Phx-Suns.Net

It's a tire fire in Phoenix, where the Suns fell for the elixir of an unexpected 48-win season in 2013-14, went for it with a series of moves that deviated from their original rebuilding plan and now find themselves in a state of chaos. In 2013, the Suns traded veterans Jared Dudley, Luis Scola and Marcin Gortat for a collection of young players and draft picks, a tried-and-true strategy for rebuilding. But lo and behold, Phoenix nearly won 50 games and narrowly missed the playoffs.

The organization's posture changed, and its undoing was two-fold, according to rival executives: 1) Signing 33-year-old Tyson Chandler to a four-year, $52 million deal on the belief that the move would entice free agent LaMarcus Aldridge to sign (spoiler alert, it didn't); and 2) Underestimating Markieff Morris' reaction to his twin brother being traded to Detroit.

Chandler showing up for the Suns' free-agent pitch meeting with Aldridge was great theater. "We walked in and we had no idea what he was doing there," a person who attended the meeting told CBS Sports. "And then they said, 'He's with us now.'" The only problem with this bold plan was that it didn't work. Now with Chandler once again struggling to stay healthy and Morris having diminished any leverage the Suns had to trade him, the Suns are stuck. The shakeup on the coaching staff didn't help, and coach Jeff Hornacek still doesn't have any security beyond this season.

"We are looking at a number of things between now and the trade deadline," GM Ryan McDonough said on Phoenix radio. "We obviously need to make some changes."

As the Suns have learned, sometimes the moves that you have to make to undo mistakes are more costly than the mistakes themselves.

sometimes the moves that you have to make to undo mistakes are more costly than the mistakes themselves.

Looking at stats.nba.com, the Suns as a team ranked 25th or worse in opposing guards shooting percentage from nearly every distance on the floor before Eric Bledsoe went down to injury. The reason they were able to have a mid-pack overall defensive rating (points per possession) was because they limited opposing guards to some of the fewest attempts in the league (Top 10 in fewest shots allowed to guards from nearly every distance).

Since Bledsoe's injury (and exacerbated by the dismissal of the team's top two assistants), the Suns have gotten even worse.

Specifically, T.J. Warren allows one of the highest opponent shooting percentages in the league among forwards, filtered for mid-to-high activity levels.

Overall, the Suns are allowing the HIGHEST opponent shooting percentage in the league, and it's not even necessarily close.

"We are looking at a number of things between now and the trade deadline," GM Ryan McDonough said on Phoenix radio. "We obviously need to make some changes."

carey wrote:Suns defense is so, so bad: http://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2016/ ... very-angle

Looking at stats.nba.com, the Suns as a team ranked 25th or worse in opposing guards shooting percentage from nearly every distance on the floor before Eric Bledsoe went down to injury. The reason they were able to have a mid-pack overall defensive rating (points per possession) was because they limited opposing guards to some of the fewest attempts in the league (Top 10 in fewest shots allowed to guards from nearly every distance).

Since Bledsoe's injury (and exacerbated by the dismissal of the team's top two assistants), the Suns have gotten even worse.

Specifically, T.J. Warren allows one of the highest opponent shooting percentages in the league among forwards, filtered for mid-to-high activity levels.

I don't know what that last remark means.

Overall, the Suns are allowing the HIGHEST opponent shooting percentage in the league, and it's not even necessarily close.

INFORMER wrote:

"We are looking at a number of things between now and the trade deadline," GM Ryan McDonough said on Phoenix radio. "We obviously need to make some changes."

This was so avoidable. Idiot.

INFORMER wrote:

"We are looking at a number of things between now and the trade deadline," GM Ryan McDonough said on Phoenix radio. "We obviously need to make some changes."

This was so avoidable. Idiot.

INFORMER wrote:

"We are looking at a number of things between now and the trade deadline," GM Ryan McDonough said on Phoenix radio. "We obviously need to make some changes."

This was so avoidable. Idiot.

Shabazz wrote:

Spoiler: show/hide

WHY IS MARKIEFF MORRIS STILL ON THIS TEAM?????

carey wrote:......(\_/)
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\_@_@_@_@_@/

Influential figures within the Cavaliers' locker room are open to the notion of trading for disgruntled Phoenix Suns power forward Markieff Morris, cleveland.com has learned.