Suns News: Week 21 3/13-3/19

[pickle]

Damn it there goes my fantasy team.

Well, at least it's not the playoffs or anything.

Arghhhh. Smack in the middle of the playoffs I lose my second rounder. Just brilliant.

But back to real life basketball. I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

[O_Gardino]

Damn it there goes my fantasy team.

Well, at least it's not the playoffs or anything.

Arghhhh. Smack in the middle of the playoffs I lose my second rounder. Just brilliant.

But back to real life basketball. I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

Hey, we benched you so that we could play the young guys, including two guards who are older than you. But we aren't losing enough. Can you go ahead and play in Eric's place so that we can lose this one?

[EDC]

Hey, we benched you so that we could play the young guys, including two guards who are older than you. But we aren't losing enough. Can you go ahead and play in Eric's place so that we can lose this one?

Pretty shocked they even asked him. I am definitely not surprised that he refused.

[INFORMER]

I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

The management of this team (organization) is a joke.

[pickle]

I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

The management of this team (organization) is a joke.

All my friends in real life think I'm a pessimist. But on this board I think it's been proven with finality that I'm an eternal optimist, always hoping that the team has a plan and that things will turn out for the best. I'm feeling a little down right now, please don't push me down that precipice.

[Mori Chu]

I don't think the management is a joke. I think they are mediocre and have made some big mistakes, but that they also have some big successes. When I look around the league, there are a lot of teams that I wouldn't trade front offices / GMs / rosters with.

[TOO]

I don't think the management is a joke. I think they are mediocre and have made some big mistakes, but that they also have some big successes. When I look around the league, there are a lot of teams that I wouldn't trade front offices / GMs / rosters with.

I think it was a joke early on, and has improved some. Its not great, but at least we arent the Nets.

[ShelC]

We're not a joke. Our moves haven't worked out. Blanks and Babby were a joke. The Knicks FO is a joke.

[INFORMER]

Our moves haven't worked out.

You say that like it has just been by happenstance. It hasn't. The roster management has been horrendous, there have been some inexcusable trades (and lack thereof), and Ryan seems to have no clue how to construct a team.

[ShelC]

Ryan seems to have no clue how to construct a team.

On the contrary, he constructed two teams. They just happened to be on one roster.

[JCSunsfan]

I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

The management of this team (organization) is a joke.

They're a joke for not tanking, they are a joke for tanking. So what should they be doing?

No healthy player wants to sit, period--except maybe Tyson Chandler. I am not sure Bledsoe would want to sit so we can get a chance to draft Fultz or Ball.

[pickle]

Our moves haven't worked out.

You say that like it has just been by happenstance. It hasn't. The roster management has been horrendous, there have been some inexcusable trades (and lack thereof), and Ryan seems to have no clue how to construct a team.

Honestly I think this is a bit strong. We can always criticize the team for moves we did make, but for ones that we didn't, I wouldn't go that far. Sure we all want to move on from certain players, but we don't know what was or was not offered, and whether McDonough truly has carte blanche to do whatever he wants with the team and free to trade away players for a bag of potato chips as we always pine for.

Our front office is not perfect. If I had to give it a grade, maybe C ish. There have been some nice saves and there have been some awful mistakes. Somewhere in between, we're this mix of youth and veterans, and the current state of the team is something I can get excited about. As we pile on for all the mistakes that the front office has made, we should also give them credit for the right moves. I like Ulis, I think so far he's proven to be a useful NBA rotation player, certainly better than Kay Felder. And as much as people hated the Chriss trade/pick (as I recall at the time many were calling for Sabonis), I am really excited about his prospects. I can't wait to see Dragan get 25 mpg or so for the remainder of the season, and while I'm down on Len, a team of Ulis/Booker/Warren/Chriss/Bender is something I'd watch no matter how many losses they pile up. So while this front office has not been far ahead of the curve, I don't think we can call this one a joke. Or maybe you have many grades for teams/front offices that are far below "joke".

[Ring_Wanted]

Random thought: if Dallas ends up getting a so-so lotto pick, perhaps they are game for a trade involving Mathews-Devin Harris (cut)-'17 pick for Bledsoe and Knight.

[pickle]

I wouldn't do that for both Bledsoe and Knight. Even tho I'm one of the bigger get rid of Bledsoe proponents.

[3rdside]

We're not a joke. Our moves haven't worked out. Blanks and Babby were a joke. The Knicks FO is a joke.

Dragic, frye, Morri, Bledsoe and now knight...There's plenty of smoke from the Ryan-doesn't-know-how-roster construction / player-management-works fire, and that is a legit cause for concern.

One lonzo ball with booker, warren and Chriss could potentially override it all of course.


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[INFORMER]

I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

The management of this team (organization) is a joke.

They're a joke for not tanking, they are a joke for tanking. So what should they be doing?

When has any of my criticism been about whether or not the Suns are tanking? Your response doesn't make any sense.

[INFORMER]

Random thought: if Dallas ends up getting a so-so lotto pick, perhaps they are game for a trade involving Mathews-Devin Harris (cut)-'17 pick for Bledsoe and Knight.

I'd love to get rid of Bledsoe and add another pick in this draft, but Matthews is a colossal waste of money and serves no purpose on this roster. I'd prefer not to do that deal.

[Mori Chu]

Yeah, I agree with INF. The one thing I wouldn't want in any player dump trade would be to take back long-term big salary. Mathews is a stay-away IMO due to the health problems.

[jonh]

I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

The management of this team (organization) is a joke.

I posted this at BSOS, but I feel like its pertinent, so Ill repost it here. Its pretty clear over the past few years that McD's greatest strength and weakness is his fixation on asset acquisition. On the positive side, It’s helped him transform a roster full of aging vets with low ceilings into one with several young players with high(er) ceilings, along with several draft picks. To me, thats a huge part of what it takes to be a good GM.

However, I think that his desire to accumulate the best assets available is often a double-edged sword, because he tends to only view players based on their potential, and often neglects to consider their fit or feelings. As a result, we see redundant player acquisition (Dragic, Thomas, Bledsoe/Chriss & Bender), slighted players that feel they were somehow lied to or deceived (Dragic), or players that felt disrespected (Frye). Ultimately, his greatest weakness as a GM is that he doesn't stop to consider the fact that his assets are also people.

Im hopeful thats a lesson he can learn.

[O_Gardino]

I know this is not exactly respectful to Knight and if he truly refused to return to the game it just signals that we've not really handled the whole benching situation well, and that's a real shame. I wish we could get him to play the next dozen games or so and really create a bit of value for himself again. I'd like to move him. I wonder if this was part of the consideration. I read somewhere that Bledsoe himself was not thrilled with the move either. Now I'm worried.

The management of this team (organization) is a joke.

I posted this at BSOS, but I feel like its pertinent, so Ill repost it here. Its pretty clear over the past few years that McD's greatest strength and weakness is his fixation on asset acquisition. On the positive side, It’s helped him transform a roster full of aging vets with low ceilings into one with several young players with high(er) ceilings, along with several draft picks. To me, thats a huge part of what it takes to be a good GM.

However, I think that his desire to accumulate the best assets available is often a double-edged sword, because he tends to only view players based on their potential, and often neglects to consider their fit or feelings. As a result, we see redundant player acquisition (Dragic, Thomas, Bledsoe/Chriss & Bender), slighted players that feel they were somehow lied to or deceived (Dragic), or players that felt disrespected (Frye). Ultimately, his greatest weakness as a GM is that he doesn't stop to consider the fact that his assets are also people.

Im hopeful thats a lesson he can learn.

That's not a bad take, and I can def see how it looks that way. That seems like a common mistake for young managers. You may be right! But there's another way to interpret the facts.

It may be that McD has to bring in Sarver's guys, and play Sarver's guys. Maybe he know that Sarver's guys aren't that good, and maybe he is building a second team behind the Sarver team so that he can make the case to his boss that his way works.