Suns News: Week 2 (10/27 - 11/2)

[Superbone]

I kinda hope this team is below .500 at the deadline and we shift focus. Trade Grayson/Royce…play Maluach/Fleming/Brea a lot of minutes and focus on the future. I’d also trade Dillon Brooks, but I doubt the front office would.

Get as much draft capital or young prospects as you can and get those young guys as much development as you can. If this is going to work with Booker, we need the young guys to be really good, pretty fast…that or acquire a 2nd star and we don’t have the assets to do that.

And if it’s not going to work, it’s going to be better to move Booker earlier than later.

Well, at this rate, there is a very good chance we'll be below .500 at the deadline. The question is whether we will shift focus to the young guys or not. And as far as Booker is concerned, without his old killer instinct, he's losing more and more value by the minute. I just don't get the impression that Ishbia is going to entertain trades for him this season but who knows? Never say never.

[Carno]

I really think we need to prioritize draft capital in any trades involving Royce or Grayson.

I see your point. It just becomes hard being a second apron team, by my understanding, because the team trading with us will need to match salaries and include draft capital. So finding a partner that would work is pretty hard. If we were trying to get a specific position, like, say, a PF, we would need to find someone who values either Royce or Grayson enough to trade a starting-caliber PF and also be willing to include draft capital. All while matching salaries and the Suns not giving up any further draft capital or players who could be valuable pieces in the future.

Grayson takes up $16,875,000 through 2028, and Royce takes up $10,125,000 expiring (could be valuable for a team trying to drop salary)

I would prioritize a PF that gets offensive rebounds and can also stretch the floor (shoot corner 3s well) or a breakout potential PG with good stats per min but just not getting time where he is at. Although I think Collin has the ability to be that for us already.

I think Grayson has more value at the deadline for a team looking to take the next step in the playoffs and Royce has more value with teams looking to shed a bit more salary with the expiring.

We're not a second apron team

Suns aren't even a tax paying team. They seem determined to stay under the luxury tax to avoid the repeater tax rate. Since they are barely under the tax threshold, I don't expect any roster moves that will put them over the taxpayer threshold.

[O_Gardino]

Agree about focusing on the young guys. We have 8 dudes under 26, so we need to keep the right vets to fill fill out the rotation and make the game easier for the young dudes wile they learn. But we do have plenty of youth.

PG - None
SG - Green, Brea
SF - Dunn, Huntly
PF - Fleming, Ighodaro
C - Williams, Maluach

Looks to me like all we need is Book and CG at point. Add Brooks for 'leadership' and on paper maybe it's ok. Or maybe the young frontcourt isn't ready and needs an anchor to simplify the game for everyone. And maybe we need to keep Allen because Green isn't healthy. Oops that sounds a lot like the roster we have today.

It's going to be a rough couple of years, fellas.

[Superbone]

Suns NBA Cup court ranked 6th by the Athletic. Blazers and Magic tied for first.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/676022 ... -rankings/

This comment stung a bit :

King (23): Suns up? Probably not. But other than that directionally misleading slogan, I am a fan of this court. The white “Phoenix” lettering pops on the orange court.

[specialsauce]

Quality of youth matters.

Aside from Williams and Green, none of our youth has a high ceiling (Maluach included- what is his ceiling?? A solid starting C? Certainly not a cornerstone)

There's a possibility none of these other players ever see meaningful playoff minutes in the NBA.

[Gladiator]

I obviously don’t know what Maluach will become but his ceiling is sky high - a more nimble Rudy Gobert, with an offensive game perhaps?
If he does reach his ceiling, he is absolutely a cornerstone

[Split T]

Hard to know what Maluach will be…we just haven’t seen enough and he’s so raw. He’s got size, skill, and athleticism though…I’m not expecting cornerstone, but I wouldn’t rule it out.

I’m very intrigued by Fleming, but I agree he’s also not likely a cornerstone guy…I could see maybe an AG like career where he turns himself into a superstar role player though.