Suns acquire Nick Richards from Charlotte for Okogie & three 2nd rd picks

[Mainstreet]

the flu....

Maybe that can be the solution for the whole season.

 

[BirdGangThing]

is nurk really sick or is he jae crowder?

 

[AzStevenCal]

is nurk really sick or is he jae crowder?

He's not Jae Crowder but yeah, it's similar. I'd put most of the Crowder situation on our Head Coach and Front Office, I'd put all of this on Nurkic. He has a history of doing this with his two prior teams, when he wasn't feeling the love he'd quit giving the effort if he even took the court.

 

[leclerc]

I think the Suns Finals team was plenty tough. However, Saric going down really hurt.

The Suns frontline already needed more size and athleticism before the playoffs ever started.

They had no one to defend Giannis one-on-one other Ayton.

And off course with the superstar action hero league rules, Mr Ayton was in foul trouble often and early, and Giannis was rarely called for offensive fouls. Who was surprised of the end result...

 

[Covert Rain]

is nurk really sick or is he jae crowder?

I think it's a Crowder thing in terms of sitting. I wouldn't be surprised if he sits at home for the remainder of the season. Although, even though he seems to have fallen off a cliff, I think having an extra big on the bench couldn't hurt. At this point, this team can't afford to not take advantage of every single thing they can.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think it's a Crowder thing in terms of sitting. I wouldn't be surprised if he sits at home for the remainder of the season. Although, even though he seems to have fallen off a cliff, I think having an extra big on the bench couldn't hurt. At this point, this team can't afford to not take advantage of every single thing they can.

If the Suns can't trade Nurkic, they certainly need the depth he would bring at the center position. He might even occasionally start if there are injuries are matchup situations. If Nurkic can accept not being a starter, he might be the second-best center on the team.

What concerns me is that James Jones may view sitting players as a solution to the problem, much Crowder. I didn't like how he handled that situation.

 

[Covert Rain]

If the Suns can't trade Nurkic, they certainly need the depth he would bring at the center position. He might even occasionally start if there are injuries are matchup situations. If Nurkic can accept not being a starter, he might be the second-best center on the team.

What concerns me is that James Jones may view sitting players as a solution to the problem, much Crowder. I didn't like how he handled that situation.

Nurk has been a distraction in previous teams he has played for when not happy. So, as much as I would like him to still be an option? He may end up sitting at home like Crowder.

 

[Mainstreet]

Nurk has been a distraction in previous teams he has played for when not happy. So, as much as I would like him to still be an option? He may end up sitting at home like Crowder.

I don't believe in paying a healthy player to sit home.

 

[BirdGangThing]

if nurk is jae crowder it makes his trade value even lower - very counter productive if he's looking to remain a starter which is already very unlikely

 

[Covert Rain]

I don't believe in paying a healthy player to sit home.

I am with you unless said player becomes such a distraction he destroys the locker room. That is a 100 times worse.

 

[Mainstreet]

I am with you unless said player becomes such a distraction he destroys the locker room. That is a 100 times worse.

There should be alternatives in-between, such as a suspension, but the Suns may want to rise above it all to remain a player's destination.

 

[Covert Rain]

There should be alternatives in-between, such as a suspension, but the Suns may want to rise above it all to remain a player's destination.

I wish it was that easy. Some players make it impossible to do so. We have seen that play out in many sports. I hope that is not the case and he is a professional about it. Then again, I am just not surprised by things athletes do these days.

 

[Goldfield]

Really? I haven't seen much of Richards, but what I have seen is the man can at least make a layup and dunk the ball. That's already a massive improvement over Nurk.

He's at least a comparable rebounder and a better shot blocker. He actually has some athleticism as well.

I have never seen him throw idiotic passes that make me scream at the TV either.

I know he's not a great player, I just want someone who I don't actively hate playing center.

Agree 100% and I liked Nurk last year. Richards brings some athleticism that we are lacking badly inside.

 

[Carolinacacti]

Crowder was never the answer but never replacing him was not the answer

 

[Superbone]

I think Occam's Razor prevails. He's just sick with the flu. If they were going to keep him at home, they wouldn't say he had the flu. The flu goes away. Plus coach Bud talked about him rejoining the team on the road trip.

 

[Mainstreet]

I think Occam's Razor prevails. He's just sick with the flu. If they were going to keep him at home, they wouldn't say he had the flu. The flu goes away. Plus coach Bud talked about him rejoining the team on the road trip.

I hope Nurkic returns. Center is a position of need. If the Suns could add another 4/5, they'd be smart to do it.

 

[Yuma]

I saw an article today that showed Oso had better rebounding and rim protection numbers than both Nurklc and Plumlee. There's conjecture that Richards and Oso could progress to be a young center duo.

I think Richards will start. But I can see Nurkic being a good back up. No one is trading for Nurkic. Might as well play him when it's to our advantage.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I saw an article today that showed Oso had better rebounding and rim protection numbers than both Nurklc and Plumlee. There's conjecture that Richards and Oso could progress to be a young center duo.

I think Richards will start. But I can see Nurkic being a good back up. No one is trading for Nurkic. Might as well play him when it's to our advantage.

If Nurkic can accept the backup role and give full effort, I agree he could be worth more to us on the court than in a trade.

 

[Hoop Head]

He's not Jae Crowder but yeah, it's similar. I'd put most of the Crowder situation on our Head Coach and Front Office, I'd put all of this on Nurkic. He has a history of doing this with his two prior teams, when he wasn't feeling the love he'd quit giving the effort if he even took the court.

I don't know about Denver but he didn't quit in Portland. The team was tanking and sat him since they had traded CJ and Dame was out. I'm not seeing how he quit there.

Crowder and Nurkic's situations were quite different. One was a coach who didn't want him and the other is a front office who thinks they can somehow trade him for someone better. They really shouldn't be compared.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't know about Denver but he didn't quit in Portland. The team was tanking and sat him since they had traded CJ and Dame was out. I'm not seeing how he quit there.

Crowder and Nurkic's situations were quite different. One was a coach who didn't want him and the other is a front office who thinks they can somehow trade him for someone better. They really shouldn't be compared.

The accusations I'm talking about pre-date the tanking and the Dame trade. It was a recurring story on the Portland forum I read after the initial 'fall in love with Nurkic' grace period. Maybe it was nothing more than several disgruntled fans taking shots at players when things didn't work out but they were almost the exact complaints about mailing it in that were aired about him in Denver. He'd miss games with questionable illnesses/injuries and when he played he'd frequently give half-hearted effort. Not too much different from the complaints we had about DA.

 

[Hoop Head]

The accusations I'm talking about pre-date the tanking and the Dame trade. It was a recurring story on the Portland forum I read after the initial 'fall in love with Nurkic' grace period. Maybe it was nothing more than several disgruntled fans taking shots at players when things didn't work out but they were almost the exact complaints about mailing it in that were aired about him in Denver. He'd miss games with questionable illnesses/injuries and when he played he'd frequently give half-hearted effort. Not too much different from the complaints we had about DA.

That's fair. I know when the trade went down almost all of the talk from Portland fans was how he's a good soldier with questionable health/conditioning. It can be difficult to gauge a players value to a fan base when they're being shopped or right after a trade though because a lot of fans get rose colored glasses and don't like to see someone go or they get hyper focused on the negatives of that player. I've seen it some with Okogie, not here but on X, where he's been called a ball hog who derails the offense which is a weird complaint.

Appreciate the added detail though. I think Nurkic has become this seasons Vogel. He's not the primary issue but he isn't without blame. The number of people pointing at Nurk as the cause to the Suns woes is surprising. The volume of the complaints have drown out most other critiques and that's where I take issue with him being scapegoated. I say that also as a vocal critic of Vogel and recognize how wrong I was to lay as much blame on him as I did. This team is flawed in many ways beyond starting C, head coach, point guard, or bench rotation.

 

[AzStevenCal]

That's fair. I know when the trade went down almost all of the talk from Portland fans was how he's a good soldier with questionable health/conditioning. It can be difficult to gauge a players value to a fan base when they're being shopped or right after a trade though because a lot of fans get rose colored glasses and don't like to see someone go or they get hyper focused on the negatives of that player. I've seen it some with Okogie, not here but on X, where he's been called a ball hog who derails the offense which is a weird complaint.

Appreciate the added detail though. I think Nurkic has become this seasons Vogel. He's not the primary issue but he isn't without blame. The number of people pointing at Nurk as the cause to the Suns woes is surprising. The volume of the complaints have drown out most other critiques and that's where I take issue with him being scapegoated. I say that also as a vocal critic of Vogel and recognize how wrong I was to lay as much blame on him as I did. This team is flawed in many ways beyond starting C, head coach, point guard, or bench rotation.

Yeah I don't lay much of the blame on Nurkic. He was energized and the chemistry was solid when he first got here but after Ramadan he was just not the same player. This year it's been even worse but now it often looks like a lack of effort. Although it could just be the result of injury or illness. I'd blame him more if we looked halfway decent without him but we usually don't so obviously we have a lot more problems than the decline/disappearance of Nurk.

 

[Ronin]

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[Yuma]

1/18/2025: Richards first 20-10 debut off the bench in Suns history. (21-11 in the game at Detroit.)

 

[Covert Rain]

1/18/2025: Richards first 20-10 debut off the bench in Suns history. (21-11 in the game at Detroit.)

I don’t recall the last non-major acquisition having a better start for the Suns. Just about as good as it could have gone.