Suns News: The Offseason (2015)

[carey]

This is a classic chickenshit Suns FO move. They will go hard after some player that they know they have no chance with (Kobe, Lebron, Melo, Love, etc.) and then when the guy predictably doesn't come here, they'll say, "Well, we tried our best."

I don't think it's chicken shit but I hear what you're saying. We went hard after LBJ last Summer. No chance.

[OE32]

Woj is also saying that the Hornets are shopping Cody Zeller "hard" for a wing player. I'm interested, but I don't know how Zeller would work as a back-up to Kieff, and Zeller can't play the 5, so not really the best fit here.

[JCSunsfan]

Woj is also saying that the Hornets are shopping Cody Zeller "hard" for a wing player. I'm interested, but I don't know how Zeller would work as a back-up to Kieff, and Zeller can't play the 5, so not really the best fit here.

PJ Tucker. Yeah I know. But that's the way I negotiate.

[Bruiser]

This is a classic chickenshit Suns FO move. They will go hard after some player that they know they have no chance with (Kobe, Lebron, Melo, Love, etc.) and then when the guy predictably doesn't come here, they'll say, "Well, we tried our best."

I don't think it's chicken shit but I hear what you're saying. We went hard after LBJ last Summer. No chance.

I don't think it's chicken shit either. Actually I couldn't agree less. I believe that the FOs idea is to become a little bit more of a household name in these type of conversations and I think that is the right way to go.

"If you don't like what's being said, change the conversation."

- Donald Draper

Of course we all know that we will probably never be on the same level as the really big market teams in the eyes of most free agents but I don't think it is completely mad to believe in yourself. Even though it might involve a little bit of reaching for the stars sometimes. From what I've gathered so far, there are a lot of shittier places and franchises in this league - so why not Phoenix! It cannot possibly be worse here than in Minnesota or Cleveland, right?

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

- Wayne Gretzky

If we cannot imagine us being a desirable destination, why should any other team or player think so?

I think it is totally cool that the FO tries everything within their power to get a superstar here because everything else would be giving up on their job, accepting some sort of fate, something something, self-fulfilling prophecy, something something, captivity of negativity, bla blubb blubb ...

We will of course strike out on many occasions (as most of the teams in this league do) but I guess that should never prevent us from trying as hard as we can to do the impossible.

Sorry for my rant and all those crazy lines and quotes but as you've probably all guessed by now, my job really sucked this week I would love to see that guy wear orange.

#GoSuns

[JCSunsfan]

Yup. If you don't believe in yourself, you can be sure no on else will.

[Superbone]

Thumbs up, Bruiser!

[In2ition]

Really surprised that the Suns didn't pick up the lesser of the Harrison bros for their summer league team. UK guard/twin/lesser brother, seemed destined to be a Sun.

[virtual9mm]

Booker just does not seem to complement Knight in any meaningful way. Booker would work well with Bledsoe but not Knight, whose best asset is also perimeter shooting and main weakness is an inability to finish on drives. Only if the Suns were to get a dominant low-post scorer such as Cousins, who would pass out of double teams, a Booker/Knight backcourt would work well as spacers. That being said, the inside-out game seems to be going away in today's NBA.

The only way the Bled/Knight/Archie/Booker backcourt rotation might work is if Bledsoe and Knight start together, and take turns subbing out while the other takes over primary PG duties. Booker would play with Bledsoe while Archie would play with Knight. The rotation would have to look like:

Bled: 30 min
Knight: 30 min
Archie: 18 min
Booker: 18 min

Otherwise, someone would end up unhappy and disrupting chemistry.

By the way, I don't think that we're done seeing seeing Bledsoe trade rumors. Carmelo's raising a ruckus about wanting immediate help, and I suspect that he would either force a trade for a veteran such as Bledsoe or force a trade out to a contender.

[virtual9mm]

By the way, McD was apparently actually talking to the Knicks regarding a Bledsoe trade up to the draft:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-knicks ... inger-deal

[carey]

By the way, McD was apparently actually talking to the Knicks regarding a Bledsoe trade up to the draft:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york-knicks ... inger-deal

Yeah we discussed it extensively. McDonough flat out denied there were discussions on KTAR this morning though.

[virtual9mm]

Yeah, I read some of those discussions but it is nevertheless interesting how there are still reports coming from fairly reputable sources such as ESPN a day after the fact. McD simply HAS to deny any and all rumors. That being said, NY has to make some kind of trade (either of Anthony or for a veteran) and the Suns do have one too many starting-quality point guards on the roster. Bledsoe would do well alongside a ball-dominant player like Anthony since he could focus on being a 6'2" SF.

[carey]

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[carey]

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[Superbone]

Such a huge improvement in Len's highlights last year from the year before. If he can take another step like that, watch out!

[carey]

Such a huge improvement in Len's highlights last year from the year before. If he can take another step like that, watch out!

We'll know what we have in him this year I think. I expect great things. I wish we could get Ryno from the Pelicans to stretch the floor. We need to give Warren room to operate and Len room to clean up.

[virtual9mm]

Looking at Len's highlights, he looks awfully like one of these dominant 6'8" college centers with a fundamentally good grasp of the game that has little chance of succeeding in the NBA. He's spry, kind of does that pull up thing on his dunks, has an underdeveloped upper body and has body mechanics that are not necessarily efficient yet. Yet, these are NBA games not college games, and Len barely has to jump to get off the ground, negating his inefficient motions (that are especially visible on his hook shots). Given how good the Suns' trainers are at fixing these kinds of things, and given how he's naturally going to gain body mass (and we've seen how jacked he's become with that traffic accident pic), I think that it is natural to expect great, great things from him provided that his ankles hold up.

The best thing about Warren is that there's simply no need to run plays for him. Kind of like Ced and the Matrix, as long as his teammates have their heads up and are willing to pass to cutters, Warren will pick up 15-20 points easily simply by cutting and playing garbage man. That being said, it would be great if he could emerge as a knock-down three-point shooter, so that he can dare the opposing player to run him off the line and then drive inwards. At that point, Warren becomes a dangerous playmaker as well.

[OE32]

Despite my negativity of late, it appears as though we have 4/5 of our future (contending) starting line-up in place with Knight/Booker/Warren/Len.

Say, with Utah looking to add Millsap to the roster, anyone think there's a chance they go for a Bledsoe/Tucker for Favors/Burke swap? While, normally, it's not advisable to trade big for small, I feel that move would interest them because it could put them right on the cusp, if they could add Millsap. I'd add the CLE pick (fwiw). PG is a position of need for Utah, and I don't think there's a better young PG on the market than Bled.

[carey]

Despite my negativity of late, it appears as though we have 4/5 of our future (contending) starting line-up in place with Knight/Booker/Warren/Len.

Say, with Utah looking to add Millsap to the roster, anyone think there's a chance they go for a Bledsoe/Tucker for Favors/Burke swap? While, normally, it's not advisable to trade big for small, I feel that move would interest them because it could put them right on the cusp, if they could add Millsap. I'd add the CLE pick (fwiw). PG is a position of need for Utah, and I don't think there's a better young PG on the market than Bled.

That's an interesting one. Supposedly they aren't shopping him though (but hey we're not shopping Bledsoe either!) On paper he seems like the kind of guy we need. 16 & 8 last year. A big 6' 10". Plays down low. Is signed for the next 3 years at $12 Million a year.

[Split T]

I'd just be a little worried about a warren/favors/len front court. One of those guys needs to be an outside threat.

[Mori Chu]

Is Millsap leaving Atlanta and going back to Utah? Huh. He was really good for ATL; surprised they aren't keeping him.