Trade: Chris Paul to Suns for Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre Jr.

[Split T]

Trade official and we’re keeping Nader it appears. No reason not too.

[ShelC]

I wonder if this deal would've been made had a normal season taken place and we hadn't had the great bubble performance.

[Shabazz]

Trade official and we’re keeping Nader it appears. No reason not too.

I think Nader’s option was picked up last week.

[Drewsprocket]

He hung 23 pts in garbage time. I look his moves. Good shooter, passer, uses his athleticism given his limits.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Nader is an NBA player on a team friendly contract. He'll easily contribute more than Jerome or Lecque.

[SunsRIt]

After the Suns showed what they could do without Oubre in the bubble I'm not the least bit sad to see him go. Especially if he could have played, but chose not too. I'm hoping CP3 will ride Ayton relentlessly to help him improve. Why can't they bring Amare in to show Ayton how to really attack the rim? I remember hearing Amare say his goal was to hurt the rim every time.

[3rdside]

That Bickley article might have been a little harsh but he does raise a good point about the risk of the Valley Boyz getting carried away with their relative success and celebrity and not backing it up this season.

Oubre's attitude might be questionable but he's gone so it doesn't matter, Ayton's attitude is questionable (imo) and Paul + Book are the perfect pair to ride him out of it.

I'm loving this trade even more by the minute.

[Charlie Smithy!]

INFORMER, I summon you!

Annnnnd I just saw he hasn't been active here in over a month

[Wally_West]

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Even though ESPN reported it, I hope we're keeping our options open on the timing of the trade. Or, if we are doing it prior to free agency, that we know some things/have some under the table commitments.

it feels like many of the teams/players already have stuff worked out and are just waiting to sign. At least, a lot more so than most years.

Probably as a result of the bubble. It was like a really long All Star weekend, and teams and players were already used to spend it gathering and exchanging propositions, but instead of the the tradeline, we got free agency shake hands deals in advance. Therefore, I trust Jones (and specially Jeff Bower) on how they choose to manage the timing of the deal. Either they know they have a guy signing for the MLE pending on this deal (The opposite of the Tyson Chandler experiment) or they have strong signals about our Free Agency not ripping anything worth forfeiting our “depth” that, as low ceiling and challenging as it is, is better that having to run into the minimum contracts bin with urgent needs.

It was great to see CP3 practically hand picking us, I knew we turned the corner in the bubble regarding our reputation around the league, but didn’t expect us to get so soon a big name (hopefully also a big gamer still) to take a gamble on taking this team to the next level. I was a Rubio fan, but CP3 potentially gives us so much more, that I can’t blame the office, specially if the initial interest came from him (some sources said tha OKC allow him to be the broker on the negotiations). And as much as Oubre’s energy was contagious and had a way to make things happen on the court, I never got to digest the idea of him as our third best player, and he likely would have secured that role if he was resigned, given the cap limitations coming with it.

I like so much more a Booker, Ayton, Paul top 3 and go fishing for a 4th wheel to ride this season, that a Booker, Ayton, Oubre, Rubio core. Not sure how good our chances were to sign someone relevant on and off the court with the current core, but Chris Paul will likely be a better recruiting tool next to Ayton and Booker, that Kelly and Rubio combined. He brings a lot of credibility to our table.

[Superbone]

[ShelC]

Whenever I watched Nader play I thought, "well he's scrappy". He's playable and will alleviate a bit of the logjam we had with Oubre, Cam and Mikal by not expecting 30mpg. We have our SFs and can get focus on a true PF now.

It was great to see CP3 practically hand picking us, I knew we turned the corner in the bubble regarding our reputation around the league, but didn’t expect us to get so soon a big name (hopefully also a big gamer still) to take a gamble on taking this team to the next level.

That shouldn't be overlooked. It's turned into a relationship league and we always wanted Book to be a recruiter for us. On top of that, the organization also has to have the pieces in place that guys feel good coming here with the expectation of winning. Never had that with McD.

[Flagrant Fowl]

I haven't seen anyone bring this up, so sorry if I missed it.

If you think about it, James Jones kinda turned Trevor Ariza into Chris Paul.

[ShelC]

I think it's more Ariza and TJ Warren for Chris Paul. We gave away TJ (plus a 2nd) to create space for Rubio. But still, not a bad haul!

[Ring_Wanted]

So how do you feel about Paul being a Sun?

You know me. I've called him CPMe for a decade. Not a huge fan of him *as a person.* He's a hell of a basketball player and when healthy can really improve the Suns. Just the space Booker will get when opposing teams have to move that much more to cover Paul on the perimeter. It will make the team better. I view it as a make it or bust move for this iteration of the Suns. The Booker-Ayton-X version. We now have our X and we'll either get to the playoffs in that 4-6 seed range or this will all end badly. I do wonder what happens when we plateau. What comes 'after' Chris Paul?

Yeah, totally agree on the make or break situation. Booker is not going to take another wasted year.

As for the future two years from now, anything can happen:

We can flame out, be it because Paul gets injuried, because he finally falls off or for any other reason including kids regressing, other injuries, etc. In this case, we are in for another rebuild with the only problem being the 2022 pick, but it has enough protection to not interfere (would have liked it more if it was a 2021 pick, though).

We can actually become a relevant team again. In that case, after Chris Paul we'll be in a pretty good position to make moves since his massive contract expires and we would be a desirable destination.

All in all, this is the kind of move PHX needed to make, even if Paul comes with some question marks.

[ShelC]

We've put ourselves on the map. Other players around the league are paying attention and not only will they see Book, but also a core of Mikal, Cam and DA during this stretch with Paul. So there may be a point guard or other star player in 2 years who sees themselves as a missing piece to the Suns.

[Wormwood]

Whenever I watched Nader play I thought, "well he's scrappy". He's playable and will alleviate a bit of the logjam we had with Oubre, Cam and Mikal by not expecting 30mpg. We have our SFs and can get focus on a true PF now.

It was great to see CP3 practically hand picking us, I knew we turned the corner in the bubble regarding our reputation around the league, but didn’t expect us to get so soon a big name (hopefully also a big gamer still) to take a gamble on taking this team to the next level.

That shouldn't be overlooked. It's turned into a relationship league and we always wanted Book to be a recruiter for us. On top of that, the organization also has to have the pieces in place that guys feel good coming here with the expectation of winning. Never had that with McD.

I think the Nader part of the deal is really underrated. Much better RPM than Oubre. Well above average defender. Huge 7'1" wing span on a 6'5" player allows him to guard at least 3 positions. Solid 3 point range means he won't kill you on offense as a guy the other team can just leave completely alone.

He's a 9th man, bur he's a really GOOD 9th man, if you take my meaning. Good insurance if any of our SGs or SFs get hurt, and he doesn't kill the team when he's on the court. You could replace Bridges or Cam Johnson with him, and it wouldn't kill the team dynamic. It wouldn't be as good, but it would still be functional. And that's exactly what you want out of a 8-10th man.

I like this one a lot for the price of his $1.7M contract, which expires next summer. We may want to bring him back, I suspect at the right price. He's not a big scorer, so he's not going to command a huge price on the market.

[ShelC]

Yea, I think he also fills that Kennard-type of role in a lesser capacity.

[carey]

Keith Smith was on Solar Panel and said that Nader is fine but you definitely don't want him out there for extended time. So basically he's a backup-backup wing.

[Split T]

Which is what I think he’ll be for us. No expectation of regular rotation minutes.