2024-2025 Around the NBA Thread

[Hoop Head]

The Pacers traded Sabonis for Haliburton. The Suns didn't have anything to compete with that trade offer not that James Jones would try after passing on him.

Kira Lewis was a reach in the 2020 draft.

Jalen Stix was also a reach. I didn't hear anything about him only working out for top 10 teams like Fumats claims either. All the pundits were stunned he was picked by the Suns. He was viewed as a late teens or early twenties pick. Vassell was on the radar for us, IIRC. Although everyone was watching Hali, Deni, and Toppin drop and we were assured one of them. We took none.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Jalen Stix was also a reach. I didn't hear anything about him only working out for top 10 teams like Fumats claims either. All the pundits were stunned he was picked by the Suns. He was viewed as a late teens or early twenties pick. Vassell was on the radar for us, IIRC. Although everyone was watching Hali, Deni, and Toppin drop and we were assured one of them. We took none.

Yeah we got ripped by pretty much everybody and that doesn't happen if he's really projected to go in that area. I liked the pick at the time after watching some video of him but even now he seems to have less impact on the game than his measurables and talent would suggest.

 

[Mainstreet]

Jalen Stix was also a reach. I didn't hear anything about him only working out for top 10 teams like Fumats claims either. All the pundits were stunned he was picked by the Suns. He was viewed as a late teens or early twenties pick. Vassell was on the radar for us, IIRC. Although everyone was watching Hali, Deni, and Toppin drop and we were assured one of them. We took none.

Stix was a reach. That says it all. If the Suns were going BPA at #10, they should have drafted Haliburton with Vassell the next best choice.

Otherwise, the Suns should have traded down or out of the draft.

 

[Hoop Head]

Stix was a reach. That says it all. If the Suns were going BPA at #10, they should have drafted Haliburton with Vassell the next best choice.

Otherwise, the Suns should have traded down or out of the draft.

I can see that but I recall liking Achuiwa at #10, although a small reach. He went #20 to Miami. Saddiq Bey went #19, Josh Green at #18, and Cole Anthony at #15. Aaron Nesmith went #14 and has done well and netted Boston Malcolm Brogdan, who won 6th man last season and was a big piece of the Holiday deal that got them a title.

So there was talent in the teens. Vassell probably made the most sense as he was on the Suns radar. I remember him being hyped by Gambo, I think. There was a valley reporter who said if he was on the board then he'd be taken.

 

[Mainstreet]

I can see that but I recall liking Achuiwa at #10, although a small reach. He went #20 to Miami. Saddiq Bey went #19, Josh Green at #18, and Cole Anthony at #15. Aaron Nesmith went #14 and has done well and netted Boston Malcolm Brogdan, who won 6th man last season and was a big piece of the Holiday deal that got them a title.

So there was talent in the teens. Vassell probably made the most sense as he was on the Suns radar. I remember him being hyped by Gambo, I think. There was a valley reporter who said if he was on the board then he'd be taken.

That's why I think the Suns should have traded down at #10 or out of the draft if they were not going to draft Haliburton.

IMO, there was a dropoff in talent after Vassell not that I wouldn't have liked Achiuwa or Stewart with a later pick.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Funny thing is that pick shifted the draft boards.

WIZARDS was deciding between Stix whom they watched closely at Maryland and Deni...now Deni gone.

The pick for the Suns was Kira Lewis before the switch. At no time was Hali on the draft board.

So Fans wanted who they wanted but the Suns came to Maryland to work out and see Stix who had worked out and interviewed for mainly top 10 teams. The trajectory of the team changed when CP3 cane on board and when Crowder was picked up.

Now Stix is at Chicago a team the Suns ignored.

Hindsight is one thing but there's still time for teams to trade for what they want and if Hali is what the Suns wanted then why didn't they trade for him when Sacramento was given an ultimatum by Fox making Hali available? The stars said no.

Where is the Kira Lewis intel from? This is the first I’m hearing of it.

 

[Yuma]

It wasn't even close. When the BPA falls in your lap, you draft him. Haliburton was that guy. The Suns would have been set for the future if they had made that pick.

No sure fire power forwards were on the table. Even James Jones didn't have confidence in the pick, as he didn't pick up Smith's option.

True with the value of hindsight and how things played out. Had the knocks on Haliburton came true, and had the potential of Smith developed, it could have been a whole different story. If every GM could draft seeing how a guy turns out 3-5 years into the future, there would never be bad picks, nor surprises like Jokavic at 41.

 

[Mainstreet]

True with the value of hindsight and how things played out. Had the knocks on Haliburton came true, and had the potential of Smith developed, it could have been a whole different story. If every GM could draft seeing how a guy turns out 3-5 years into the future, there would never be bad picks, nor surprises like Jokavic at 41.

I like foresight better than hindsight.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

True with the value of hindsight and how things played out. Had the knocks on Haliburton came true, and had the potential of Smith developed, it could have been a whole different story. If every GM could draft seeing how a guy turns out 3-5 years into the future, there would never be bad picks, nor surprises like Jokavic at 41.

But that’s literally their job. To be good at making those judgements in advance. If they all got the pass you just typed they’d never get fired and their teams would never improve.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I like foresight better than hindsight.

No one is hired for having great hindsight.

 

[Yuma]

But that’s literally their job. To be good at making those judgements in advance. If they all got the pass you just typed they’d never get fired and their teams would never improve.

But guys here act like they can always see into the future and hold them to never being wrong.

I am saying it's easy as fans to criticize from afar, not knowing what scouting or tactical visions they have for the team when a player they passed on becomes a good player. We all have opinions on how good certain guys are. A lot of guys wanted Haliburton on draft night in this forum, but I also remember some arguing against him because of the read flags surrounding not knowing his medicals, and him not wanting to work out for certain teams leading to the conclusion he only wanted to play for certain teams. What's the point of drafting a guy and then he decides to play overseas because he doesn't want top play for you? Or that he sits behind a HOF player who is playing ahead of him.

At the time it was a BIG criticism that the Suns were getting killed every game at the PF position. JJ took a swing at that and missed. We definitely tried before that with Bender and Chriss. I think guys here forget the desperation we tried to fill that spot.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

But guys here act like they can always see into the future and hold them to never being wrong.

I am saying it's easy as fans to criticize from afar, not knowing what scouting or tactical visions they have for the team when a player they passed on becomes a good player. We all have opinions on how good certain guys are. A lot of guys wanted Haliburton on draft night in this forum, but I also remember some arguing against him because of the read flags surrounding not knowing his medicals, and him not wanting to work out for certain teams leading to the conclusion he only wanted to play for certain teams. What's the point of drafting a guy and then he decides to play overseas because he doesn't want top play for you? Or that he sits behind a HOF player who is playing ahead of him.

At the time it was a BIG criticism that the Suns were getting killed every game at the PF position. JJ took a swing at that and missed. We definitely tried before that with Bender and Chriss. I think guys here forget the desperation we tried to fill that spot.

A) I don’t think those concerned about him pre draft are the ones beating up jJ today.

B) the bolded above isn’t really an option. Not for American ball players. If you can point out one it’s the exception to the rule not likely.

C) a good gm looks into the future and creates sustainable winning. We had Paul. Everyone knew he was approaching wheels falling off, just no one knew how long it would take. We had been starving for good pg play for a long time. As much as we needed a pf, the need for a young pg was just maybe, MAYBE, a skosh behind. And not enough to warrant passing on a clearly superior talent.

D) yes it’s easy to criticize from afar. However when that fan was clamoring for something that was clearly superior both before and after, said criticism is clearly warranted. Fans aren’t perfect in this (I wanted maggette over Marion, I wasn’t a fan of drafting majerle, i wanted John Wallace over nash, but I was spot on with Finley, trading for Joe Johnson, doncic, Halliburton), but we don’t have the overwhelming wealth of information gms possess. So when they blow what seems like an obvious pick, it sticks.

 

[Yuma]

A) I don’t think those concerned about him pre draft are the ones beating up jJ today.

B) the bolded above isn’t really an option. Not for American ball players. If you can point out one it’s the exception to the rule not likely.

C) a good gm looks into the future and creates sustainable winning. We had Paul. Everyone knew he was approaching wheels falling off, just no one knew how long it would take. We had been starving for good pg play for a long time. As much as we needed a pf, the need for a young pg was just maybe, MAYBE, a skosh behind. And not enough to warrant passing on a clearly superior talent.

D) yes it’s easy to criticize from afar. However when that fan was clamoring for something that was clearly superior both before and after, said criticism is clearly warranted. Fans aren’t perfect in this (I wanted maggette over Marion, I wasn’t a fan of drafting majerle, i wanted John Wallace over nash, but I was spot on with Finley, trading for Joe Johnson, doncic, Halliburton), but we don’t have the overwhelming wealth of information gms possess. So when they blow what seems like an obvious pick, it sticks.

Bolded?

On C, sometimes you think you can wait a year to fill that spot if you are solid there for now. You see it not just in basketball but many sports. I have seen teams take best available and be really deep at a position but killed for the weeks spots on a team. So in theory it's "always" the best option to get best available, but like last year showed, sometimes you just need a PG at the end of the day! LOL!

We still need a PF, but I did notice Suns.com has Oso listed as a forward not a center. May be a development to watch?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Bolded?

On C, sometimes you think you can wait a year to fill that spot if you are solid there for now. You see it not just in basketball but many sports. I have seen teams take best available and be really deep at a position but killed for the weeks spots on a team. So in theory it's "always" the best option to get best available, but like last year showed, sometimes you just need a PG at the end of the day! LOL!

We still need a PF, but I did notice Suns.com has Oso listed as a forward not a center. May be a development to watch?

That would be great. But you can’t play pf in todays nba if you can’t hit the 3.

 

[Yuma]

That would be great. But you can’t play pf in todays nba if you can’t hit the 3.

Depends on if you are dishing 5-10 dimes a game.

 

[Raindog]

Not that we were likely to get him, but the main post guy most of us would have liked to have gotten is off the board.

Knicks re-sign Precious Achiuwa on reported one-year deal worth $6 million

New York is rounding out what has been a terrific offseason

www.cbssports.com

 

[95pro]

Not that we were likely to get him, but the main post guy most of us would have liked to have gotten is off the board.

Knicks re-sign Precious Achiuwa on reported one-year deal worth $6 million

New York is rounding out what has been a terrific offseason

www.cbssports.com

That would have put us right up there with with the top 4 imo.

 

[Mainstreet]

Gordon Hayward retires after 14 seasons.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Suns_fan69]

Gordon Hayward retires after 14 seasons.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

It's too bad, injuries derailed the latter half of his career. Early Gordon Hayward was a great jack-of-all-trades.

 

[Mainstreet]

It's too bad, injuries derailed the latter half of his career. Early Gordon Hayward was a great jack-of-all-trades.

I will always remember the Gordon Hayward that played for the Jazz.

 

[Superbone]

I will always remember the Gordon Hayward that played for the Jazz.

Yep, he was never the same after that.

 

[Mainstreet]

A second Kobe Bryant statue with his daughter "Gigi" will be unveiled Friday in a private ceremony.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Mainstreet]

Here is the image of the new statute of Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[JCSunsfan]

Here is the image of the new statute of Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

As a father with two daughters, it puts a tear in my eye. Every girl needs a dad that will love her, protect her, and encourage her.

 

[Mainstreet]

As a father with two daughters, it puts a tear in my eye. Every girl needs a dad that will love her, protect her, and encourage her.

Absolutely.