Suns News: The Offseason

[Superbone]

Fwiw I'm not interested in taking another guy at #4 and not even giving him 20 min a game. Had enough of that last year.

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Agreed. If we think we should be spending back to back drafts with a guy in the top 5, and not play them +20mpg, then we should just trade down. As much as I hated that we didn't play Bender last year, you have to acknowledge the huge benefit of playing Chriss so much. He improved by leaps and bounds from November to April.

Sure but who's to say that wouldn't have been Bender had we said "You're our starting PF & it's ok if you fail sometimes." We handled him totally contrary to that & I'm not sure why one player was given a different set of rules to play by than another.

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Chriss was better and more prepared for minutes than bender. In hindsight, our season was never going to end in making the playoffs and we should have played bender more, but I don't see how we could have handled them the same. They both couldn't start at pf. Chriss was better, he got the minutes. Bender unfortunately got scraps and was forced to play out of position. That was the risk of drafting two young guys at the same position.

I hope it burns a fire under Bender and he is so good he can't be ignored next season.

[ShelC]

I agree bender knew where to be, understood rotations, etc. more than Chriss, but bender didn't really add much. He may have not been a negative, he kept the ball moving, rotated etc. But he never put pressure on the defense. He wasn't a threat from the perimeter, he's not a threat at the rim. He just kinda keeps the flow going. I think he'll be more useful surrounded by better players.

Agree with this. He looks the part, has the skillset and I think the IQ, but he might have been too timid or adjusting to the speed of the game. He just blended in and didn't assert himself the way you hoped. And unfortunately, I don't think we have a guard who can help being him along and give him confidence the way Nash could or a coach that's really invested in seeing him become more impactful.

[Indy]

I agree bender knew where to be, understood rotations, etc. more than Chriss, but bender didn't really add much. He may have not been a negative, he kept the ball moving, rotated etc. But he never put pressure on the defense. He wasn't a threat from the perimeter, he's not a threat at the rim. He just kinda keeps the flow going. I think he'll be more useful surrounded by better players.

Agree with this. He looks the part, has the skillset and I think the IQ, but he might have been too timid or adjusting to the speed of the game. He just blended in and didn't assert himself the way you hoped. And unfortunately, I don't think we have a guard who can help being him along and give him confidence the way Nash could or a coach that's really invested in seeing him become more impactful.

I remember in the 2009-10 season that Robin Lopez (2nd year) continued to just coast from game to game. He would look like he knew what he was doing, but just couldn't do it well, or consistently. I went to a game and was lucky enough to sit in the 5th row or so behind the Suns bench. I think it was about half-way through the season. Nash decided that this night he was going to spoon feed Robin, over and over and over. Robin had ~20 points before half-time (at least in my head), and it was so wonderful to watch what Steve could do to make someone on the team so much better.

[O_Gardino]

Jackson is ready to play right now. If we draft him, I'd play him 25 minutes minimum.

Ok. Then give me your minutes distribution for Ulis, Bender, Warren & Chriss.

I'll bite. Minutes assuming we draft Jackson and two 2nd rounders, and don't make any other significant moves:
Bled 32 Ulis 16
Book 36 Barbosa 12
Warren 28 Jackson 20
Chriss 26 Bender 18 Warren 4
Len 20 Chandler 15 Williams 13

Odd men out: Knight, Dudley, DJJ, 2nd round picks. Center situation is still weird.

[Split T]

I don't think we're bringing both len and Williams back. I also don't think Williams is going anywhere else.

[carey]

And for god's sake, man, remove that damn signature from your phone!

Dude, I've looked and I can't figure out how to take it off quick reply. There's no option in the settings.

[carey]

Bledsoe - 34mpg
Ulis - 14mpg
Booker - 34mpg
LB- 12mpg
Jackson - 24mpg
Warren - 28mpg
Chriss- 30mpg
Bender - 18mpg
Dudley - 6mpg
Chandler - 26mpg
Williams - 14mpg

Center is the question mark. Do we keep Chandler? If so, I think 28-30mpg is fine. Who's his backup? Len? Williams? A free agent? Chriss? I think Dudley could be the odd man out.

This is exactly what my problem is. Bender needs more than 18 min per game and with Jackson coming in and immediately getting over 20 that means he's going to have to get some of it at the 5. Drafting Jackson does not shake out well for Bender unless we make a move.

Kellan said as much over at BSotS today:

Kellan: Besides Jackson, Jonathan Isaac is the best value pick for me personally since I have him as my No. 4 prospect and he fits the best of any prospect on the board into the long-term rotation besides Frank Ntilikina. He has the best defensive upside in this draft and can play far more SF than Bender. He has a bit of potential offensively as well, but you're picking him for defense and rebounding, which the Suns could always use more of. With that said, it is foolish to act like it's going to be simple to find him, Chriss and Bender playing time consistently unless one of them is the backup center. Chandler, Williams/Len, Chriss, Dudley, Bender and Warren is six dudes already.

[carey]

Also, everyone that replied has Bender at under 20. So, that's a problem, right?

[Split T]

If they draft anything other than a guard, it's going to be very tricky finding playing time unless more moves are made. Maybe Chandler drops down to 15-18 minutes a game? More likely, someone we expect to get minutes isn't going to get them. Williams? Bender? The rookie?

[Split T]

Also, everyone that replied has Bender at under 20. So, that's a problem, right?

I think I put him at 20. If he gets 20 consistently, I'll be satisfied

[Indy]

And for god's sake, man, remove that damn signature from your phone!

Dude, I've looked and I can't figure out how to take it off quick reply. There's no option in the settings.

In the main "Settings" from the "Me" menu, is "Signature" off?

[Mori Chu]

Sadly, I think the Tapatalk app forces you to use that sig as a little advertisement for itself.

[Indy]

Sadly, I think the Tapatalk app forces you to use that sig as a little advertisement for itself.

I don't think so.

[carey]

Test.

[Indy]

Sadly, I think the Tapatalk app forces you to use that sig as a little advertisement for itself.

I don't think so.

This was from Tapatalk.

[Indy]

Test.

I love you

[carey]

Test.

I think that worked. I never set a signature for Tapatalk so wasn't aware I even needed to turn it off. When I went there they didn't even have a box listed for me to put a signature in. Must be some sort of default.

[O_Gardino]

Also, everyone that replied has Bender at under 20. So, that's a problem, right?

I think it's more about consistent minutes. If he gets 16 or 18 or whatever, that can be fine if he is getting them every game with the freedom to make mistakes in his role.

[O_Gardino]

If they draft anything other than a guard, it's going to be very tricky finding playing time unless more moves are made. Maybe Chandler drops down to 15-18 minutes a game? More likely, someone we expect to get minutes isn't going to get them. Williams? Bender? The rookie?

Even if they draft a guard, there's not really any free minutes. This summer will tell us a lot about Ryan McD, and it's a big opportunity for him to grow.

[JCSunsfan]

Jackson is ready to play right now. If we draft him, I'd play him 25 minutes minimum.

Ok. Then give me your minutes distribution for Ulis, Bender, Warren & Chriss.

I'll bite. Minutes assuming we draft Jackson and two 2nd rounders, and don't make any other significant moves:
Bled 32 Ulis 16
Book 36 Barbosa 12
Warren 28 Jackson 20
Chriss 26 Bender 18 Warren 4
Len 20 Chandler 15 Williams 13

Odd men out: Knight, Dudley, DJJ, 2nd round picks. Center situation is still weird.

So, they are going to draft Isaac. Len is not coming back. Both Isaac and Bender will get time at the 5. Barbosa's time till be limited. Both Warren and Jackson will get time at the 2 in specialty situations.