2014-15 Phoenix Suns salary cap landscape

[Ring_Wanted]

Players under contract (updated after Frye declined his PO) :


Goran Dragic................... $7.5M + [$7.5M PO]

Alex Len.........................$3.65M + [ 3.80 TO / 4.8 TO / 6.4 QO ]

Gerald Green...................$3.5M

Markieff Morris................$3M + [ 4.1 QO ]

Marcus Morris..................$3M + [ 4.1 QO ]

Miles Plumlee...................$1.1M + [ 1.1 TO / 2.1 TO / 3.1 QO ]

Archie Goodwin................$1.1M + [ 1.1 TO / 2.1 TO / 3.1 QO ]

Unguaranteed contracts: Ish Smith (1M), Christmas (0.8M), Shavlik Randolph (1.2M).

Michael Beasley buy out: $0.7M / $0.7M / $0.7M

Player Cap Holds:

Eric Bledsoe RFA 6.5M [from 3.7M QO]
PJ Tucker RFA 1.15M [from 1.15M QO]

Draft Picks cap hold:
#14......$1.6M
#18......$1.3M

Total salary commited : $36.7M* (includes Beasley, non guaranteed deals, rights to Bledsoe-PJ-picks #14 and #18)

2014-15 Salary Cap: $63.2M (luxury tax threshold at $77M)

Estimated cap space without renouncing to any rights: $26.5M

[Ring_Wanted]

I suppose many of you already know all this info. I just wanted to make it as clear as possible so everybody can have a better idea of what are our options entering the offseason.

As you see, we'll be able to offer a max contract, but only as long as Eric Bledsoe's offer sheet is not signed. If/when that happens, our cap space will take a big hit and the Suns won't be able to play for the big free agents, unless Frye opts out and/or a sign and trade was amended.

Also, as many know, the NBA has raised its salary cap prevision. It's up by 5M, and if you were wondering what's the impact on the Suns, the answer is that it's not so good for our interests. It won't make us significantly more flexible, but other teams will indeed have enough room to enter max territory without needing to make further sacrifices. Chicago, for instance (assuming the amnesty Boozer).

[Ring_Wanted]

Free agents:

PG: Kyle Lowry, Isaiah Thomas RFA, Patrick Mills, Geivris Vasquez RFA, Avery Bradley RFA, Jimmer Fredette, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Farmar, Ramon Sessions, Kirk Hinrich, Devin Harris.

SG: Dwayne Wade ETO, Lance Stephenson, Ray Allen, Thabo Sefolosha, Rodney Stuckey, Jodie Meeks, Evan Turner RFA, Jordan Crawford RFA, Kent Bazemore, Douglas-Roberts, CJ Miles, Marshon Brooks.

SF: LeBron James ETO, Carmelo Anthony ETO, Gordon Hayward RFA, Luol Deng, Paul Pierce, Rudy Gay PO, Trevor Ariza, Shawn Marion, Brandon Rush, Jordan Hamilton, Al-Farouq Aminu.

PF: Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh ETO, Zach Randolph PO, Josh McRoberts PO, Andrei Kirilenko PO, Patrick Patterson RFA, Trevor Booker RFA, Ed Davis RFA, Darrell Arthur PO, Anthony Tolliver, Dejuan Blair, Kris Humphries, Glen Davis, Ekpe Udoh, Jan Vesely, Boris Diaw.

C: Greg Monroe RFA, Marcin Gortat, Pau Gasol, Jermaine O'Neal, Greg Oden, Jason Smith, Aaron The Grey.

[Mori Chu]

Thanks for all the great info. Here are some random FAs I think it'd be interesting to go after:

PG: Kyle Lowry, Isaiah Thomas RFA, Patrick Mills, Geivris Vasquez RFA, Avery Bradley RFA, Jimmer Fredette, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Farmar, Ramon Sessions, Kirk Hinrich, Devin Harris.

SG: Dwayne Wade ETO, Lance Stephenson, Ray Allen, Thabo Sefolosha, Rodney Stuckey, Jodie Meeks, Evan Turner RFA, Jordan Crawford RFA, Kent Bazemore, Douglas-Roberts, CJ Miles, Marshon Brooks.

SF: LeBron James ETO, Carmelo Anthony ETO, Gordon Hayward RFA, Luol Deng, Paul Pierce, Rudy Gay PO, Trevor Ariza, Shawn Marion, Brandon Rush, Jordan Hamilton, Al-Farouq Aminu.

PF: Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh ETO, Zach Randolph PO, Josh McRoberts PO, Andrei Kirilenko PO, Patrick Patterson RFA, Trevor Booker RFA, Ed Davis RFA, Darrell Arthur PO, Anthony Tolliver, Dejuan Blair, Kris Humphries, Glen Davis, Ekpe Udoh, Jan Vesely, Boris Diaw.

C: Greg Monroe RFA, Marcin Gortat, Pau Gasol, Jermaine O'Neal, Greg Oden, Jason Smith, Aaron The Grey.

Obviously some of the above bolded dudes won't really be available or will be out of our price range, though.

[Ring_Wanted]

Woah. Can't say I have any interest in the guards and SFs bolded.

Jimmer would be cool, but I can live with Ish and Goodwin for next season. I've actually become fond of Ish and his chance of pace, and having him allows you to give Archie more chances. And for all his shooting power, he'd be one more bad defensive player.

With Gerald Green, Kieff and Marcus I think we have enough scoring ability to spend on Brooks, and if he is going to be just minimum filler, I'd rather give his spot to a rookie.

Deng is not the type of SF I feel this team needs, although he is obviously an improvement over what we have, unlike Shawn Marion for the most part. Still, I don't want to be the one paying Deng's last major contract. At least not at this point in the rebuilding process.

We've discussed Monroe before, he is good, but I think I'd rather wait for 2015.

Pau Gasol? Sure, give him a 4/20 contract. Extract the last two decent seasons out of him and stretch the fourth year or use it as an expiring contract. If he listened, of course. But I don't think he would as a free agent.

[Ring_Wanted]

How about this:

Free agents:

PG: Kyle Lowry, Isaiah Thomas RFA, Patrick Mills, Geivris Vasquez RFA, Avery Bradley RFA, Jimmer Fredette, Shaun Livingston, Jordan Farmar, Ramon Sessions, Kirk Hinrich, Devin Harris.

SG: Dwayne Wade ETO, Lance Stephenson, Ray Allen, Thabo Sefolosha, Rodney Stuckey, Jodie Meeks, Evan Turner RFA, Jordan Crawford RFA, Kent Bazemore, Douglas-Roberts, CJ Miles, Marshon Brooks.

SF: LeBron James ETO, Carmelo Anthony ETO, Gordon Hayward RFA, Luol Deng, Paul Pierce, Rudy Gay PO, Trevor Ariza, Shawn Marion, Brandon Rush, Jordan Hamilton, Al-Farouq Aminu.

PF: Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Bosh ETO, Zach Randolph PO, Josh McRoberts PO, Andrei Kirilenko PO, Patrick Patterson RFA, Trevor Booker RFA, Ed Davis RFA, Darrell Arthur PO, Anthony Tolliver, Dejuan Blair, Kris Humphries, Glen Davis, Ekpe Udoh, Jan Vesely, Boris Diaw.

C: Greg Monroe RFA, Marcin Gortat, Pau Gasol, Jermaine O'Neal, Greg Oden, Jason Smith, Aaron The Grey.

Plus the rookie-s, Bledsoe and PJ back and call it an offseason.

[Superbone]

Where do you think Hayward would play on this team? I guess with Bledsoe and Dragic he'd have to start at SF and could always slide over and play some SG too.

[Ring_Wanted]

SF. I'd really like to see a 1-2-3 with Bledsoe, Goran and Hayward.

Also, the Morii for Gibson/Millsap.

[Shabazz]

That whole list is one big "Meh."

I'd pass on making a big FA move and try and improve through trade. Monroe is obviously the most intriguing name, but he's probably looking for a max deal.

[Sunsfan4life]

Great thread and info Ring.

I agree that the FA class is very underwhelming. Monroe is a nice piece for us, but at the right price.

Other then that we have to handle in house business and go from there.

[TOO]

Monroe, Hayward, Stephenson, Meeks are of interest to me. Also depending on Bledsoe and Tucker, Sefolosha and Thomas are intriguing. Also think Pierce would be a decent pick-up as a bench 3/mentor.

[SDC]

Pau Gasol? Sure, give him a 4/20 contract. Extract the last two decent seasons out of him and stretch the fourth year or use it as an expiring contract. If he listened, of course. But I don't think he would as a free agent.

if the suns keep the team intact, i'm for giving gasol a two year deal worth 2/20.

[SDC]

one option is to keep the team intact, and add only gortat or gasol. the team has already the capability of beating good teams, it only needs more consistency and good health.

[Shabazz]

I'd be pretty happy going in to next season with a guard rotation of Gogi, Bled, Green and Archie with spot minutes going to a rookie/project and/or a 3rd string PG (Jahii Carson? Stauskas?).

[Ring_Wanted]

Monroe, Hayward, Stephenson, Meeks are of interest to me. Also depending on Bledsoe and Tucker, Sefolosha and Thomas are intriguing. Also think Pierce would be a decent pick-up as a bench 3/mentor.

I agree with your names, but I guess Thabo would be more expensive than PJ. He gives you better handles, but lately he is a ghost on offense. I also believe we'd miss PJ's rebounding a lot. If I intended to replace Tucker I'd probably look at Ariza first, even at a higher price, but the truth is that I consider the 3D role well covered as long as Tucker can be resigned around 3M per. My only concern about him would be mantaining the 3pt%.

Paul Pierce could be a really solid acquisition, but would he come to the Suns for a fair amount? I see Pierce going to the Clippers or Bulls if he left Brooklyn but indeed his savoir faire would be nice. I doubt we'll be in the crepuscular HOFers business, tho.

Meeks will also want to cash in his numbers with the Lakers. I think we have more pressing needs and although they say you can't have enough shooters, I don't know if he'd outplay Green or Marcus.

[Ring_Wanted]

Monroe sounds good in theory, but spending on him significantly would leave the Suns still quite flawed on defense and would essentially erase our flexibility going forward. Adding post offense and some rebounding would of course be nice, but in this case I'd rather stay put and give minutes to rookies.

Stephenson's game is pretty good. Actually one of the now rare SGs who can create on his own, and probably the only one who also defends at a real high level and can shoot, but he is looking more and more like a headcase. I had interest at the beginning of the season, but after following him more closely, that's not the case anymore. INF pointed at this at the start of the year and I believe he is right, and whoever takes him other than the Pacers could have buyer's remorse quite soon.

[Ring_Wanted]

Pau Gasol? Sure, give him a 4/20 contract. Extract the last two decent seasons out of him and stretch the fourth year or use it as an expiring contract. If he listened, of course. But I don't think he would as a free agent.

if the suns keep the team intact, i'm for giving gasol a two year deal worth 2/20.

This puts you in absolute need for sign and trades if you want to be a player in the 2015 free agency. No thanks for this Pau. And no thanks to Gortat too.

I don't think spending big time on any of the available centers make sense for the Suns at this point. I'd rather take my chances with the draft considering the going rate for the pound of relevant center in the NBA.

[Ring_Wanted]

I'd be pretty happy going in to next season with a guard rotation of Gogi, Bled, Green and Archie with spot minutes going to a rookie/project and/or a 3rd string PG (Jahii Carson? Stauskas?).

That's my opinion as well, but I do want to upgrade at SF if I can find a guy capable of creating while not being a liability at everything else. Beyond the top prospects, this draft doesn't look too deep with these beyond-mere-role player wing types. Maybe TJ Warren?

[Ring_Wanted]

That whole list is one big "Meh."

I'd pass on making a big FA move and try and improve through trade. Monroe is obviously the most intriguing name, but he's probably looking for a max deal.

I really don't see Monroe as the most interesting FA this summer, given the rest of the roster. If he was a real two way center I'd be all for him, but After watching the second half of the season I am not at all in the mood for another defensively weak big man.

What kind of trades could you see the Suns looking for?

[SDC]

Pau Gasol? Sure, give him a 4/20 contract. Extract the last two decent seasons out of him and stretch the fourth year or use it as an expiring contract. If he listened, of course. But I don't think he would as a free agent.

if the suns keep the team intact, i'm for giving gasol a two year deal worth 2/20.

This puts you in absolute need for sign and trades if you want to be a player in the 2015 free agency. No thanks for this Pau. And no thanks to Gortat too.

I don't think spending big time on any of the available centers make sense for the Suns at this point. I'd rather take my chances with the draft considering the going rate for the pound of relevant center in the NBA.

it makes all the sense in the world, if the suns want to keep the team intact. i'm not worried about the suns sf, sg positions. the suns can always move players around to play different positions. i know you dont want to be mocked for suggesting gasol for the suns, but saying the suns can sign him for 4/20 is ridiculous.