Around the League: Week of 2/23 - 3/1

[Wally_West]

Danny Granger will sign with the Clippers.

[Ring_Wanted]

We'll see how the rest of the loot gets shared out.

Right now the Suns could use a shot in the arm. Bledsoe could be that, but who knows how rusty and out of shape he'll be.

[carey]

If we had known that we were going to be decent this year and in the mix for a play off spot, do you think we may have kept Gortat? We could have gotten rid of Marshall and Brown in another way, and had Plumlee to energize our bench as well. How much better could we have been? A bench consisting of LB, Green, the Morrii and Plumlee would be extremely solid.

Possibly, but probably not. I think if given the choice McDonough would do the deal today. The Washington pick may be the best pick we have this Summer and Gortat clearly wasn't in our plans going forward. Plus we saved quite a bit of money with the Okafor contract which may be used elsewhere. On a personal level, I'm happy I don't have to watch him play anymore. Like Diaw his soft play frustrates me to no end. I hate how he constantly lays the ball up like a 6' guard instead of throwing it down like a 7' center.

[TOO]

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/goodwin-su ... -potential

Nice Goodwin story.

[Bruiser]

http://www.nba.com/suns/news/goodwin-su ... -potential

Nice Goodwin story.

Thanks! Fine read

It is since draft day however that I have higher hopes for Goodwin then I do have for Len...

[EDC]

We need a weekly Suns news thread.

[Big Jake Little Jake]

Great article, nice find.

I can't imagine Goodwin failing at this point. His ability to get to the basket and draw fouls is pretty rare. Last Suns rookie that had that kind of ability was Amare. I think he develops at worst into an Avery Bradley type player and at best into a Westbrook type player. Obviously he needs to bulk up a bit to be able to defend better and finish off some of those and-ones. And of course get the jump shot into okay shape.

He's clearly got the work ethic and instincts, so it's just a matter of time. The only question is whether it will take one year or four.

As far as Len goes, I'm withholding much judgement until he gets a full off season under his belt.

[carey]

We need a weekly Suns news thread.

I'll be starting them on Sunday.

[Superbone]

If we had known that we were going to be decent this year and in the mix for a play off spot, do you think we may have kept Gortat? We could have gotten rid of Marshall and Brown in another way, and had Plumlee to energize our bench as well. How much better could we have been? A bench consisting of LB, Green, the Morrii and Plumlee would be extremely solid.

Possibly, but probably not. I think if given the choice McDonough would do the deal today. The Washington pick may be the best pick we have this Summer and Gortat clearly wasn't in our plans going forward. Plus we saved quite a bit of money with the Okafor contract which may be used elsewhere. On a personal level, I'm happy I don't have to watch him play anymore. Like Diaw his soft play frustrates me to no end. I hate how he constantly lays the ball up like a 6' guard instead of throwing it down like a 7' center.

What do you expect out of a guy that everyone calls the Polish Hammer or the Polish Machine but he prefers Polish Gazelle.

[Wally_West]

Caron Butler will sign with the Thunder. I think that is a solid pick up for them.

Anybody have any thoughts on Bryan Colangelo admitting that he tried to tank with the Raptors a few years ago? I know he is not with the Raptors anymore, but I'm pretty surprised he would admit to something like that.

[TOO]

Butler will have a bigger impact than Granger, who has looked shot for 2 years.

[Mori Chu]

Anybody have any thoughts on Bryan Colangelo admitting that he tried to tank with the Raptors a few years ago? I know he is not with the Raptors anymore, but I'm pretty surprised he would admit to something like that.

Did anybody think the Raptors were trying particularly hard those years? Admitting tanking is like players admitting that they occasionally look up the gambling lines on their own games and try to beat them. It's bad, but everybody knows they do it.

It's up to the league to come up with a system that does not reward tanking. Once they do that, teams won't do this sort of thing.

Side note: Did you guys notice, the subtle shift in the importance of "expiring" contracts? A horrible player on a huge contract used to be a great asset, as long as he was expiring. Nowadays those guys aren't trade fodder nearly as much as they used to be. (Case in point: Okafor.) Expiring contracts as golden trade chips were always a dumb thing, and I'm glad that they are less important now than they used to be. With contracts now shorter, almost any contract good or bad will be off the books in 1-3 years anyway, so why trade for an expiring worthless salary?

[carey]

It's not so much that the expiring contracts are less, but it's that teams are valuing 1st rounders a lot more. Teams are much smarter with their cap space now (with some exceptions) and have been planning to manage it under the new CBA for some time. Look at 2015, there are a ton of teams with cap space one year from now. That's why I think that Melo should play out his deal and so should James, Wade, & Bosh. We'd see the biggest FA bonanza ever in '15 with all four of those guys plus Kevin Love and LMA.

[Ring_Wanted]

Anybody have any thoughts on Bryan Colangelo admitting that he tried to tank with the Raptors a few years ago? I know he is not with the Raptors anymore, but I'm pretty surprised he would admit to something like that.

It doesn't surprise me at all. Tanking is a phenom that has been going on in the NBA since I can remember. It's been only recently that it has started to get more attention and be seen under a negative light.

Personally, I don't have any problem with it.

[JeffreyLee]

Anybody have any thoughts on Bryan Colangelo admitting that he tried to tank with the Raptors a few years ago? I know he is not with the Raptors anymore, but I'm pretty surprised he would admit to something like that.

It doesn't surprise me at all. Tanking is a phenom that has been going on in the NBA since I can remember. It's been only recently that it has started to get more attention and be seen under a negative light.

Personally, I don't have any problem with it.

I dont believe there is tanking in the NBA, if you suck you just suck. Philly and LA seem to be the exception.

[Ring_Wanted]

Sucking by design has happened before and will keep happening as long as the system is not changed in its core, simple as that, because there is a reward to be had if you are among the worst teams in the league. Such strategy is not risk free and has its downside, but if you hit the lotto jackpot with a franchise altering rookie, you have done already half of your work, and that's what GMs crave, with good reason I might add.

[Mori Chu]

Have you guys noticed, only 2 teams from the East would even make the playoffs in the West: Indy and Miami. Third place is the Raptors who have a worse record than we do. Pathetic.

http://espn.go.com/nba/standings

[carey]

Just remembered I have one spot available on my league pass, which team do you think I should add for the stretch run? Maybe keep an eye on Memphis or Dallas?

[Gladiator]

Just remembered I have one spot available on my league pass, which team do you think I should add for the stretch run? Maybe keep an eye on Memphis or Dallas?

For what it's worth, I'd make it Memphis, given how much of an impact how they go could have on whether the Suns make the playoffs or not.

[carey]

For what it's worth, I'd make it Memphis, given how much of an impact how they go could have on whether the Suns make the playoffs or not.

With a healthy Marc Gasol back I do think they are the better team. Plus our schedule is harder. It's going to be tough.