NBA News: Offseason

[Indy]

...due to some erroneous believe that time automatically breeds improvement or that stability automatically yields progress and/or success.

Who said that? I'd really like to know.

What will make Ryan learn how to be a great GM?

[Cap]

...due to some erroneous believe that time automatically breeds improvement or that stability automatically yields progress and/or success.

Who said that? I'd really like to know.

What will make Ryan learn how to be a great GM?

Well, if someone will just point him to Phx-Suns.net...

[Indy]

Ha!

[Aztec Sunsfan]

So much going on, and we still waste so much time bitching about the past to deny any posibility of future success. Is like Wormwood's ghost had taken posesion of the posting board, denying any joy or optimism. This depressing attitude is so '90's guys!!!

I came here to know your take on this crazy offseason and such, but damn, we really like to beat that dead horse. We only like media reports when they are dismissing us, but if they give us some sort of compliment... I do like to be hopeful during the offseason, because is the time of the year when everything can happen, and everything COULD go our way next season.

Chill out people, let's be positive, that we have a full year ahead to probe us wrong.

[Superbone]

...due to some erroneous believe that time automatically breeds improvement or that stability automatically yields progress and/or success.

Who said that? I'd really like to know.

What will make Ryan learn how to be a great GM?

Is that a serious question? What makes anybody great?

[Superbone]

So much going on, and we still waste so much time bitching about the past to deny any posibility of future success. Is like Wormwood's ghost had taken posesion of the posting board, denying any joy or optimism. This depressing attitude is so '90's guys!!!

I came here to know your take on this crazy offseason and such, but damn, we really like to beat that dead horse. We only like media reports when they are dismissing us, but if they give us some sort of compliment... I do like to be hopeful during the offseason, because is the time of the year when everything can happen, and everything COULD go our way next season.

Chill out people, let's be positive, that we have a full year ahead to probe us wrong.

We don't need to be positive for positive's sake but how about just a balanced take every once in a while? We've got a bunch of chicken littles running around here.

[Aztec Sunsfan]

I'm not saying we should eat whatever is put on the plate, but right now we have many thing to look forward as posibly Good to Great things. Bender and Ulis have shown flashes to belong in the league, Chriss at least show us that he can go up and down in a game, Booker keeps Bookering the game, and all this became posible with Ryan at the helm. Of course I could go off on how I wanted Sabonis over Chriss and feel validated on that, but hey, Chriss is on my team now and I'm gonna support him until is clear he has no hope to be productive, and even if Sabonis is a better player in the end, such is life, we can't nail it them all. I live happier letting go years ago the JJ extension, and the Iguodala fiasco. Of course still hurts, but it is as irrelevant as remember how I did not saw the signs that my highschool girlfriend was breaking up with me. But somehow, we manage to bring it over and over again.

Ryan is showing signs to be concern about chemistry issues and took steps toward improving it with Dudley and Barbosa to some degree, he has kept his hands out of this FA extravaganza so far. But we keep bitching on how awful he is, because he is not doing what we want him to do. Even if he do some of it, we fast point the finger on what he hasn't.

I don't know, but to me, there are many things to be positive, especially considering that we already know how a clueless GM looks like, how an incompetent coach do his thing, and how hopeless players looks like n summer league. We have none of them right now.

[Hermen]

I think that for a GM his relationships with people around the league (other GMs mostly) is also an important factor. And being in the league longer probably makes it easier form to some good relationships. Which is where age comes into play. So maybe it was a bit soon for Ryan to become a GM, but it's not his fault he got the offer
Just my 2c.

[Mori Chu]

^ Aztec: I think there is definitely reason for optimism and hope right now as a Suns fan. We probably aren't going to be very good this coming year, but as long as we get to watch young players grow and improve and see progress toward a goal, I think it can be a fun season. I'm really looking forward to this year even though I think we'll win about 30% of our games at best.

[Indy]

Sorry I'm not heralding Ryan as anything more than an average GM. Sorry I want an above average GM. It has literally been over 10 years since we have had one. And I guess it is wrong of me to question how a guy will learn to be great at a job that only 30 people are doing on the planet, by working with/under other inexperienced people.

[OE32]

Sorry I'm not heralding Ryan as anything more than an average GM. Sorry I want an above average GM. It has literally been over 10 years since we have had one. And I guess it is wrong of me to question how a guy will learn to be great at a job that only 30 people are doing on the planet, by working with/under other inexperienced people.

Well, if we were to trade, say, Brandon Knight and two first rounders for Westbrook, only to see him go, would that be a smart move? McDyess, anyone?

How about if McD had splurged on average free agents this offseason after missing targets #1 and #2? L** L****** and Tom Gugliotta, anyone?

What would you say if he traded Bledsoe for Brandon Jennings? Kidd for Marbury, eh?

Or if he had traded the #4 in this draft for a future pick which turned out to be in the 20s? Ah, Andre Iguodala, what a Sun you might have been.

Or if he had traded two firsts along with PJ and Goodwin for Derrick Rose? Thanks for the memories, Penny.

Trading Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk for Joe Johnson is not that much different from trading Dudley for Bledsoe. Drafting Amare and Marion at #9, and Cuban making the mistake of letting Steve Nash go, was basically the saving grace of BC's tenure.

Trading for Knight is essentially THE blemish on McD's record. With IT, the positive of the signing itself outweighed, by the value of the #28 pick in last year's draft, the negative value of trading him away. The Knight transaction remains open-ended, in a sense.

Given all that, McD >>> BC when it comes to trades, IMO. WIth respect to the draft, we don't yet know. BC drafted Nash, Finley, Amare and Marion - brilliant. Kerr drafted Dragic but was otherwise unremarkable. Blanks was downright awful, making almost exactly the wrong decisions on draft day.

McD has compiled a cache of first rounders, three of whom I love (Booker, TJ and Bender). Only time will tell how good our Five Guys are. I'd argue drafting Booker at 13 was the equivalent of drafting Amare at #9 or Steve at #13 (except that we traded Steve for the pick that became the Matrix). If TJ works out, that would be the equivalent of drafting Finley. If Bender or Chriss work out, that may be equivalent to drafting the Matrix.

If you want to reach back beyond the malaise to the Barkley years, there were two good years, and two pretty bad ones. We were painful to watch in 95-96. We cleaned up in free agency in 94-95 with a collection of ring chasers, but other than that, I believe BC's only net positive free agent signings were Uncle Cliffy and Rodney Rogers. Hardly a formidable track record.

I find it strange to be pining for yesteryear with all the positive developments that have taken place.

[Cap]

I'd argue drafting Booker at 13 was the equivalent of drafting Amare at #9 or Steve at #13 (except that we traded Steve for the pick that became the Matrix).

Actually we drafted Steve at #15 after trying and failing to trade up to #13 for Kobe.

[OE32]

I'd argue drafting Booker at 13 was the equivalent of drafting Amare at #9 or Steve at #13 (except that we traded Steve for the pick that became the Matrix).

Actually we drafted Steve at #15 after trying and failing to trade up to #13 for Kobe.

Ah yes, that's right. MB.

[Superbone]

Sorry I'm not heralding Ryan as anything more than an average GM. Sorry I want an above average GM. It has literally been over 10 years since we have had one. And I guess it is wrong of me to question how a guy will learn to be great at a job that only 30 people are doing on the planet, by working with/under other inexperienced people.

If you're seriously asking how to become great at something, go read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. 10,000 hours and deliberate practice is a great start. Ryan still has plenty of time to become a better GM. Will he? That's anybody's guess but he's not a bad one now. There are very few GMs in the league right now that I would consider "great." I personally think he's already in the upper half and probably in the upper third like carey said. And yes, time gives people the potential to get better but of course it's not guaranteed.

[OE32]

I simply think people are evaluating McD on his stated reasons for doing things rather than the overall pattern of his moves. The overall pattern has been to accumulate assets and young talent. That's it. If you look at that rather than the record of the team or the happiness of the players, I can't see any reason to think McD's been anything but phenomenal. But I've said the same thing a thousand times. Bla bla bla.

[INFORMER]

we still waste so much time bitching about the past to deny any posibility of future success.

How is anyone dwelling on the past?

[INFORMER]

So much going on, and we still waste so much time bitching about the past to deny any posibility of future success. Is like Wormwood's ghost had taken posesion of the posting board, denying any joy or optimism. This depressing attitude is so '90's guys!!!

I came here to know your take on this crazy offseason and such, but damn, we really like to beat that dead horse. We only like media reports when they are dismissing us, but if they give us some sort of compliment... I do like to be hopeful during the offseason, because is the time of the year when everything can happen, and everything COULD go our way next season.

Chill out people, let's be positive, that we have a full year ahead to probe us wrong.

We don't need to be positive for positive's sake but how about just a balanced take every once in a while? We've got a bunch of chicken littles running around here.

It has been the same thing every offseason for years now. Posters express their displeasure on the decisions being made, other posters start whining about all the negativity, someone rolls out the tired, lazy, and dismissive "chicken little" barbs, and so on.

And funny thing is, nothing has changed. Since 2010, the Suns claim to glory is a 48-win, 9th place finish. And yet people still get blasted for being negative.

Welcome to Suns fan purgatory. It's probably time for my annual hiatus.

[Cap]

It's probably time for my annual hiatus.

Please don't.

[INFORMER]

I simply think people are evaluating McD on his stated reasons for doing things rather than the overall pattern of his moves.

I don't know about people, but personally I ultimately evaluate Ryan on what he does, but I certainly will react to what he says as well. Ultimately, regardless of patterns, stated reasons, whatever, I don't think the his 2016 draft was good, I don't think it is good that Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight are still Phoenix Suns. But I guess I'm just living in the past, so just ignore me.

[INFORMER]

https://twitter.com/WojVerticalNBA/status/752216113484746752 Still really like this guy. Good move for Portland.