to give this guy a chance. He seems to be a natural leader of men. I think he'll be very good for our young team.

[Cap]

If he can lift Mjolnir, he can stay.

[Indy]

Check out Earl Watson's interview on Doug & Wolf:

http://arizonasports.com/player/?a=319227

I think we have to give this guy a chance. He seems to be a natural leader of men. I think he'll be very good for our young team.

Obviously he is selling himself (to the Suns and every other team in the league) during that interview. But I will say that he said all the right things. If he believes what he said, and is capable of instilling his beliefs in others, and understands his limitations (and is willing to lose face at times as a result), he could turn out to be a very good coach.

[Superbone]

Check out Earl Watson's interview on Doug & Wolf:

http://arizonasports.com/player/?a=319227

I think we have to give this guy a chance. He seems to be a natural leader of men. I think he'll be very good for our young team.

Obviously he is selling himself (to the Suns and every other team in the league) during that interview. But I will say that he said all the right things. If he believes what he said, and is capable of instilling his beliefs in others, and understands his limitations (and is willing to lose face at times as a result), he could turn out to be a very good coach.

Yes to all of that. I really hope we give him a real shot and don't just try to grab a name coach. I'm genuinely excited about the prospect of growing a young coach and young team over time. I like our young foundation and I'm excited to see how we add to it with the upcoming draft.

[Superbone]

* Cole Mickelson’s Stone Cole Fact o’ the Day: Devin Booker is the only player in NBA history to record a 30-point game, a 10-rebound game and a 10-assist game before turning 20 years old.