Re: Suns Trade for Tyler Johnson/Wayne Ellington
Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:25 pm
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You could be right. But numbers don’t squarely reject him not playing to his abilities on a Bad team. Hey, I’m open to him playing up to his abilities. I’m not deflated by the move and am reserving being hopeful.Wormwood wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:14 pmStats say he's a bad defender. -1.5 DRPM (well below average, bottom 25th percentile). NBA math puts him at -4.59, which is below average. NBA Advanced stats has his DEFRTG at 105.8, which is a little below average. His OFFRTG is 103.1, which is very poorIndy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:53 pmHe can't be a good defender. WW said he was TERRIBLE!Drewsprocket wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:51 pmI watched a bunch of his highlights: definite rotation player, heady combo guard, good defender, competitive spirit, comes off screens and hits 3s or dives into the lane, can hit the open man, good ball handler. Looks like he was just over paid. With the suns he will have the opportunity to prove himself.
There's really not many ways to slice it: he's not a good player, we're paying him 19M, he doesn't address our needs at PG at all, and if he isn't buried on the bench we'll just be screaming at him because he couldn't find an open player if his life depended on it. Like, he makes Melton look like a great distributor.
I think we’re 4th. Knicks, Cavs, Bulls will out lose usFlagrant Fowl wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:42 pmI'll only be upset with this trade if it turns out that Johnson is good enough to take the Suns out of the bottom 3.
No way. Supposedly we are shutting Booker down for the rest of the season. We won’t win more than 2 more games with this rosterSplit T wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:51 pmI think we’re 4th. Knicks, Cavs, Bulls will out lose usFlagrant Fowl wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:42 pmI'll only be upset with this trade if it turns out that Johnson is good enough to take the Suns out of the bottom 3.
Possibly, but remember that Booker will still miss another 6-8 games.Split T wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:51 pmI think we’re 4th. Knicks, Cavs, Bulls will out lose usFlagrant Fowl wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:42 pmI'll only be upset with this trade if it turns out that Johnson is good enough to take the Suns out of the bottom 3.
Where is this coming fromdjy2j wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:55 pmNo way. Supposedly we are shutting Booker down for the rest of the season. We won’t win more than 2 more games with this rosterSplit T wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:51 pmI think we’re 4th. Knicks, Cavs, Bulls will out lose usFlagrant Fowl wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:42 pmI'll only be upset with this trade if it turns out that Johnson is good enough to take the Suns out of the bottom 3.
Phoenix Suns: B+
Over the past couple of years, the Suns' dilemma has been whether to acquire a starting point guard or let Devin Booker take over the position. Dealing for Johnson sort of splits the difference. A combo guard capable of playing either at the point or off the ball, Johnson can share playmaking duties with Booker while retaining value as a spot-up shooter when Booker is at the controls.
So far this season, Johnson has split has minutes almost evenly between the point and the 2-guard positions, taking on the latter role as a starter recently alongside Justise Winslow. I'd expect Phoenix to use Johnson to bring the ball up and initiate the offense on a regular basis before giving way to Booker as part of the primary action.
The downside of Johnson's versatility is it's hard to identify any specific area in which he excels. He's a solid 3-point shooter but not an elite one, having hit 37 percent beyond the arc in his career but just 35 percent so far this season -- a tad worse than league average. Nonetheless, Johnson is a huge upgrade on the Suns' other ballhandling options. Even if he's not Phoenix's point guard of the future, he can solidify the position for the short term and keep the Suns from having to overpay to get one.
Ellington was included strictly to help Miami save money and has little use to a team flush with wings. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that his agent is working with Phoenix on waiving him to sign with a playoff team. Ellington has leverage because as a player on a one-year contract with Bird rights at its conclusion, he had veto power over his inclusion in the trade.
From a financial standpoint, the Suns are probably thinking of this as paying $3.6 million next year for Johnson. That's the marginal difference between his salary and the $15.6 million Anderson was guaranteed in 2019-20 after agreeing to reduce it as part of Phoenix's trade acquiring him from the Houston Rockets. (The Suns could also have stretched Anderson's guaranteed salary to create additional cap space.)
Given Anderson wasn't a contributor at all -- after opening the season as Phoenix's starting power forward, he hadn't seen game action since December 4 -- that and Ellington's salary the remainder this season are a small price to pay to upgrade.
I’ve been on the RealGM boards all day. I thought I read it as Gambo said it on the radio but I’ll go back and look. They were discussing it over there.Split T wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:57 pmWhere is this coming fromdjy2j wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:55 pmNo way. Supposedly we are shutting Booker down for the rest of the season. We won’t win more than 2 more games with this rosterSplit T wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:51 pmI think we’re 4th. Knicks, Cavs, Bulls will out lose usFlagrant Fowl wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:42 pmI'll only be upset with this trade if it turns out that Johnson is good enough to take the Suns out of the bottom 3.
I think this is exactly it. Igor's offense isn't overly reliant on a PG pounding the ball and getting everyone else set up. I also think Johnson being coached by Spo in that Heat system might have played a part. We shed Anderson for someone who will play minutes for us. I'm fine with it.Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:34 pmA pretty meh trade.
Contrary to some people's belief around here, I think Johnson is a decent fit with how Igor has used Booker. Johnson is a reliable ball handler and he can actually hit an open shot with some consistency.