Suns News: Week 14 1/23-1/29

[UglyTruth]

I don't think it would be hard to find a center in the late rounds of the draft who can provide what Len provides.

And there are also derby backup Cs in the league who may be able to do it as well such as O'Quinn, Aldrich etc.

[pickle]

I quite like what Len brings and hope that we keep him. Late round, early round, same thing... Centers tend to take time to develop, and I don't advocate continually stepping on the early end of that development timeline unless a convincing argument can be made that we aren't ready for a fully blossoming center yet. But by all accounts, Booker has already developed, and Warren is on his way, while hopefully our two young bigs won't take as much time. As long as they become productive within a 3 year window when we still have Len on his next contract for 2, I'd love to have Len doing Mark West things for a contending Suns team, rather than the next Sabonis who's still figuring out the league who's 3-5 mil cheaper.

Leuer and Teletovic deserved their contracts. Leuer is an upgrade over what the Pistons had/have, and Teletovic brings a specific set of skills that Jason Kidd just isn't utilizing as much as we did. Mozgov was an awful contract from the very beginning.

If we get Len for the 12-14 mil per range I would jump on it.

[Gladiator]

I also think Len is worth persisting with. He's a legitimate 7-footer, quite agile, has shown signs of being an above average rebounder and defender, plus isn't a disaster from the foul line like most of the good rebounding/defending centers are. I feel like with a decent run at it (without injuries and with a consistent role) he will trend upwards and be worth the gamble.

[UglyTruth]

Alex Len is gonna be the Suns version of Meyers Leonard.

What Suns fans are right now saying about Len being young and big men taking long to develop was all also said about Leonard on the Blazers forum among their fans. And as of today, they consider him to be the worst contract on a team with such atrocious contracts like Evan Turner and Allan Crabbe.

[Superbone]

Alex Len is gonna be the Suns version of Meyers Leonard.

What Suns fans are right now saying about Len being young and big men taking long to develop was all also said about Leonard on the Blazers forum among their fans. And as of today, they consider him to be the worst contract on a team with such atrocious contracts like Evan Turner and Allan Crabbe.

I don't think so. Totally different types of players.

[Superbone]

Alex Len is gonna be the Suns version of Meyers Leonard.

What Suns fans are right now saying about Len being young and big men taking long to develop was all also said about Leonard on the Blazers forum among their fans. And as of today, they consider him to be the worst contract on a team with such atrocious contracts like Evan Turner and Allan Crabbe.

I don't think so. Totally different types of players. Meyers is a pretty boy who doesn't like to bang and stays out on the perimeter.

[LazarusLong]

Len plays well when he starts. But Chandler has to start (according to management/coaching/contract).

And sometimes he plays the 4 alongside Chandler ... Len is not a power forward.

Len is solid, but not spectacular. If used properly and playing regularly, he'd probably be a 12 or 14 and 10 guy.

[Mori Chu]

If the coach felt about Len the way he feels about Tucker, Len would probably be getting crazy high minutes and be featured in the offense, and he'd probably score a bunch.

[In2ition]

I don't think that Len is a superstar, but I think he is still a good center. Center position is not weak spot on this team right now, imo. It feels like style of play, mismatching parts, inexperience, lack of maturity and talent is all holding this team back right now. Some of these things will work themselves out, and others can probably be fixed with some deft trades.

[TOO]

I think Len is fine, as long as he's playing big and not shooting 17ft jumpers. Yeah, he has his warts, bad hands, drops the ball down before goes up every f'n time, but he defends, rebounds, isnt afraid to play in the post. Solid C.

[In2ition]

I think Len is fine, as long as he's playing big and not shooting 17ft jumpers. Yeah, he has his warts, bad hands, drops the ball down before goes up every f'n time, but he defends, rebounds, isnt afraid to play in the post. Solid C.

Agreed with all this. He needs to keep working on that 17 ft jump shot, just should take much less of them until he's mastered it. Unless the Suns get lucky in a future lottery with a can't miss prospect, they could just keep taking bpa and if it happens to be a C, so be it. Need good hands, size and attitude.

[Superbone]

I think Len is fine, as long as he's playing big and not shooting 17ft jumpers. Yeah, he has his warts, bad hands, drops the ball down before goes up every f'n time, but he defends, rebounds, isnt afraid to play in the post. Solid C.

Agreed with all this. He needs to keep working on that 17 ft jump shot, just should take much less of them until he's mastered it. Unless the Suns get lucky in a future lottery with a can't miss prospect, they could just keep taking bpa and if it happens to be a C, so be it. Need good hands, size and attitude.

Yeah, I just think we keep him if the demands aren't outrageous. The grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[UglyTruth]

I think Len is fine, as long as he's playing big and not shooting 17ft jumpers. Yeah, he has his warts, bad hands, drops the ball down before goes up every f'n time, but he defends, rebounds, isnt afraid to play in the post. Solid C.

One of the biggest warts of his that you didn't mean is his injuries. It's a valid concern when looking to give him a $12M+/yr long term deal.

[Split T]

Free agent centers I think will come cheaper than Len:

Tiago Splitter
Amir Johnson
Kelly Olynyk(R)
Spencer Hawes
Roy Hibbert
Cristiano Felicio(R)
Taj Gibson
Andrew Bogut
Zaza Pachulia
Anderson Varejao
Javale McGee
Nene
Willie Reed
Donatas Motejunas
Dewayne Dedmon
Jared Sullinger
Jeff Withey

Some of those guys aren't very good and some won't come here and some are more PF than C, but there's a few on there I'd be interested in.

[In2ition]

Those names aren't exactly getting me all excited. I still believe that Len has a higher ceiling that these guys as a Center.

[Split T]

Those names aren't exactly getting me all excited. I still believe that Len has a higher ceiling that these guys as a Center.

Of course, but that's why he's going to get paid a lot more. The question is do you want Len at 4 years 70 million, or one of these for cheaper. If we're planning on keeping Chandler around for next season, which it feels like is management's plan, then I'm not sure how you pay Len 15M a year. Get one of the younger guys on this list or maybe draft a C with our 2nd rounder and let them backup Chandler for a year. Reevaluate next season. Now if we decide to move Chandler, then that changes things. I'd rather move him now though to see what we've got in Len.

[In2ition]

This is going to be a tough decision.
1. How far away from competing do the Suns think they are?
2. What type of style will fit their roster when they are ready?
3. Are there any free agents or possible trades that could be made that puts them over the top in the timetable above?
4. Will the Suns be willing to pay for their own guys?
5. Do they think they can upgrade the talent with a cheaper contract and possibly younger player?

I feel like they've put a ton of money into Knight, Bledsoe and Chandler going forward, but I'm not sold that they are long term solutions when the rest of the young core is ready to compete. Maybe management believes differently, and of course Bledsoe and Knight are still young and neither have theoretically hit the peak years of their career. Chandler is now on the downside of his career, but if I recall correctly, Chandler was still struggling in his 4th year in Chicago.

They've already allowed Len to go into his restricted free agent year, so they may have to see where the market leads them. Everyone is throwing around crazy money and a lot of other teams may be willing to overpay for him. Idk if the Suns will be in the running for any marquee free agents in the near future.

[JCSunsfan]

Gambo said today that the Suns front office is now bailing on the season and he expects some significant trade. "More than just Tucker for a first rounder."





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[Split T]

Gambo said today that the Suns front office is now bailing on the season and he expects some significant trade. "More than just Tucker for a first rounder."





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That's good to hear!

[pickle]

Free agent centers I think will come cheaper than Len:

Tiago Splitter
Amir Johnson
Kelly Olynyk(R)
Spencer Hawes
Roy Hibbert
Cristiano Felicio(R)
Taj Gibson
Andrew Bogut
Zaza Pachulia
Anderson Varejao
Javale McGee
Nene
Willie Reed
Donatas Motejunas
Dewayne Dedmon
Jared Sullinger
Jeff Withey

Some of those guys aren't very good and some won't come here and some are more PF than C, but there's a few on there I'd be interested in.

The only guy on this list that I want over Len is Olynyk. The others are mostly over the hill or have massive problems of their own, like a Sullinger or Hibbert.

I think we need to stop romanticizing about other potential pieces out there and consider the ones we have. Is Len a disappointment for being the 5th pick overall? Absolutely. In a vacuum, is he a terrible player? No he's not (apologies for answering my own rhetorical questions). The market will determine fair value for him, and we can then choose whether to match or not. If he gets one of those Zeller type deals, I'd love to hang on to him and let him continue to grow. If he gets a Mozgov type deal, yeah I'll probably take a deep pause and think things over. On the other hand, I'm hoping that this coming summer will not be nearly as crazy. There's solid money out there, but that money should probably go to the top end free agents, and the second tier of guys will not get as much simply because a few stupid teams have already blown their loads this past summer. IIRC, we are still under the salary floor, and need to pay someone. Instead of paying another unknown who could bring god knows what to the team, slightly overpaying one of our own who has been a good soldier and has never had any chemistry issues despite being jerked around by two consecutive coaching staffs is something I'd place a slight premium on.

Regarding his shooting, if he doesn't shoot those 17 footers in this more or less wasted season, then when? This is exactly the time we need him to do different things on the court to develop new skills. I certainly don't want him to start picking up outside shooting in 3 years when we are actually relevant. As much as I appreciate everything Chandler has done for us, I'd love to move him for future picks and find out what Len is capable of. Which includes experimenting with his mid-range shot.