The 2021 Suns Offseason

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Flagrant Fowl
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The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Flagrant Fowl »

The long grind starts later than it has in nearly 30 years. Let's see if James Jones can live up to that EOY award.

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The Bobster
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by The Bobster »

They need to re-sign Payne and Paul, and need to find a couple of serviceable big men, one who is starter quality and one who can play some minutes with out everything turning to shit.

Getting Craig back would be a nice luxury.
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Split T
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Split T »

Is there a long, athletic 4 that shoots 3s, creates shots for himself and others, and can defend 1-5 that we can add? I’d try to do that, haha

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JeremyG
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by JeremyG »

I keep saying we need another rebounder next to Ayton. Kevin Love from five years ago would be perfect.
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djy2j
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by djy2j »

Getting bigger should be a priority. Dario showed in the playoffs he isn’t real effective on guys equal to his size or bigger. I was figuring they’d unload him but with his injury I’m not sure they can.

Figure out a better role for Craig if they intend to keep him. Moving him around in all different positions seemed to render him more ineffective as the playoffs went on. He should have more effective against the Bucks but wasn’t.

Figure out if Jaylen Smith is an NBA players. It’s not or never this off-season for him.

Booker needs a 3 point shot. And he needs a consistent one to take the next step.

Resign CP. He faltered in the finals but he was a big part of why we were here.

I’d like to keep Moore for veteran presence. He had some rough moments on the court but he also had some games in the second half of the season where he showed he could still play. He seems to be a great mentor.

Figure out if Carter is still a fit. Was hoping for more from him this season and in the playoffs. He was pretty nonexistent overall.

Extensions for Mikal, Ayton, and Payne. I think Payne may have played himself back to affordable with his finals struggles.

No more Frank Kaminsky. Please?

Draft either shooting or an overly quick player for his position.

A tall PG could be an asset to throw out there with guys like Ja Morant and Donovan Mitchell becoming stars.
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Nodack
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Nodack »

Another real Center. #1 priority.

What’s Pauls story? He stays? He goes? If he goes, the point guard position definitely becomes the #1 priority.

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Nodack
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Nodack »

We need another back up Center. Kaminsky did alright for a guy barely making any NBA team. Sarić had some good moments, was crafty but, has no athletic skills. He has trouble jumping over a postage stamp and he is injured a lot.

What about Jalen Smith? He barely got any playing time. I wonder if he starts breaking into the rotation next year and is he a power forward growing into being a center in a year or two after he puts on some weight or is he just a tall skinny power forward forever?

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Oatmeal
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Oatmeal »

Feel like Smith looked noticeably bigger as the season progressed, he's got the confidence it seems to go out and do it, good looking shot too, just needs time. I think he's gonna be alright.

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Indy
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Indy »

Craig would be great to keep if he can be had cheap. And he should be our big lineup SF, not a PF (or sometimes 5) like this season.

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Mori Chu
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Mori Chu »

I'm not sure what we should do. You could try to fix the roster to help us beat Milwaukee, but I am not convinced that MIL will be back in the Finals next year. Maybe we should be getting players to help us beat Brooklyn. Or the Lakers. Or the Nuggets.

Another big man would be nice. But I'm skeptical that we will be able to find one who is truly helpful.

I'm actually more worried about shot creation and guard play. Paul and Payne really struggled against big strong defenders who picked them up full-court and defenses that stayed home on shooters. And all our nice 3-and-D wings couldn't do anything with the ball when they occasionally caught it. Nobody could create a shot other than Paul and Booker, and watching them go 1-on-5 was painful. There's a recipe for beating us.

I think the biggest thing we need next year is for Mikal Bridges to work on his handles and his confidence. It hurt us a lot that he basically disappeared for entire games at a time on offense. And the fact that he needed to be spoon-fed every one of his baskets minimized his contribution on that end. If he had a little bit better handle, the way Cam Johnson seems to be developing, he would be a scary weapon. Long-term if Bridges and Johnson will be our starting forwards, if Bridges becomes a better ballhandler, that would be a really scary starting lineup in terms of offensive versatility.

I hope we resign almost everybody. Keep Payne, despite his epic chokejob through most of the later playoff rounds. Keep Craig if he'll stay cheap. Keep Kaminsky (yes, really!) as an end of the bench big who loves to play here and won't complain about minutes. Galloway, Moore, Carter, meh, any of them can be left if we aren't going to play them. I liked Moore but Coach seemed to lose confidence in him. Maybe Carter would have given us something but he was way out of the rotation. I'd like to see them sign another guard, preferably somebody a bit taller who can pass and defend.

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Indy
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Indy »

It is funny because I haven't seen Cameron Johnson handle the ball anywhere near as well as Bridges does. Bridges in the only non-guard that can create his own shot. But I agree that it is very sporadic. He was like that all year. I am hoping he is more aggressive with it next year. That will free up even more 3s for him.

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Drewsprocket
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Drewsprocket »

Mori Chu wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:30 am
I'm not sure what we should do. You could try to fix the roster to help us beat Milwaukee, but I am not convinced that MIL will be back in the Finals next year. Maybe we should be getting players to help us beat Brooklyn. Or the Lakers. Or the Nuggets.

Another big man would be nice. But I'm skeptical that we will be able to find one who is truly helpful.

I'm actually more worried about shot creation and guard play. Paul and Payne really struggled against big strong defenders who picked them up full-court and defenses that stayed home on shooters. And all our nice 3-and-D wings couldn't do anything with the ball when they occasionally caught it. Nobody could create a shot other than Paul and Booker, and watching them go 1-on-5 was painful. There's a recipe for beating us.

I think the biggest thing we need next year is for Mikal Bridges to work on his handles and his confidence. It hurt us a lot that he basically disappeared for entire games at a time on offense. And the fact that he needed to be spoon-fed every one of his baskets minimized his contribution on that end. If he had a little bit better handle, the way Cam Johnson seems to be developing, he would be a scary weapon. Long-term if Bridges and Johnson will be our starting forwards, if Bridges becomes a better ballhandler, that would be a really scary starting lineup in terms of offensive versatility.

I hope we resign almost everybody. Keep Payne, despite his epic chokejob through most of the later playoff rounds. Keep Craig if he'll stay cheap. Keep Kaminsky (yes, really!) as an end of the bench big who loves to play here and won't complain about minutes. Galloway, Moore, Carter, meh, any of them can be left if we aren't going to play them. I liked Moore but Coach seemed to lose confidence in him. Maybe Carter would have given us something but he was way out of the rotation. I'd like to see them sign another guard, preferably somebody a bit taller who can pass and defend.
I agree about our guard play. Payne is gonna be as good as it gets unless we snag some other vet who actually can get into the playoff rotation. As good as Carter, Moore, and Galloway it’s disappointing that they don’t fit in with us in the playoffs.
Cam Johnson should be ready for a jump next season and I suspect that’s what Monty will need to build on. Game 6 was a clear way Ayton to recognize it’s time for him to learn how to finish strong in the paint against other bigs in this league. Ideally, we need to upgrade Saric.

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Indy
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Indy »

Drewsprocket wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:50 am
Mori Chu wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 7:30 am
I'm not sure what we should do. You could try to fix the roster to help us beat Milwaukee, but I am not convinced that MIL will be back in the Finals next year. Maybe we should be getting players to help us beat Brooklyn. Or the Lakers. Or the Nuggets.

Another big man would be nice. But I'm skeptical that we will be able to find one who is truly helpful.

I'm actually more worried about shot creation and guard play. Paul and Payne really struggled against big strong defenders who picked them up full-court and defenses that stayed home on shooters. And all our nice 3-and-D wings couldn't do anything with the ball when they occasionally caught it. Nobody could create a shot other than Paul and Booker, and watching them go 1-on-5 was painful. There's a recipe for beating us.

I think the biggest thing we need next year is for Mikal Bridges to work on his handles and his confidence. It hurt us a lot that he basically disappeared for entire games at a time on offense. And the fact that he needed to be spoon-fed every one of his baskets minimized his contribution on that end. If he had a little bit better handle, the way Cam Johnson seems to be developing, he would be a scary weapon. Long-term if Bridges and Johnson will be our starting forwards, if Bridges becomes a better ballhandler, that would be a really scary starting lineup in terms of offensive versatility.

I hope we resign almost everybody. Keep Payne, despite his epic chokejob through most of the later playoff rounds. Keep Craig if he'll stay cheap. Keep Kaminsky (yes, really!) as an end of the bench big who loves to play here and won't complain about minutes. Galloway, Moore, Carter, meh, any of them can be left if we aren't going to play them. I liked Moore but Coach seemed to lose confidence in him. Maybe Carter would have given us something but he was way out of the rotation. I'd like to see them sign another guard, preferably somebody a bit taller who can pass and defend.
I agree about our guard play. Payne is gonna be as good as it gets unless we snag some other vet who actually can get into the playoff rotation. As good as Carter, Moore, and Galloway it’s disappointing that they don’t fit in with us in the playoffs.
Cam Johnson should be ready for a jump next season and I suspect that’s what Monty will need to build on. Game 6 was a clear way Ayton to recognize it’s time for him to learn how to finish strong in the paint against other bigs in this league. Ideally, we need to upgrade Saric.
You'd think the series defining block on Ayton at the rim by Giannis would be that wake up call. I mean Ayton was just trying to finesse the ball in by using his fingertips. No way Giannis gets that block if Ayton was actually dunking that ball. I am torn between being happy to see how great defensively and offensively Ayton can be in the playoffs, but pissed seeing him do almost nothing in the finals. (To be fair, we got nothing out of a lot of our guys)

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ShelC
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by ShelC »

Gotta take care of our own guys first. CP with a 3yr 90mil ext would be ideal unless he's willing to take less. Any kind of partial guarantee on the 3rd year would be ideal too. My concern with Paul is his age obviously. I'd hate to have to watch the Finals version of Paul for the next 3 years. He clearly wore down and was banged up, which is to be expected during a Finals run, but my fear is that he gets old fast and we're locked in on the guy we saw in Games 5 and 6. But re-signing him is a no brainer.

Payne I'd love to have back at the right price but I think another team throws more money at him. He was great for us this year so it'll be tough to replace him if he leaves. Need a scoring PG with some burst who can create their own shot without messing up the offense. It's a tough balance.

Love Mikal but I'm not giving him a deal starting at more than 20mil. Maybe it's too soon for me after the playoffs but he's a high end role player, not a 3rd guy you pay out. He got exposed a bit offensively and couldn't impact games at that end when we needed that 3rd scorer. Giving him a big 25mi/year deal will only hamstring us and make him a target when he's averaging 12pts a game.

DA is gonna get paid but I'm just as worried about him. He's grown a ton defensively but is another guy who doesn't really impact things on offense unless Book or CP are putting the ball right at the rim for him. He doesn't play with any power or force and isn't scaring anyone offensively in the paint. Do we pay him to be a #2 next to Book? Will he eventually step into that role?

Aside from those guys, I love our team but we need more size and length in the frontcourt. We loaded up on wings and while they all do different things well, we just need more size and length. I just don't know how the money or minutes shake out if we add that frontcourt player. It could come at the expense of Craig. And we still have no idea what we have in Stix.

I'd expect Moore and Gallo gone, tho maybe one comes back on a minimum deal. It's good to have vets like that ready to play. If we re-sign Cam and keep Carter, Moore and Gallo probably get replaced with a big. I'd keep Frank too on a minimum deal because guys like him are impactful even if they're not playing. He's a Monty fave so I think he's back.

Agree that we shouldn't make changes just to beat the Bucks next year, but we do need help at the 4/5. Again, maybe Stix is that guy and he fits the profile physically but I'd expect us to add another vet who can take Dario's minutes.

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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Bucktastic365 »

Split T wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 10:27 pm
Is there a long, athletic 4 that shoots 3s, creates shots for himself and others, and can defend 1-5 that we can add? I’d try to do that, haha
Christian Wood was my 1st thought. Miles Turner?

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Indy
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Indy »

ShelC wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:11 am
Gotta take care of our own guys first. CP with a 3yr 90mil ext would be ideal unless he's willing to take less. Any kind of partial guarantee on the 3rd year would be ideal too. My concern with Paul is his age obviously. I'd hate to have to watch the Finals version of Paul for the next 3 years. He clearly wore down and was banged up, which is to be expected during a Finals run, but my fear is that he gets old fast and we're locked in on the guy we saw in Games 5 and 6. But re-signing him is a no brainer.

Payne I'd love to have back at the right price but I think another team throws more money at him. He was great for us this year so it'll be tough to replace him if he leaves. Need a scoring PG with some burst who can create their own shot without messing up the offense. It's a tough balance.

Love Mikal but I'm not giving him a deal starting at more than 20mil. Maybe it's too soon for me after the playoffs but he's a high end role player, not a 3rd guy you pay out. He got exposed a bit offensively and couldn't impact games at that end when we needed that 3rd scorer. Giving him a big 25mi/year deal will only hamstring us and make him a target when he's averaging 12pts a game.

DA is gonna get paid but I'm just as worried about him. He's grown a ton defensively but is another guy who doesn't really impact things on offense unless Book or CP are putting the ball right at the rim for him. He doesn't play with any power or force and isn't scaring anyone offensively in the paint. Do we pay him to be a #2 next to Book? Will he eventually step into that role?

Aside from those guys, I love our team but we need more size and length in the frontcourt. We loaded up on wings and while they all do different things well, we just need more size and length. I just don't know how the money or minutes shake out if we add that frontcourt player. It could come at the expense of Craig. And we still have no idea what we have in Stix.

I'd expect Moore and Gallo gone, tho maybe one comes back on a minimum deal. It's good to have vets like that ready to play. If we re-sign Cam and keep Carter, Moore and Gallo probably get replaced with a big. I'd keep Frank too on a minimum deal because guys like him are impactful even if they're not playing. He's a Monty fave so I think he's back.

Agree that we shouldn't make changes just to beat the Bucks next year, but we do need help at the 4/5.
Again, maybe Stix is that guy and he fits the profile physically but I'd expect us to add another vet who can take Dario's minutes.
This. I think we would still have beat the Lakers if both teams were healthy all series, but the bigs make it tough. We can really only match up with 1 at a time. We need to get someone bigger than Jae and more dynamic than Saric.

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England Sun
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by England Sun »

Being honest with the team make up is the priority.

Regular season quality is ‘reaching playoff’ sufficient so we need to look at players who can contribute to make that next step.

Who wasn’t good enough for what was needed?
Who didn’t contribute at all once the rotation tightened?
What did we struggle against and what did other teams exploit?

What can we reasonably afford if CP resigns?
What do we need if he goes elsewhere?

My take is that you start looking for 4/5 size.
Starting 4 in a Crowder is OK but struggled against size as we all said he would.
Back up 4/5 size and ability killed us against bigger teams.

Saric (injury makes it difficult) not good enough against real size and the least athletic big I’ve seen in a while.
Kamiksky- not good enough.
Moore- fine for the regular season need something better for playoffs.
Galloway - see Moore.
Stix - None of us know what he will offer, but shown little to nothing so far so won’t move the needle.
Alexander - Nothing
Carter- Regular season help only.
Nader- average at best.

That’s 8/9 players we need to look at replacing or shuffling to get what we need to support our starting 4/5 for the finals run.

Anything else is being sentimental.
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Drewsprocket
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Drewsprocket »

ShelC wrote:
Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:11 am
Gotta take care of our own guys first. CP with a 3yr 90mil ext would be ideal unless he's willing to take less. Any kind of partial guarantee on the 3rd year would be ideal too. My concern with Paul is his age obviously. I'd hate to have to watch the Finals version of Paul for the next 3 years. He clearly wore down and was banged up, which is to be expected during a Finals run, but my fear is that he gets old fast and we're locked in on the guy we saw in Games 5 and 6. But re-signing him is a no brainer.

Payne I'd love to have back at the right price but I think another team throws more money at him. He was great for us this year so it'll be tough to replace him if he leaves. Need a scoring PG with some burst who can create their own shot without messing up the offense. It's a tough balance.

Love Mikal but I'm not giving him a deal starting at more than 20mil. Maybe it's too soon for me after the playoffs but he's a high end role player, not a 3rd guy you pay out. He got exposed a bit offensively and couldn't impact games at that end when we needed that 3rd scorer. Giving him a big 25mi/year deal will only hamstring us and make him a target when he's averaging 12pts a game.

DA is gonna get paid but I'm just as worried about him. He's grown a ton defensively but is another guy who doesn't really impact things on offense unless Book or CP are putting the ball right at the rim for him. He doesn't play with any power or force and isn't scaring anyone offensively in the paint. Do we pay him to be a #2 next to Book? Will he eventually step into that role?

Aside from those guys, I love our team but we need more size and length in the frontcourt. We loaded up on wings and while they all do different things well, we just need more size and length. I just don't know how the money or minutes shake out if we add that frontcourt player. It could come at the expense of Craig. And we still have no idea what we have in Stix.

I'd expect Moore and Gallo gone, tho maybe one comes back on a minimum deal. It's good to have vets like that ready to play. If we re-sign Cam and keep Carter, Moore and Gallo probably get replaced with a big. I'd keep Frank too on a minimum deal because guys like him are impactful even if they're not playing. He's a Monty fave so I think he's back.

Agree that we shouldn't make changes just to beat the Bucks next year, but we do need help at the 4/5. Again, maybe Stix is that guy and he fits the profile physically but I'd expect us to add another vet who can take Dario's minutes.
Yea it’s frustrating but to his respect, CP3 and coaching staff prioritized Ayton developing a work ethic and foundation as a defender. And Ayton established himself as a top five center - without being a strong finisher against bigs.
The next thing coming his way will be the hard reality that he is too soft against bigs in the paint. Lakers will be healthy next year and you better believe AD and bron are gonna run the same strategy against us as the Bucks.
I think Lakers will be our biggest foes because we have no answer for how big they can play us. For that we will need a guy who get solid minutes alongside or backing up Ayton. More youthful Baynes type.

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Uncle_Gene
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Uncle_Gene »

Nodack wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:23 pm
We need another back up Center. Kaminsky did alright for a guy barely making any NBA team. Sarić had some good moments, was crafty but, has no athletic skills. He has trouble jumping over a postage stamp and he is injured a lot.

What about Jalen Smith? He barely got any playing time. I wonder if he starts breaking into the rotation next year and is he a power forward growing into being a center in a year or two after he puts on some weight or is he just a tall skinny power forward forever?
I think Jalen Smith has potential. He can shoot from outside and I think can be a defensive presence in the paint with weakside shotblocking. He needs time.
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Uncle_Gene
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Re: The 2021 Suns Offseason

Post by Uncle_Gene »

Here's some guys I think the Suns should look at in the offseason. All PF/C's of course.

Enes Kanter (POR) UFA, Jarrett Allen (CLE) RFA, Andre Drummond (LAL) UFA, Dwight Howard (PHI) UFA, Mitchell Robinson (NYK) RFA ,
JaVale McGee (DEN) UFA

Those are my choices for guys that have a chance to be here next season. Suns need more size, plain and simple. Thoughts ?
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