The 2021 Suns Offseason

[specialsauce]

Am I the only one that wants to see Smith play some real minutes for this team before putting him in a package for an expiring veteran?

I don’t want him playing real minutes for us. He sucks ass. Definitely not this season.

[Drewsprocket]

We don't have the time to wait around for him. Our time is now.

Exactly. We’ve got to clear out at least one of the following healthy heavy hitting Nuggets, Jazz, or possibly even Lakers next year.
Thad would give us more firepower to keep hitting teams late into the 3rd and early 4th quarters to get our stars good rest or coverage in foul trouble.

[wpmiller42]

Would we have to include Saric in a deal for Young? I don't see why the Spurs would want him, and I don't like the vibe of trading an injured player who worked hard and performed really well for us at times. If we could get away with just trading Smith and maybe a 2nd rounder, I'm more okay with that.

[Mori Chu]

Would we have to include Saric in a deal for Young? I don't see why the Spurs would want him, and I don't like the vibe of trading an injured player who worked hard and performed really well for us at times. If we could get away with just trading Smith and maybe a 2nd rounder, I'm more okay with that.

That'd suit me, but I think we would have to include Saric to make the salaries work.

[Drewsprocket]

Watching RJ on the Arenas podcast talking about Bucks gonna be tired tired next year. Makes me think about how Cam Payne and Cam J need expanded run to carry more score and energy output to make sure Book and CP3 are ready for reg season. I know Book feels like he’s got something to prove, I just hope we see some real shared heavy lifting by the bench to be healthy come Playoff time.

[Split T]

I’m all for coasting a bit early on. CP3 won’t want to sit out games, but scale his minutes back. Especially on back to backs. I’d also love to see us put guys like Payne, Mikal, Cam, and Ayton in situations where they have to create. Let Book and CP3 rest off ball more.

[ShelC]

It would suck to include Saric, who's injured, but he'd have to be in the deal for salary purposes. He's dead money for the Spurs, which is probably part of the reason why they want a 1st. It's the shit part of the business but if the Spurs are open to taking him, you try and get the deal done.

I love what Saric does and how he plays, but I wonder if we can slide Frank into that "connector" role, just on a more limited basis when needed, and not as the 1st big off the bench for 20 mpg. We were limited with Saric as our only backup big anyway, even as well as he had been playing for us. Thad would give us more defensive versatility, length and athleticism, maybe less playmaking (tho adequate) and outside shooting.

The question becomes whether Thad can (wants to) handle minutes at the 5 as Saric did. We know Crowder and CamJ are our primary 4s so there won't be too many minutes there. We can win with them as our 4s in the regular season, but will need more size/depth in the playoffs. And while we signed McGee, I see him more as insurance for DA and being valuable in the playoffs in certain matchups. McGee may not be an every game player for us in the regular season while Thad would be. And Thad would also give us a bigger option at the 4 next to either DA or McGee should we need to play bigger.

I’m all for coasting a bit early on. CP3 won’t want to sit out games, but scale his minutes back. Especially on back to backs. I’d also love to see us put guys like Payne, Mikal, Cam, and Ayton in situations where they have to create. Let Book and CP3 rest off ball more.

I'd imagine that's the plan early on in the season. Monty probably knows he can't run his main guys like he did last year, despite how much they want to play. We've proven ourselves too and brought everyone back so the chemistry is already there. Also don't know the status of CP's wrist so maybe he eases into the season. I doubt Book will want to sit much but he had a long season plus Olympics. It may cost us a few games but we can't have our guys hitting the wall in December.

[Split T]

Thad is actually a very good playmaker. Chicago ran their bench offense through him last year. He could more than step into the connector role for us.

[Superbone]

Let's not count our chickens before they hatch.

[Drewsprocket]

It would suck to include Saric, who's injured, but he'd have to be in the deal for salary purposes. He's dead money for the Spurs, which is probably part of the reason why they want a 1st. It's the shit part of the business but if the Spurs are open to taking him, you try and get the deal done.

I love what Saric does and how he plays, but I wonder if we can slide Frank into that "connector" role, just on a more limited basis when needed, and not as the 1st big off the bench for 20 mpg. We were limited with Saric as our only backup big anyway, even as well as he had been playing for us. Thad would give us more defensive versatility, length and athleticism, maybe less playmaking (tho adequate) and outside shooting.

The question becomes whether Thad can (wants to) handle minutes at the 5 as Saric did. We know Crowder and CamJ are our primary 4s so there won't be too many minutes there. We can win with them as our 4s in the regular season, but will need more size/depth in the playoffs. And while we signed McGee, I see him more as insurance for DA and being valuable in the playoffs in certain matchups. McGee may not be an every game player for us in the regular season while Thad would be. And Thad would also give us a bigger option at the 4 next to either DA or McGee should we need to play bigger.

I’m all for coasting a bit early on. CP3 won’t want to sit out games, but scale his minutes back. Especially on back to backs. I’d also love to see us put guys like Payne, Mikal, Cam, and Ayton in situations where they have to create. Let Book and CP3 rest off ball more.

I'd imagine that's the plan early on in the season. Monty probably knows he can't run his main guys like he did last year, despite how much they want to play. We've proven ourselves too and brought everyone back so the chemistry is already there. Also don't know the status of CP's wrist so maybe he eases into the season. I doubt Book will want to sit much but he had a long season plus Olympics. It may cost us a few games but we can't have our guys hitting the wall in December.

It’s time to let go of Saric. His negatives outweigh his potential and spurts of productivity. It sucks. But it feels right to move on.

-His recovery timeline no longer fits the team’s window.
-He’s not consistent: probably doesn’t take good care of his body, and just is a victim to bad luck given that covid kicked his ass and was later injured.
-We still made it to the finals without him being a great sixth man.

[ShelC]

Thad is actually a very good playmaker. Chicago ran their bench offense through him last year. He could more than step into the connector role for us.

Yea I was surprised last year with his assist numbers, but you can get assists and still not be a "connector". Dario and Frank play that high post big position well where you need savvy passers for the .5 offense up top. I think Thad gets his assists more off his offense, which is fine btw, but it's just a different role. He'd be a boost tho either way from a length/athleticism standpoint and would give us a bit more dynamic play off the dribble and in the open court.

[Mori Chu]

I don't know whether Stix has any value or longevity in the NBA. But what I do know is that it is usually unwise to mortgage your future and draft picks to tack on vets for 1 year deals who will inevitably leave afterward, in the hopes of chasing a short-term chance at a ring. As much as I love this current Suns team, the league is going to be really tough next year with the healthy Nets, the champion Bucks, the reloaded Lakers, the #1 and disrespected Jazz, and several other teams wanting to stand in our way. It's hard to get back to the Finals, and I don't know that we should go "all in" if it means discarding a guy we spent a 1st-rounder on along with another 1st-round pick just for some mid-30s forward rental for a year.

[In2ition]

We need to give Stix credit, he was legitimately good in the Summer league, and made 1st team all summer league deservedly. Idk if he's going to end up being really good, but I do have to say that I have a lot more hope in him then I did during the season.

[Split T]

I don't know whether Stix has any value or longevity in the NBA. But what I do know is that it is usually unwise to mortgage your future and draft picks to tack on vets for 1 year deals who will inevitably leave afterward, in the hopes of chasing a short-term chance at a ring. As much as I love this current Suns team, the league is going to be really tough next year with the healthy Nets, the champion Bucks, the reloaded Lakers, the #1 and disrespected Jazz, and several other teams wanting to stand in our way. It's hard to get back to the Finals, and I don't know that we should go "all in" if it means discarding a guy we spent a 1st-rounder on along with another 1st-round pick just for some mid-30s forward rental for a year.

Is trading Jalen Smith really mortgaging our future?

I think you can just as easily say that it’s unwise to stand pat when you’re one of the 5-6 teams that has a legitimate shot at the title. I honestly think if we had Thad Young on our finals team last year that we win the championship. If all we’re losing is a young player who hasn’t really shown anything and a player who won’t play at all? Sign me up.

I know you mentioned an additional 1st rounder, but I don’t think anyone wants that(except the Spurs), so I left it out. It’s not happening..If that was on the table, the Spurs would have snatched that up already.

[In2ition]

I don't know whether Stix has any value or longevity in the NBA. But what I do know is that it is usually unwise to mortgage your future and draft picks to tack on vets for 1 year deals who will inevitably leave afterward, in the hopes of chasing a short-term chance at a ring. As much as I love this current Suns team, the league is going to be really tough next year with the healthy Nets, the champion Bucks, the reloaded Lakers, the #1 and disrespected Jazz, and several other teams wanting to stand in our way. It's hard to get back to the Finals, and I don't know that we should go "all in" if it means discarding a guy we spent a 1st-rounder on along with another 1st-round pick just for some mid-30s forward rental for a year.

Is trading Jalen Smith really mortgaging our future?

I think you can just as easily say that it’s unwise to stand pat when you’re one of the 5-6 teams that has a legitimate shot at the title. I honestly think if we had Thad Young on our finals team last year that we win the championship. If all we’re losing is a young player who hasn’t really shown anything and a player who won’t play at all? Sign me up.

I know you mentioned an additional 1st rounder, but I don’t think anyone wants that(except the Spurs), so I left it out. It’s not happening..If that was on the table, the Spurs would have snatched that up already.

Imo, they should be happy with Jalen Smith, but aren't under any type of gun to get it done right away, so they just ask for more. I don't think that Thad is going to ever suit up for the Spurs. It's just a matter of time right now.

I think you're right, in that the Suns would have been champs if they had Thad last yr. You could say the same about McGee and Shamet too. So far, they've upgraded their team, and hopefully this continues. The Suns are coming into the season under the radar again, as not everyone believes that the Suns are that good still for some crazy reason.

[Split T]

I’m not anti Jalen Smith, just wanna throw that out there as well. I just think Thad Young could be awesome for us. I’m not sure what Jalen will become and I don’t expect him to do much for us this year if he’s on the team.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

Sending away Mikal or Cam Johnson would be more along the “mortgaging” line.

[Superbone]

It sure has been quiet on the Suns front. I’m pretty sure Media day is on this coming Monday and camp starts on Tuesday.

[pickle]

Would Thad have really helped us get the championship? The way the refs called fouls for Giannis, unless we had the Giannis Stopper Blake Griffin, minor NBA names with slightly bigger bodies (Thad is 6'8 but I think slightly less bulky than Jae) probably wasn't going to cut it. I actually am quite high on McGee. He may not be a super duper player anymore, but his mere presence will give DA the confidence to be aggressive.

I like Thad Young and he's a very credible passer. He doesn't have a tremendous face up / break it down type game, at least from the few Bulls games I watched last year. He's more of a high post facilitator in the Bogut mode and very similar to Saric if you take out the athleticism and 3 point shooting. The Bulls announcers called him Thagic (for Magic) throughout the games I watched, and he was averaging a high number of assists from the bench in 25-28 mpg.

However, I'm still against sending out both Stix and additional draft capital. I don't know what Stix might turn into, but I'd like to find out. He's a bigger body with decent length who has a solid 3 point stroke. Where we had trouble last year was on defense. We can always use more offense but the fact that Stix is a 2 guard who rebounds and occasionally offers weak side shot blocking works just fine for us. If he can also provide some reasonable post defense in a pinch, the theoretical version of him is actually almost exactly what we need, given that we have more play making in the back court with Payne locked up and Shamet in the lineup. The theoretical version of Stix might not be a top 30 NBA player, but we don't need that, and his longer term contract might be more affordable for our future cap sheet anyway.

One name I'm interested in is Kyle Anderson / Slomo. His age and contract should be a better fit for our group and I'd be more willing to include that second rounder in that case, though he's also not known as a bulky defender.

[Split T]

Would Thad have really helped us get the championship? The way the refs called fouls for Giannis, unless we had the Giannis Stopper Blake Griffin, minor NBA names with slightly bigger bodies (Thad is 6'8 but I think slightly less bulky than Jae) probably wasn't going to cut it. I actually am quite high on McGee. He may not be a super duper player anymore, but his mere presence will give DA the confidence to be aggressive.

I like Thad Young and he's a very credible passer. He doesn't have a tremendous face up / break it down type game, at least from the few Bulls games I watched last year. He's more of a high post facilitator in the Bogut mode and very similar to Saric if you take out the athleticism and 3 point shooting. The Bulls announcers called him Thagic (for Magic) throughout the games I watched, and he was averaging a high number of assists from the bench in 25-28 mpg.

One name I'm interested in is Kyle Anderson / Slomo. His age and contract should be a better fit for our group and I'd be more willing to include that second rounder in that case, though he's also not known as a bulky defender.

1st paragraph: Ya I really think we do win. Our biggest problem was we had literally no one behind Ayton. We were forced to play Ayton like 42 to 45 minutes a game and he wore down. I’m not saying Thad would’ve been a Giannis stopper, but he would have been a hell of a lot better than Frank. At the very least he would have allowed us to let Ayton rest another 5-7 minutes a game. Even with Giannis on the bench we couldn’t survive without Ayton. We could have if we had Thad.

No Thad isn’t much bigger than our other wings, but he’s taller than Jae and stronger than Cam or Mikal. He’s 6’8 235 and he’s a very good defensive player.

2nd Paragraph: There are some Saric similarities…but am I mistaken or are you calling Saric the better athlete? I think you’ve got that backwards. But yes, Thad doesn’t have the same 3 point shot as Saric.

3rd Paragraph: I do really like Kyle Anderson and think he’d be a great fit. Though I’d trust Thad more on defense. Kyle would be a wonderful offensive fit at the 4 and is a smart, good defender, but he doesn’t give us the ability to go small. He can’t be a small ball 5. Though with McGee that might not be needed so much.