Suns 2022 Off-Season Thread

[The Bobster]

Their top eight players in minutes played are back from last year, and with Sarić coming back they'll also have the top 8 in minutes from the team that went to the finals in 2021.

So I expect about 60 wins this season, and it would be nice if they added another athletic big man to give them some depth and versatility.

And once you get to the playoffs it's all about matchups and being healthy.

[The Bobster]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

[Split T]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Good thing KD provides both of those

[Flagrant Fowl]

Or LeBron.

[JeremyG]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Good thing KD provides both of those

But likely at the expense of not having a DPOY runner-up.

[Split T]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Good thing KD provides both of those

But likely at the expense of not having a DPOY runner-up.

That might have to be Ayton’s job now if he’s up to it

[JeremyG]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Good thing KD provides both of those

But likely at the expense of not having a DPOY runner-up.

That might have to be Ayton’s job now if he’s up to it

Haha, still need that wing defense though. Case Study #1: Utah Jazz with Rudy Gobert.

[Split T]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Good thing KD provides both of those

But likely at the expense of not having a DPOY runner-up.

That might have to be Ayton’s job now if he’s up to it

Haha, still need that wing defense though. Case Study #1: Utah Jazz with Rudy Gobert.

Well the Jazz didn’t have CP3, Booker, and KD on offense. Also, if Mikal is gone, I’m assuming we hold onto CamJ and Crowder. Neither is Mikal, but both are way better than anything Utah had on the wing. Booker is also way better than Mitchell on D. KD is also no slouch. I would not be worried about defense. Sure, we might be vulnerable to an individual isolating and cooking us a bit, but the team defense will be solid and our offense will more than make up for it.

Also teams just screen for the matchup they want anyway. We went down last year because we just let Dallas screen Mikal off of Luka over and over. Luka torched CamJ and CP3, Mikal and DA actually did ok on him.

[Superbone]

Speaking of Payne, any chance he gets back to what he gave us a year ago? Was he injured last season? Is there a reason he fell off so hard?

[Indy]

I think playing with guys that clog the lane like McGee and Ayton and Bizzy make it really hard for him to get good looks at the rim. The extra defender is always there. Playing with Dario and Frank made a big difference.

[Split T]

Yep, I really think that’s the biggest thing. It doesn’t explain why his shot abandoned him as well, but he does seem the type of player to feed off confidence and energy. Seeing his shot go in at the rim probably gives him a lot of confidence on his shot. I hope he can get back to 2020-2021 Payne, but don’t think we should count on it, even with Saric back. Although I could probably get behind it if we land KD.

[Mori Chu]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Durant or no Durant, that is a really fucking good basketball team. I want KD but I will be just fine with it if they run that team back. Hope they grab one more guard (Schroder?) but I like that roster a lot.

[Shabazz]

As of today it looks like the rotation players would be -

F - Bridges, Crowder, Johnson, Craig
C - Ayton, Sarić, Biyombo
G - Booker, Paul, Payne, Landry

With their biggest needs being more size at forward and another dependable creator of offense at guard.

Durant or no Durant, that is a really fucking good basketball team. I want KD but I will be just fine with it if they run that team back. Hope they grab one more guard (Schroder?) but I like that roster a lot.

It's basically last year's team, but a little bit worse. People are overrating Dario in their minds, or only remembering the good stuff. He lost Monty's trust many times 2 seasons ago.

I don't think we can run that lineup back. If we don't get KD, we should go after someone like John Collins or Harrison Barnes.

[Indy]

Yeah we can't run back the same team and hope for a different outcome.

[JeremyG]

We can if Bridges and Ayton become all-stars.

[Indy]

We can if Bridges and Ayton become all-stars.

I don' think it is realistic to expect something out of Bridges we haven't seen. He will likely never be a guy that gets you 15-20 points a game. Our offense isn't designed around him, and he doesn't dribble. If he is here and can be a 1st team all-defensive guy that hits +38% of his 3s, that is great. Just not all-star worthy.

As for Ayton, I don't see him making an all-star team unless the better centers are injured. Jokic, Towns, and Gobert are all still in the West.

Counting on "internal development" for a 2nd consecutive off-season is not going to get us where we want to be. We don't like acknowledging it, but we got very lucky to get to the Finals. Every team along the way was missing their (arguably) best player.

[In2ition]

[Indy]

It very well could have been a discussion where Sarver said "I am really sorry to hear you didn't make the All-star team this year--you absolutely deserved it! You will make it next year! At least I don't have to pay you your million dollar bonus, wink wink nudge nudge."

it isn't better because it would just show what a self-centered person he is, but it probably wasn't as blatant as him bouncing down to the practice court and just yelling out "HA! I don't have to pay you your bonus now!"

[JeremyG]

We can if Bridges and Ayton become all-stars.

I don' think it is realistic to expect something out of Bridges we haven't seen. He will likely never be a guy that gets you 15-20 points a game. Our offense isn't designed around him, and he doesn't dribble. If he is here and can be a 1st team all-defensive guy that hits +38% of his 3s, that is great. Just not all-star worthy.

As for Ayton, I don't see him making an all-star team unless the better centers are injured. Jokic, Towns, and Gobert are all still in the West.

Counting on "internal development" for a 2nd consecutive off-season is not going to get us where we want to be. We don't like acknowledging it, but we got very lucky to get to the Finals. Every team along the way was missing their (arguably) best player.

I’m not saying we should count on it. I’m just saying it’s a possibility. I definitely would prefer improving the roster.

But I don’t think it’s much of a leap for either player. Before Ayton missed games last season he was being mentioned as an all-star, and then there was serious talk about Bridges being an injury replacement in the all-star game.

I think both players will still elevate their games. I don’t think they’ve reached their peak yet. And Bridges will never score 15-20 points a game? He averaged 14.2 last year.

[In2ition]

It very well could have been a discussion where Sarver said "I am really sorry to hear you didn't make the All-star team this year--you absolutely deserved it! You will make it next year! At least I don't have to pay you your million dollar bonus, wink wink nudge nudge."

it isn't better because it would just show what a self-centered person he is, but it probably wasn't as blatant as him bouncing down to the practice court and just yelling out "HA! I don't have to pay you your bonus now!"

Well, it is Sarver, the big bad monster of an owner, but...you are right. It's probably something much less diabolical that's been twisted.