Suns News: The Offseason (2015)

[iLLmatic]

This should make for an interesting training camp, and potentially another interesting season.

[Superbone]

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-d ... -rankings/

The Definitive NBA Logo Rankings



18. PHOENIX SUNS

I will never understand the Suns’ recent determination to be Team Halloween, pushing black over that classic purplish blue as the companion to orange. The sunburst should be a no-brainer top-10 mark, but the Suns have imprisoned it within a black jail cell. Either let that baby soar without boundaries, or go back to the purple-blue background that set the league on fire in the mid-1990s:



“That mark literally changed the way logos were done,” O’Grady remembers. “You can see what they were trying to do with the update, but they’ve screwed it up.”

Just having the words underneath the purple-blue block made that old mark feel less oppressive — like it could breathe a bit. The Suns must know what’s up on some level, because they’ve kept the blue as the basis for their secondary flaming-ball logo, which adorned center court for much of the Steve Nash era. That’s a better mark than the current sunburst, but it’s also similar to Miami’s primary logo.

[OE32]

His decision making leaves a lot to be desired, but I think that with another creator in the back court, that weakness will be mitigated. In a year's time, when the rotation is solidly those two plus Booker, I think we'll be great.

Since we all see he isn't a knock-down outside shooter, he has poor decision making, and he doesn't have great handles in traffic, how can he be effective as a 1 or a 2? And he defense is great, when he plays it. You can easily count several plays each game that he takes off, and I don't mean puts for 80% effort. It is when he is under his own basket and doesn't even bother to get up.

You must have loathed Barkley.

A post in r/nba this summer provided a statistical overview of Bled's defense against elite PG's. The evidence was pretty clear that, with the exception of Paul, Bled did much better than the league average. If I'm playing against an elite PG in the playoffs, Bled's the guy I want guarding him.

We can agree that he isn't a knock-down shooter, but he's not Rubio, either. And you and I have differing opinions on this, IIRC, but I think he's a tremendous finisher. I think his weaknesses were highlighted last year when he was given the keys to a team with very few weapons. I've made my case - I think if he splits PG duties, he's a tremendous plus to the team, and well worth his contract. We should get pretty good evidence on this question this year.

[Indy]

You must have loathed Barkley.

At times, yes. But to his credit, he was a top 5 offensive player, and a top 10 rebounder. Bleds isn't a top anything in the NBA, except in bad passes. And I can't find a comparison across the NBA, but just looking at our team, Bledsoe hit 63% of his layups (same as Gerald, better than Thomas at 60%). Goran had 70%. Again, I know we don't see this the same way, but the only thing Bledsoe does that is clearly better than most starting PGs in the NBA is play defense (when he wants to).

[The Bobster]

Apparently he's pretty good at negotiating contracts.

[Indy]

Apparently he's pretty good at negotiating contracts.

I doubt he can take credit for that either... If it worked that way, maybe he could hire someone to come in and play for him too.

[LazarusLong]

"Either let that baby soar without boundaries, or go back to the purple-blue background that set the league on fire in the mid-1990s ..."

On another level, the orange and purple/blue are similar to two of the primary colors of the state flag of Arizona, which includes a sunburst in the design scheme. Which was a good marketing strategy from the get-go, as the Arizona flag is one of the prettier flags in the union.

Black and orange is Halloween, which is in keeping with the trick-or-treat management style of the franchise the past couple of years ...

[LazarusLong]

Re: Bledsoe, let's face it. Long-time Suns fans have been spoiled by the likes of Johnson, Kidd and Nash, among others. Bledsoe as a PG obviously is not in their league.

He's an oddity. Short, not a great shooter for an off-guard, not a good distributer as a point guard.

He can defend, can get to the hoop fearlessly, and grabs rebounds at a surprising rate. He reminds me of a smaller version of Steve Francis. Bled is valuable in a three-guard rotation where he can play a little bit of both positions. And he's really only been a starter for a season and a half, so the sample size is not huge.

I agree he's probably not a franchise cornerstone, but who is at the present moment? Give him another year and see if his court/game sense evolves a bit more.

[gosuns]

With Bledsoe as our point guard playmaking has to come from other sources. I'm convinced that a team with Bledsoe can be a contender if the parts around him fit. Right now they don't. They have to take the ball out of his hands other than isolations for simple drive and dish. He just isn't a good enough floor general to constantly have the ball in his hands. With him we need good passing 3s and 4s who can create offense and missmatches and a two who can be a playmaker at times. (knight fits here well) Also, and I'm sorry to say this because it's a play I love in basketball, with him as a ballhandler I would limit pick n'rolls...

[OE32]

With Bledsoe as our point guard playmaking has to come from other sources. I'm convinced that a team with Bledsoe can be a contender if the parts around him fit. Right now they don't. They have to take the ball out of his hands other than isolations for simple drive and dish. He just isn't a good enough floor general to constantly have the ball in his hands. With him we need good passing 3s and 4s who can create offense and missmatches and a two who can be a playmaker at times. (knight fits here well) Also, and I'm sorry to say this because it's a play I love in basketball, with him as a ballhandler I would limit pick n'rolls...

Well put. But I think Knight will help - I liked what I saw out of him as a playmaker in limited appearances last season. I also think Warren could REALLY help. Not a single guy in our starting line-up last year was good at moving off the ball. Warren knows when and how to get into position for a pass. The more minutes he plays, the more assists we should get as a team. Both Knight and Booker can catch-and-shoot off of screens - another element that was missing from last year's squad with the exception of GGreen. Lots of reasons to think things should be better going forward.

[carey]

I want to see a lot of Knight-Booker-Warren-Teletubby-Len as a 2nd unit. I think that unit blows the doors off some teams much like the bench mob of 2010.

I'm less enthused about the starting lineup of Bledsoe-Knight-Tucker-Morris-Chandler but with 3 A-to-B grade defenders on it there's a chance it could at least be servicable.

[Superbone]

I think that unit blows the doors off some teams much like the bench mob of 2010.

Oh, those were the days!

[iLLmatic]

I agree he's probably not a franchise cornerstone, but who is at the present moment? Give him another year and see if his court/game sense evolves a bit more.

Let's just hope his knees hold up in the interim while we get more of a sample size.

[iLLmatic]

I want to see a lot of Knight-Booker-Warren-Teletubby-Len as a 2nd unit. I think that unit blows the doors off some teams much like the bench mob of 2010.

I'm less enthused about the starting lineup of Bledsoe-Knight-Tucker-Morris-Chandler but with 3 A-to-B grade defenders on it there's a chance it could at least be servicable.

You love yourself some nicknames don't ya?

[carey]

Lowe has decided to weigh in on the Markieff bullshit now: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-c ... ry-twitter

Morris is unremarkable, and at 26, the odds are he stays unremarkable. He is now more like an average starting NBA power forward, and his first season in that role was a mild disappointment. Morris didn’t improve at anything, and he got worse at one big thing: getting to the foul line. That puts the Suns in a tough spot. Morris has been unhappy in Phoenix since the Suns dumped his brother on Detroit, but no other team is clamoring to get him.

Morris could transform himself into a really good player for the modern, pace-and-space, switch-everything NBA, and he’s just starting a four-year, $32 million contract. In a league where contracts are short and starters will soon be earning almost $15 million on average, that deal is like gold bullion. There is not much risk in trumping a tepid trade market to take a shot on Morris.

We all know the obvious suspects by now. Toronto and Boston have so-so starting power forwards and extra picks, but I’m not sure either sees Morris as an upgrade. And not even Boston, hoarding so many picks in every draft range, is coughing up a first-rounder for Morris right now. Detroit has Marcus Morris, and a decent power forward in Ersan Ilyasova whose salary matches Markieff Morris’s almost exactly. (Perhaps the Pistons agree with Phoenix that the twins may be better off separated.) The Lakers need help everywhere, the Hornets have an easy trade package in Cody Zeller and Jeremy Lamb, and the Blazers have the cap space to absorb Morris without trading anyone. They also have a zillion other young bigs who need minutes, and there are potential fit issues in some of those other places.

[Indy]

I thought it was a pretty good article.

[Ring_Wanted]

Lowe is selling Markieff short on offense. His midrange one on one is reduced to a mere aspect of post up situations, and is even knocked down for slowing things down on offense and clogging lines for cutters (what cutters, by the way), when in fact it means he has go-to ability (even if relative as he is not Melo) in a time where fewer and fewer guys know how to create for themselves, especially big men.

There is nothing about his clutchness either but according to some metrics he is elite, and the eye test clearly backs it up.

There are many ways to score 15ppg but for all his sins and despite limitations in other areas, Kieff is a really complete offensive player and a brutal bargain at $8M.

[Indy]

There are many ways to score 15ppg but for all his sins and despite limitations in other areas, Kieff is a really complete offensive player and a brutal bargain at $8M.

That is all very true. He just isn't a guy I want on my team.

[Superbone]

Lowe better be careful. The Morrii might hunt him down and beat him up.

[Superbone]

There are many ways to score 15ppg but for all his sins and despite limitations in other areas, Kieff is a really complete offensive player and a brutal bargain at $8M.

That is all very true. He just isn't a guy I want on my team.

I'm just tired of his nonsense. He's not good enough to be worth it.