Aldridge on the trade block?

[elindholm]

Realize that Aldridge's contract is pretty modest now that we've gone through last summer. The Suns should love to have him if he can be acquired affordably, which he probably can't be. Bringing in quality veterans doesn't upend a youth movement, even if they are going to be one of the team leaders right off the bat. How would Aldridge interfere with Booker's development?

Where the Suns screwed up before was in bringing in garbage veterans who were never going to be long-term pieces. Aldridge is still a top-five PF in the league, and that's the Suns' most glaring weakness. His presence would make everyone else's progress easier.

All that said, there's no way that the Spurs are dealing him for Chandler and Knight, and the Suns need to hoard any future draft pick that might have real value.

 

[AZCrazy]

This team needs a young stud 3. That would dovetail nicely into everything else that's happened.
Warren is ok but not an All Star candidate.

 

[AzStevenCal]

This team needs a young stud 3. That would dovetail nicely into everything else that's happened.
Warren is ok but not an All Star candidate.

And we know that how? He hasn't been so far but this is just his 3rd season and he missed most of his second. He was a scoring machine in college and I see no reason he can't be that again. I don't know about him ever being an all star candidate but I wouldn't rule it out. I'd be fine with average starter at this point.

 

[Carolinacacti]

stay the damn course with the rookies!

This and play the damn rookies.

 

[Hoop Head]

This team needs a young stud 3. That would dovetail nicely into everything else that's happened.
Warren is ok but not an All Star candidate.

I agree with what Steve wrote above about Warren. He showed a lot of potential to be solid scorer before he got injured. He should be able to be develop into a solid starter in this league. He scores really well and moves well without the ball, which is something that is a huge plus for someone that young.

I think acquiring Aldridge would be the right move for the Suns. He should make the team a playoff team, even if it's a low seed, but that would help our young guys develop a winning sort of attitude and mindset. Getting them used to winning at this stage would help their development, I think. I'm not sure what San Antonio would want in return but a package of Knight, Bender, Len, and some picks might be enough for them. Virtually anyone other than Booker should be made available in that trade. I'd include Bender or Chriss also but not both of them. I don't see how Aldridge would hurt Booker's development since Booker isn't at the stage of being a #1 option yet, he's good but not that good yet. By the time Aldridge starts declining should be when Booker is ready to take over as the #1 guy.

A lineup of Bledsoe, Booker, Warren, Aldridge, Chandler should be a playoff team. We'd still have Ulis, Goodwin, Barbosa, Tucker, Dudley, Chriss or Bender, and Williams as backups.

The Spurs need to replace Parker eventually who has definitely lost a step, is fragile, and is well past his prime at 34. Knight could do that for them. Their system doesn't require a great distributer since ball movement is key within their offense. Knight's style of play isn't that different than Parker's either. Both can attack the basket strong, drive and kick, and Knight actually shoots 3's better. If he doesn't work as their Parker replacement he could be their 6th man since Manu is in his last year and isn't nearly as effective as he once was. Bender is a lottery talent PF they can develop and Len is a serviceable backup Center at this point with a lot of untapped potential, he's only 23. San Antonio has gotten more out of big stiff European Centers than just about any other team in the league, they might be the right spot for Len to develop further. Bender is 18 and a legit lottery level player at his age and what's he's shown in talent and potential in Europe. We wouldn't need to hold onto Bender & Chriss if we acquired Aldridge. I'd let them have whichever they're most interested in, which would probably be Bender since he's shown more range and SA's history with foreign players.

 

[JCSunsfan]

If Alderidge's reason for leaving SA is that he doesn't like playing second fiddle to Kahwi, then he would be in the same situation here. Of course, there might be more to this than that. This type of jealousy speculation is the easy guess for sports writers. Its often completely wrong.

BTW. I think we really overvalue veterans in trade speculation. Promising young player have huge value. They are locked up in reasonable deals for a LONG time. Cousins is only locked up for 2. Alderidge has what, 3 or 4 left.

 

[chickenhead]

Even if SA wants to move him, they're going to want to move him for long-term contributors. It's the last team that's going to take out another's garbage.

I wouldn't want a situation where LMA is the Sun's Carmello. Demanding alpha status without actually taking a leadership role or making the necessary sacrifices to win.

But as always, you can only evaluate a trade once there's something on the table.