2015 Trade Deadline

[Sunsfan4life]

He's looked awful this yr but I have always liked him. He has a high cap # though. I think its 10.9mil for 2 more years? Not positive

[INFORMER]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not making any summary judgments about trying to win with two point guards. Philosophically I'm not opposed or in favor of that strategy; I'm willing to consider any strategy within reason.

I just think these two particular point guards in particular aren't going to form a duo that carries a team to a championship.

The current roster is not a title contender, present or future. Huh. Also, Icky Woods will celebrate anything and playing poker with Kenny Rogers gets old really fast.

The franchise swung for the fences this past summer, and whiffed when LeBron wouldn't even hear their pitch.

McD may have made some mistakes. But he did try to assemble a contender, and he didn't sell what we ended up with as that contender. Pointing out the obvious fact that we don't have a championship core is arguing with a straw man.

Well first cap, what you quoted from me and your response don't match. The quote doesn't simply state "we don't have a championship core."

Secondly, the LeBron pursuit?! Please. No "A" for effort here.

Third, I've critiqued each of the moves Ryan has made that I haven't agreed with in detail AD NAUSEUM, so to try boil down my criticism to simply "we don't have a championship core" is silly.

[Mori Chu]

LOL @ your new avi, INF.

[carey]

I d'like to get Gallo if we trade with Denver. Any scenario where we could get him. I think our training staff could get him back to a great level. Helps out spacing, plus he is still young.

I dreamt we traded IT & the Morris twins for Gallo and Afflalo this morning. Sorry if that happens.

[INFORMER]

I d'like to get Gallo if we trade with Denver. Any scenario where we could get him. I think our training staff could get him back to a great level. Helps out spacing, plus he is still young.

I dreamt we traded IT & the Morris twins for Gallo and Afflalo this morning. Sorry if that happens.

The money doesn't work.

[carey]

I d'like to get Gallo if we trade with Denver. Any scenario where we could get him. I think our training staff could get him back to a great level. Helps out spacing, plus he is still young.

I dreamt we traded IT & the Morris twins for Gallo and Afflalo this morning. Sorry if that happens.

The money doesn't work.

Because of the extensions to the Morris twins you take the average salary for trade purposes as has been pointed out on this board and confirmed. So average salary of Markieff $7M, average salary of Marcus $4.6M, current salary of IT $7.2M. Then you compare that with Galo $10.8M and Afflalo $7.5M.
$18.8M vs. $18.3M? Looks pretty close to me.

[INFORMER]

Yes, but Phoenix can only receive back the value of the Twins pre-extension salaries. So Denver would meet the salary requirement, but Phoenix would not.

[carey]

Yes, but Phoenix can only receive back the value of the Twins pre-extension salaries. So Denver would meet the salary requirement, but Phoenix would not.

That makes zero sense for a number of reasons. You're suggesting we can only trade with a team that are a ways under the cap. I'm not certain that is correct.

[OE32]

INF's right. We've discussed this before.

[INFORMER]

For example, if a player on the last year of his rookie scale contract earns $2 million in 2011-12, and his contract is extended for four seasons starting at $10 million, with 4.5% raises, then his salary in each season will be:

...

If this player is traded during the 2011-12 season, then his outgoing salary from the sending team's perspective is his actual salary -- $2 million. But the player's incoming salary from the receiving team's perspective is $8.94 million -- the average of all five seasons. Such a player would be very difficult to trade -- a legal trade can only be accomplished if both teams add additional salary to the transaction, or if they include a third team that is able to absorb excess salary.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q90

[Shabazz]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--s ... 35888.html

The Phoenix Suns are determined and hopeful of re-signing free-agent guard Goran Dragic to a contract extension this summer, but are still operating without a clear-cut commitment from him, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Dragic has become increasingly disenchanted with how the Suns' three-guard experiment with Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas has impacted him this season, and several league sources believe that to keep Dragic long-term it's incumbent on the Suns to unload Thomas before the start of July free agency.

The Suns haven't completely closed the door on possible Dragic trades, but that scenario is extremely unlikely, league sources said. The Suns' asking price would be high – a young player with All-Star potential and significant draft compensation – and any deal would have to be with a team that Dragic wants to sign an extension.

"They don't sound like a team that wants to trade him – or even really consider it," one rival executive told Yahoo Sports. "They still believe they'll re-sign him in the summer."

The Suns have been engaged in talks involving Thomas and guard Gerald Green prior to Thursday's trade deadline, but there are no assurances Phoenix will find a deal for them.

Around Dragic, there's a strong belief he'll re-sign with the Suns in July should his comfort level return to his 2014-15 form with the Suns. Dragic has had a strong relationship with Suns coach Jeff Hornacek and general manager Ryan McDonough, and enjoyed playing on the Suns with his brother, Zoran.

[carey]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas ... hter-scale

WELCOME TO THE DRAGIC KINGDOM

Goran Dragic is one of the biggest names in talks. The situation can be simplified to this: the Suns clearly want to keep him (Yahoo), but the money situation complicates a lot for them. They basically signed two point guards to big deals and the third one, the best one, Dragic, is a free agent this summer. So they have to decide if they can re-sign him even if they offer him a max, considering the Lakers and Knicks and other teams will throw him the four-year max.

But it's been clear from Dragic's comments and body language this year that the three-point-guard system Phoenix decided to try out hasn't made him super happy. He wants his minutes and usage back, wants to have more control over the offense. Eric Bledsoe is one thing, he's able to play two-guard, is more dash-and-crash, and he and Dragic have good chemistry. But Isaiah Thomas is 26th in the league in isolation frequency, per NBA.com. He ISO's 16 percent of the time, and is in the 68th percentile in scoring in such situations. That's a lot of one-on-one basketball for a point guard.

The easy answer is "trade Thomas, use that money to re-sign Dragic" and that's clearly the Suns' preferred course (again, reported by Yahoo). But if they trade Thomas and then Dragic decides he just wants to leave, which isn't out of the question, the Suns aren't completely screwed, but they're pretty screwed. So then the question becomes, if you trade Dragic to prevent such a scenario, what do you want in return?

Yahoo says that's an All-Star "potential" player (think Tobias Harris or Nikola Vucevic or come to think of it, half the Magic roster) and a first-round pick. The teams capable of such a trade are basically Orlando, Denver, the Sixers, the Lakers (if they moved Julius Randle and even that's a stretch), and Houston (depending on how the Suns feel about Terrence Jones).

Dragic is reportedly meeting with the Suns on Tuesday. After that, expect word to either be solidified that they're going to keep him and shut off calls for him while opening up further talks for Thomas, or reverse course and aggressively pursue a deal. Houston remains the most active pursuant, but they're probably going to need a 3-way deal to get what Phoenix will want.

[Sunsfan4life]

I'd be pretty shocked if we shipped him out.Most likely outcomes are IT gets traded or we stand pat. If Thomas is traded its more likely to be in the off-season (around draft time) then right now IMO.

[ShelC]

If we trade Thomas and Dragic leaves, throw a max offer at Jimmy Butler, get creative with the terms and hope the Bulls don't match. Throw money at Wes Matthews, go big with Monroe. You can always find SGs.

[Shabazz]

If we trade Thomas and Dragic leaves, throw a max offer at Jimmy Butler, get creative with the terms and hope the Bulls don't match. Throw money at Wes Matthews, go big with Monroe. You can always find SGs.

Yeah. I really don't get why we're "screwed" if we trade IT and Dragic leaves in free agency. We're only screwed if we're committed to the 2-pg system no matter what. We still have Ennis, who by next year will hopefully be a competent backup and we can just go with a traditional 2.

[Sunsfan4life]

You have to find value for Thomas though don't you? Or you just ready to ship him out to ship him out.

[ShelC]

We'd definitely be thinner at PG and Ennis is still an unknown (tho I feel better with him than i ever did with Marshall). I wouldn't feel great given Bledsoe's injury history, but you also can't think that way when you just signed the guy to 70 mil. If Ennis isn't a competent backup, there are plenty of vets to sign for depth.

[INFORMER]

https://twitter.com/JeffZillgitt/status/567781829932224516

[OE32]

https://twitter.com/JeffZillgitt/status/567781829932224516

You've always loved Harkless, but we're a bad fit. I'd take Nicholson, though.

[INFORMER]

You've always loved Harkless, but we're a bad fit.

I wasn't recommending the Suns pursue him.