#1 or BUST! The O'Mighty DRAFT Thread

[Yuma]

Based on one of the games earlier this year, Brandon Knight was a -30 in a game. We could use a few of those!

 

[pokerface]

Whats this "we're concerned about Brandon Knights value"...Uhh I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Brandons value is already 80% shot ..That dirty little secret is OUT. It's not going much lower.

What if by playing Knight we stabilize our draft position now....Worth it? I think so...

 

[pokerface]

They need to ask Bledsoe to sit. No point in wasting his risky health on a tanking season. Playing B Knight to help the tank would be tricky because he might hurt his value even more. I'd rather just see Ulis start and see if he's even better than what we've seen.

Ideal would be less Bledsoe and more Brandon.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I think the best future for BK is to let him sit. Once we get a real rotation set up, we can work him slowly back into playing minutes (that would be next year). He only get minutes if he is playing productively within the team system and efficiently.

Do not move assets to move him.

Do not trade him for other bad players. There is no point in that.

 

[pokerface]

I think the best future for BK is to let him sit. Once we get a real rotation set up, we can work him slowly back into playing minutes (that would be next year). He only get minutes if he is playing productively within the team system and efficiently.

Do not move assets to move him.

Do not trade him for other bad players. There is no point in that.

I agree with your second and third points. But if Knight is healthy why continue to sit him? Doesn't that hurt his value the more he rides the bench? That should be considered. Plus by playing him that shows he's healthy and maybe the suns still have some faith in him.

 

[pokerface]

C'mon Philly...Beat LA. This probably the only time I can root against the Lakers the rest of this season.

 

[Yuma]

I know if I was a GM and the Suns called with a Knight trade, first thing I would ask is why isn't he playing?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

They need to ask Bledsoe to sit. No point in wasting his risky health on a tanking season. Playing B Knight to help the tank would be tricky because he might hurt his value even more. I'd rather just see Ulis start and see if he's even better than what we've seen.

Gang can knight really hurt his trade value any more than where it resides at present? He's been crappy all year and now he's not even playing while the team is succeeding. Do you really believe there's a GM out there that's thinking, "hmm I wonder about that knight guy sitting in their bench, he might be good" - ?!?

 

[hsandhu]

Philly just won a game they should have done everything to lose, including playing 5 d league players if necessary

 

[pokerface]

Philly won!

 

[Yuma]

tankathon.com not updated yet. Thank you Damien Lillard!

 

[Yuma]

Just saw an ESPN story on the Balls. The kids shoot jumpers both right handed and left handed! That's how my dad taught me, too. Except I was way too short to ever consider basketball as a sport to get me anywhere.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I agree with your second and third points. But if Knight is healthy why continue to sit him? Doesn't that hurt his value the more he rides the bench? That should be considered. Plus by playing him that shows he's healthy and maybe the suns still have some faith in him.

Playing Knight hurts his value. Sitting him and hoping people sort of forget about him for a while is better. Maybe after a while we can try again and people will buy a new leaf kind of thing.

 

[Hoop Head]

I know everyone wants the Suns to pick as high as possible but to get who exactly? There isn't a consensus #1 pick in this draft or even two players vying for that spot, like in years past. I think this is draft will be similar to the 2012 draft as far as there being a lot of questions over who goes #1 and even who goes #2 or #3. It'll get clearer once some guys are off the board but that's every year. It's a top loaded draft though.

The Suns can go best player available because Booker is basically the only set piece for the future. I don't mind picking behind teams like Boston or LA because they can't really go best player available. It's not clear who the best player is yet but would Boston pick a PG knowing they're playing behind IT? They could go with one of the wings who are close to the same level of talent and upside and not be held back by someone ahead of them in their system. IT is an MVP candidate this year, it's not like they'll just make him change to accommodate a rookie. The Lakers have a little more flexibility because they don't have anyone at IT's level but they have Russell and Ingram who were both picked at #2 recently. Do they give up on them to try and bring a younger player along or go with someone who fits with what they have better.

Hopefully we don't fall too far because there is a drop off in talent after the #4 or #5 pick but we have a lot of flexibility as far as who we pick and how they fit into our future. We can trade Bledsoe, Warren can come off the bench, no one is that sure what position guys like Chriss and Bender will play in years to come. I think we'll be fine in the draft. Go figure that in a year that the #1 overall pick won't mean that much more than the #2 or #3 pick we'll probably get lucky in the lottery and be stuck having to figure out who the best prospect is amongst guys like Fultz, Ball, Jackson, or Tatum. That's a good problem to have though.

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

I know everyone wants the Suns to pick as high as possible but to get who exactly? There isn't a consensus #1 pick in this draft or even two players vying for that spot, like in years past. I think this is draft will be similar to the 2012 draft as far as there being a lot of questions over who goes #1 and even who goes #2 or #3. It'll get clearer once some guys are off the board but that's every year. It's a top loaded draft though.

The Suns can go best player available because Booker is basically the only set piece for the future. I don't mind picking behind teams like Boston or LA because they can't really go best player available. It's not clear who the best player is yet but would Boston pick a PG knowing they're playing behind IT? They could go with one of the wings who are close to the same level of talent and upside and not be held back by someone ahead of them in their system. IT is an MVP candidate this year, it's not like they'll just make him change to accommodate a rookie. The Lakers have a little more flexibility because they don't have anyone at IT's level but they have Russell and Ingram who were both picked at #2 recently. Do they give up on them to try and bring a younger player along or go with someone who fits with what they have better.

Hopefully we don't fall too far because there is a drop off in talent after the #4 or #5 pick but we have a lot of flexibility as far as who we pick and how they fit into our future. We can trade Bledsoe, Warren can come off the bench, no one is that sure what position guys like Chriss and Bender will play in years to come. I think we'll be fine in the draft. Go figure that in a year that the #1 overall pick won't mean that much more than the #2 or #3 pick we'll probably get lucky in the lottery and be stuck having to figure out who the best prospect is amongst guys like Fultz, Ball, Jackson, or Tatum. That's a good problem to have though.

Things change, but right now my big hope is just to get anywhere in the top 4.

The upside of Ball, Jackson, Fultz or Tatum would make this season seem like a positive.

After that, it's a tougher sell to me. I question Markkanen and Monk as needs or fits for this team at the top of the draft, and while quality point guard prospects are plentiful it is hard to imagine Smith, Ntilikina or Fox being worth the investment when we already have Bledsoe.Ball and Fultz have so much upside that I think you have to take them, but otherwise a point guard selection feels almost like a lateral move (as the pg develops).

Isaac is also intriguing, but his recent struggles concern me.

 

[Yuma]

Tankathon updated. We still have 2.0 games in the loss column over Orlando! I like Tatum, even though he is a small forward, and I think we have to be in the 3rd spot to get him. So, I do want our young guys to keep learning how to win games in the NBA, but I do think it matters just how many games we win.

 

[3rdside]

For such a disaster of a season if we don't finish with a top 4 worst record then it's even worse. And that won't be easy seeing as how hard Sac, Orl, Philly and even NY now are tanking.

 

[pokerface]

We have a soft schedule coming up. I'm not feeling too comfortable about it. I know you guys are sick of hearing it but Brandon Knight might be the only thing between us and total free fall. The rest of the team is playing much better than expected!

 

[pokerface]

For such a disaster of a season if we don't finish with a top 4 worst record then it's even worse. And that won't be easy seeing as how hard Sac, Orl, Philly and even NY now are tanking.

Well Sac and Orlando are playing today...So there is a win. Plus Orlando is playing Brooklyn a couple more times and Philly once more.

The bad news is we're playing Orlando, Brooklyn, and Sac twice more. Then there is a Dallas game that's winnable too. Other than that the teams we play fall into the decent or good category.

 

[AzStevenCal]

We have a soft schedule coming up. I'm not feeling too comfortable about it. I know you guys are sick of hearing it but Brandon Knight might be the only thing between us and total free fall. The rest of the team is playing much better than expected!

They are?

 

[pokerface]

They are?

More or less...The games have been close... Enough to make "most" fans nervous about our draft.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

What is this soft schedule you speak of? Sure the next 2 are games we may very well win, but after that is a 6 game road trip and then games against teams like Clippers, GS, Portland, Houston. I could easily see this team only winning 4 or so games the rest of the season.

 

[pokerface]

What is this soft schedule you speak of? Sure the next 2 are games we may very well win, but after that is a 6 game road trip and then games against teams like Clippers, GS, Portland, Houston. I could easily see this team only winning 4 or so games the rest of the season.

Well Dallas is beatable...We just beat them and we play them again. Detroit is 33-33 right now...Miami is under .500 ball. Then you factor in the suns are playing their guts out and are somewhat overachieving recently.

The suns can't coast into top 3 or even top 5. This tank needs luck and some cultivating to ensure a somewhat desirable outcome.

 

[AzStevenCal]

More or less...The games have been close... Enough to make "most" fans nervous about our draft.

We've been in games all season, losing a lot of them late, and the less Knight played the more we'd be in each of those games. It was clear two months ago that benching Brandon would produce wins. It was also clear that Chriss was not ready for the NBA when he was inserted into the starting lineup but that our improvement would be in part a function of his improvement. And as he's gotten better each month, so have we.

My point, I think our play is exactly what should have been expected. And unless we put Bledsoe out to pasture for the final month, we're going to keep on winning 4 or 5 games out of each 10. So I agree with "nervous about the draft" although not about the timing. This was always on the horizon.

 

[pokerface]

We've been in games all season, losing a lot of them late, and the less Knight played the more we'd be in each of those games. It was clear two months ago that benching Brandon would produce wins. It was also clear that Chriss was not ready for the NBA when he was inserted into the starting lineup but that our improvement would be in part a function of his improvement. And as he's gotten better each month, so have we.

My point, I think our play is exactly what should have been expected. And unless we put Bledsoe out to pasture for the final month, we're going to keep on winning 4 or 5 games out of each 10. So I agree with "nervous about the draft" although not about the timing. This was always on the horizon.

Like you said, Chris has improved from earlier in the season.. Williams has been a unexpected surprise... Ulis has produced and hit a game winner... Booker has been hot lately.. Then you combine that with the ultimate tanking machine Brandon Knight being MIA.

So I stand by my original statement that the suns are playing much better than expected. They aren't playing like the third worst team in the league right now.