Game Day: Suns (25-23) @ Blazers (20-29), Mon 2/3/25

[Superbone]

Ayton trade would’ve been fine if we kept Camara.

I think everybody here but one agrees with this.

[Split T]

I’m glad everyone agrees that it’s so much better to have Grayson Allen’s 3 points & 4 rebounds and Nurkic’s 0 & 0 than to have Ayton and Camara’s 42 & 17.

I’m glad everyone agrees that it’s so much better to have Grayson Allen’s 11 points & 3 rebounds and Nurkic’s 0 & 0 than to have Ayton and Camara’s 42 & 25.

Just a reminder that Ayton forced us to trade him for Nurkic because he quit on the team twice. None of us were thrilled with that return when we got it and the only reason anyone other than you has second thoughts is because of Toumani Camara. You want something to blame for the state of this current team? It’s Ayton. He’s the reason we had to trade Mikal in the KD trade…then he quit on that team and tanked his trade value so bad that we moved him for Nurkic and had to include Toumani Camara just to get Portland to do it. He’s the reason we have the worst C rotation in the nba. All he had to do was play hard, but that was too much to ask. It’s fine, that level of basketball isn’t for everyone.

He seems like a decent guy, but he was one of my least favorite suns to watch of all time. I can’t fathom being attached to a failed former sun as much as you are to Ayton. None of us will ever understand it or ever agree with you here…it’s time to move on. This is the last time I’ll utter his name on this board.

[Split T]

The biggest reason why no one should be in favor of blowing this team up, is simply you can’t trust James jones to do it. Fire his ass and get new GM in here.

I’m not sure Jones is even in control

[Wally_West]

Ayton trade would’ve been fine if we kept Camara.

I think everybody here but one agrees with this.

[Uncle_Gene]

Nick Richards was playing horrible tonight.

He’s really not a starting caliber center.

I bet he could have got at least one of those many rebounds we couldn't corral in the 4th and OT.

Agreed. Ayton wouldn't have got all those rebounds late in the game.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Obviously Richards isn't amazing, not sure if anyone really thought that before the Suns acquired him.

But I don't understand why Bud doesn't trust him more in situational substitutions. Maybe he makes a fool of himself trying to rebound just like Plumlee, but I have no confidence in Plumlee getting a contested rebound in crunch time at this point.

[Wally_West]

Thunder, Jazz, Nuggets, grizzlies, rockets, spurs.

Doing better than 1-5 would be a damn miracle here. Significant changes need to be made.

[Gladiator]

Obviously Richards isn't amazing, not sure if anyone really thought that before the Suns acquired him.

But I don't understand why Bud doesn't trust him more in situational substitutions. Maybe he makes a fool of himself trying to rebound just like Plumlee, but I have no confidence in Plumlee getting a contested rebound in crunch time at this point.

Agreed. He is limited but still useful, especially in the right situation. Bud seems to just put a line through him completely if he feels like Richards doesn’t have it on a particular night or doesn’t like the match-up

[Gladiator]

Thunder, Jazz, Nuggets, grizzlies, rockets, spurs.

Doing better than 1-5 would be a damn miracle here. Significant changes need to be made.

Would the be another team in the league that is as far from their preseason expectations as the Suns? Maybe New Orleans?Philadelphia? We would have to be right up there…

[JeremyG]

Ayton trade would’ve been fine if we kept Camara.

I think everybody here but one agrees with this.

One plus a large percentage of the fanbase on other sites (X, Reddit, etc.). Y’all forget there are other Suns fans out there and act like I’m uniquely alone in my opinions.

[Mori Chu]

Again I'll mention that I think Nurkic could have actually played some useful minutes for us in this game. He plays well against his former team, and we needed a different look at C tonight.

[Mori Chu]

The league, and particular the West, is just too deep and strong these days. You can't just show up with a lazy ass roster like ours and get anywhere. I think we are on track to fall out of the play-in, and that is stunning.

I just hope and pray that we blow up as much of this team as possible (non-Booker) by Thursday. It is time.

[JeremyG]

I’m glad everyone agrees that it’s so much better to have Grayson Allen’s 3 points & 4 rebounds and Nurkic’s 0 & 0 than to have Ayton and Camara’s 42 & 17.

I’m glad everyone agrees that it’s so much better to have Grayson Allen’s 11 points & 3 rebounds and Nurkic’s 0 & 0 than to have Ayton and Camara’s 42 & 25.

Just a reminder that Ayton forced us to trade him for Nurkic because he quit on the team twice.

I disagree that he quit on the team, and certainly we were not forced to do anything. He did not ask to be traded, wanted to stay in Phoenix, did not cause any trouble, scrimmaged with his teammates during the offseason, and we hired a coach who wanted to coach him and help him reach an all-star level. I will never accept that we were “forced” in the slightest to trade him for Nurkic.

It’s all been downhill since.

[Wally_West]

Yeesh

[Flagrant Fowl]

Simons bricked the shit out of that shot. They even had to review that it missed the rim entirely, but com'on man, you're out there to do one thing.

[iLLmatic]

Ayton trade would’ve been fine if we kept Camara.

I think everybody here but one agrees with this.

One plus a large percentage of the fanbase on other sites (X, Reddit, etc.). Y’all forget there are other Suns fans out there and act like I’m uniquely alone in my opinions.

Funny how quiet you've been on the Ayton front until we got beat a couple of times by them.

[Mori Chu]

I don't think that play is Plumlee's fault. That was a crazy clanker bouncing right at his head; a lot of guys wouldn't have gotten that board. We shouldn't even have been in that situation.

I mostly have been a Bud defender, but he basically iced Booker between his second and third FTs at the end of the game. He substituted in Dunn which caused a long delay and then Booker missed the third FT. Don't know why he did that.

[Flagrant Fowl]

I can't use Bud as an excuse for Booker missing that free throw, but you're right, Bud did him no favor at all.

Plumlee should've at least knocked down that rebound. It went right through his hands and past his face. It's inexcusable.

But again, missed wide open shots are what ultimately lost this game.

[ShelC]

They are who we thought they were. Maybe the deadline is on guys' minds but this is still no different than what's gone on for a year and a half with this group. We just can't hang with teams that are bigger and more athletic and just about every team plays harder than we do. We need more size and athleticism on the floor, but Bud goes for stretches or just plain sits Richards and Dunn. He still doesn't seem to know who to play and when.

And I'm not crying over DA and Camara. DA's been DA for a year and a half. He's shit who decided to wake up for 2 games. And I don't care what his stats are during this recent stretch because his play has still been the same and he'll go back to sleepwalking. Iinstead of killing Jones for including Camara in a trade that needed to be made, let's give him credit for drafting Camara 52nd overall out of Dayton. More reason not to throw all our picks into trades. We also have Dunn who can't seem to get consistent minutes under our coach so who knows whether Bud would even be using Camara.

Tyus should be traded for a pick or 2 but I still don't think Beal should start. Not that any of that matters because I don't think one or two moves fixes the team. We know what needs to be done.

[Wally_West]

Sorry but no more 3 guard lineups. You can’t survive like that in a modern nba, at least not with this team where all 3 guards are small and horrible defenders. Upgrading Beal to Butler is a start. But Nurk or Grayson needs to be turned into a big wing or better center. Can you get Obi? Get Boucher? Yabusele?? Any wing defenders available???

And yes, you need to get rid of tyus. Need to get rid on Bol too. His size would help but the fact he can’t get playing time right now? useless. Rather his spot go to torey Craig.